Two Rivers Outpost grew and flourished as new settlers continued to arrive from The Grove. The new city appealed to the new arrivals, both humex and native humans, and they carved out a life for themselves. They began new families here and they enthusiastically became hard working citizens. There was nowhere else yet to go because the mountain trail construction necessary to the rest of the journey to Nexra had just fairly begun. It would be many years before it would be completed to the next outpost about five hundred miles farther west. Most of the new citizens of Two Rivers Outpost seemed relieved that they were in for a lengthy respite, even though the river journey from The Grove had been cut to six months from the original two years. The settlers were inclined by their nature to settle, albeit ultimately too early. A sense of urgency would have to be rekindled in order to keep all eyes on the prize - Nexra.
Trail construction had now become an important aspect of humex expeditionary plan. The forward explorers were a group formed to find and chart the best mountain trail route they could locate while staying relatively close to the river - now too difficult to travel by raft. The forward explorers worked diligently to find the most favorable route for construction. They considered the attributes of continuous route access, grade steepness, close proximity to natural water sources such as springs, lakes and ponds, and naturally occurring level topography over which to construct the trail.
The forward explorers were responsible for designing ways to cross the many tributaries merging into the great river – via the new mode of transportation – the transport-wagon powered by oxen teams. In most cases, as long as the wagons could get down to the river bank of the tributary from the high mountain trail, they could cross on small rafts, or, more often, could cross alone in the shallows simply with just ropes to guide them. Many times, to find such crossings, the explorers were required to go far afield - up to twenty miles from the main river - to find such shallow crossings.
The forward explorers were gone from the humex outpost for long periods of time – coming out of the mountains and back to Two Rivers during the winters. It was a relatively lonely life with groups of no more than ten men making up each team. They represented the first of the rugged and romantic icons of humex society.
Behind the forward explorers came the trail constructors. They followed the route laid down by the forward explorers. Theirs was a difficult physical job, but they could be confident that the forward explorers had located the least difficult path. There was generally one team of trail constructors usually numbering about two-hundred. At fifty mile intervals, constructors were responsible for building shelters from mountain storms that could occasionally arrive early in the season and surprise unsuspecting wagon trains. The shelters were built near or over water supplies – generally mountain springs - and structures were sufficient to offer shelter from the fiercest storms. In the five centuries they were in use, they were responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives.
The wagon had been in the planning stage for years, but was put on-hold when the raft was chosen as the initial form of transportation to Nexra. But once the humex reached the mountains and the nearly endless white water, the rafts were abandoned in favor of the wagon.
The story describes the initial development of the wagon and subsequent improvements – again process – from wheel and axel development, brake development, oxen harness comfort and, last but not least, rider comforts such as separating the roughness of the trail from the wagon housing by leather intermediating materials – Neolithic shock absorbers. Seating comfort was important. Sheepskin-wrapped seating was a popular method of offering comfort to the wagoneers. Comfortable bedding arrangements aboard the carriages were engineered to fit among nook and supply crannies and were designed to compliment all other elements of the trail wagon and trail life. These processes were constantly redeveloped and improved upon. The trail from Two Rivers to Nexra would span some six-thousand miles. Safety and comfort of these wagoneers were paramount.
