This puzzle imagines a game of Oregon Trail. Solvers will notice that the supply of items is constantly changing. They will also notice reference to taking inventory at the end of the fifth and tenth weeks, suggesting that it will be important to know the exact counts at those two points.
This can be done by keeping track of the items on a week-by-week basis. After week one, the number of boxes of bullets is down one to 18, and the number of pounds of food is up 176 and down 72 for a total of 123 lbs.
Week two drops the inventory of spare wheels to 16 and spare axles to 4. Food drops to 26 lbs., but the number of oxen rises to 4.
In the third week, all the numbers are cut in half. That means that four oxen turn into 2, fourteen sets of clothes to 7, eighteen boxes of bullets to 9, sixteen spare wheels to 8, four spare axles to 2, eighteen spare tongues to 9, and 26 lbs. of food to 13. Then, before the week is over, the boxes of bullets are reduced further to 8, while pounds of food are raised 300 and lowered by 56 to reach 257.
In week four, oxen go from two to 3, sets of clothing from seven to 25, and spare axles from two to 12. Food goes down from 257 lbs. to 181 lbs.
After the events of week five, the wagon holds 3 oxen, 25 sets of clothing, 8 boxes of bullets, 7 spare wheels, 22 spare axles, 12 spare tongues, and 5 lbs. of food.
Every item goes up by one in week six, reaching 4 oxen, 26 sets of clothing, 9 boxes of bullets, 8 spare wheels, 23 spare axles, 13 spare tongues, and 6 lbs. of food. Then, bullets are lowered from nine back down to 8, and food is raised by 274/lowered by 86 to reach 194 lbs.
In week seven, 26 sets of clothing are reduced to 6 and 23 spare axles to 3. Food supplies are lowered from 194 lbs. to only 51 lbs.
During the eighth week, eight spare wheels become 5, and six sets of clothing become 1. Eight boxes of bullets turn to 17, and four oxen become 6. Food supplies drop from 51 lbs. to 1 pound.
Nearly ever item amount changes in week nine, leaving 15 boxes of bullets, 1 spare wheel, 1 spare axle, 12 spare tongues, and 60 pounds of food.
After week ten, the final counts are 21 oxen, 1 set of clothing, 15 boxes of bullets, 1 spare wheel, 1 spare axle, 12 spare tongues, and 25 lbs. of food.
Solvers can then make an inventory table like the one given at the top of the page, and may even include starting inventory if they prefer.
| Item | Start | (as letter) | Week 5 | Week 10 | 5 as letter | 10 as letter |
| Oxen | 1 | A | 3 | 21 | C | U |
| Sets of Clothing | 14 | N | 25 | 1 | Y | A |
| Boxes of Bullets | 19 | S | 8 | 15 | H | O |
| Spare Wagon Wheels | 23 | W | 7 | 1 | G | A |
| Spare Wagon Axles | 5 | E | 22 | 1 | V | A |
| Spare Wagon Tongues | 18 | R | 12 | 12 | L | L |
| Pounds of Food | 19 | S | 5 | 25 | E | Y |
Also included in this table are the letters from converting each number to that letter of the alphabet: A=1, B=2, etc. Solvers will notice that the starting values spell out the word ANSWERS. The week five and week ten results do not look promising on their own, but when read together (Week 5, then Week 10 of each item in turn), they form the answer CUYAHOGA VALLEY, which, while not on the Oregon Trail, has its own historical significance in the movement of people and goods.