<P> Families usually began their journey at Independence, Missouri, near the Missouri River with the best time to travel being from April to September . The journey to cross the entire Oregon Trail in a covered wagon took from four to six months, following a winding trail 2,000 miles (3,200 km) through prairies, deserts, and across mountains to the Pacific Northwest . The journey was a severe test of strength and endurance so travelers often joined wagon trains traveling about 12--15 miles (19--24 km) per day . Settlers often had to cross flooded rivers . Indians attacked the wagon trains; however, of the 10,000 deaths that occurred from 1835 to 1855, only 4 percent resulted from Indian attacks . Cholera, smallpox, and firearms accidents were the chief causes of death on the trail . Food, water, and wood were always scarce, and the travelers often encountered contaminated water holes . During summer, the trail was crowded with wagon trains, army units, missionaries, hunting parties, traders, and even sightseeing tours . Some travelers complained that they sometimes had to stop early in the day in order to find a good campsite ahead of the crowd . Others spoke of the need to wear masks for protection against the dust kicked up by the heavy traffic . </P> <P> The main route of the California Trail branched from the Oregon Trail west of Fort Hall, as immigrants went on forward going southwestward into present - day Nevada, then down along the Humboldt River to the Sierra Nevada . The California Trail came into heavy use after the California Gold Rush enticed over 250,000 gold - seekers and farmers to travel overland the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s . Today, more than 1,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen in the vast undeveloped lands between Capers Wyoming and the West Coast, reminders of the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of early American travelers and settlers . More than 240 historic sites along the trail will eventually be available for public use and interpretation . </P> <P> Early emigrants once called the California Trail an elephant, due to the difficult journey . If you wanted to get to California in pre-railroad times, you were guaranteed an arduous trek . California emigrants faced the greatest challenges of all the pioneer emigrants of the mid-19th century . In addition to the Rockies, these emigrants faced the barren deserts of Nevada and the imposing Sierra Nevada Range . The travelers of the California Trail often quipped that if you had "seen the elephant," then you had hit some hard traveling . </P> <P> The Mormon Trail was created by pioneer members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints, called "Mormons," who settled in what is now the Great Salt Lake in Utah . The Mormon Trail followed part of the Oregon Trail and then branched off at the fur trading post called Fort Bridger, founded by famed mountain man Jim Bridger . Heading south and following river valleys southwestward to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, Brigham Young led the first Mormons into present - day Utah during 1847 . The Mormon Trail is 1,300 miles long and extends from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah . The Mormon Trail was used for more than 20 years after the Mormons used it and has been reserved for sightseeing . The initial movement of the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake occurred in two segments: one in 1846 and one in 1847 . The first segment, across Iowa to the Missouri River, covered around 265 miles . The second segment, from the Missouri River to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, covered about 1,032 miles . </P>

What kind of difficulties did pioneers who traveled overland trails to the west face
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