In order to know if we can be homesteaders, I need to know what a homesteader did.  I have a general idea but do I really know?  They obviously had to look after their essential needs and if they failed at that, it was simple - they died.  These people all came originally from another country or even a city 'back east'.  Either way, they came from a settled community where things were set up, a certain amount of infrastructure was already in place, families (and therefore a support system) existed, items available for sale in already-existing stores, churches and schools built and fully-functioning.  It had to have been a shock to them, especially the women, when they learned eventually what they had to work with - and worse, what they did not have.

  So many of these homesteaders travelled with enough of their 'luxurie' items - pianos, hutches, fancy dishes - that the wagon axles often broke from the extra burden.  Rather than hazard that happening, the extra items went overboard, literally 'ditched'.  For the women who really did not want to participate but had to because the social decree of the day demanded that they follow their husbands regardless, these items would have represented a connection to their past when they would arrive at their new home.  These items would have represented the only 'constant' in their newly ever-changing world and would have been a source of comfort and peace-of-mind.  These items may also have been irreplaceable heirlooms.

The worst item by far to be left on the trail were bodies.  Sometimes up to 2/3's of the entire wagon-train and entire families died from cholera, falls under the wagon wheels, thirst, freezing in the mountains and they had to be left behind.  People tried to bury the dead deep enough to prevent wolves, coyotes, etc from eating them.  This was hard to do when the ground was rocky, packed hard, frozen solid, etc. and the wagontrain members were thirsty, hungry, tired, cold, diseased, depressed, pregnant, etc.  People drove on, leaving their dreams buried in the ground with their children and I think I can safely guess that many would become bitter and angry forever.

Compare all of this with us renting a mover van or the van with workers and all.  If we move for our jobs, some companies hire people to pack and unpack - all we do is get ourselves there (my niece and her family were this lucky!).  And if we do have to actually move ourselves, so what?  How hard can it be?  We can stop and buy food along the way and sleep in hotels, camp in full-service campgrounds, fill up at full-service gas stations, pop into the emerg. department of any hospital if we feel sick, use the cell phone to let the real estate agent know you're on your way so he/she can meet you with the keys to your new house or let your family know about your progress.  I know, moving's still a nightmare but, in comparison...

Oregon Trail 1900

http://www.education.boisestate.edu/
It's impossible for us to recreate this aspect of the homesteader life.  There are too many laws, too much common sense and too much scientific knowledge now.  We know better than to drink from any stream unless it is first tested and we know about germs.  If we were cold, we'd be using fleece blankets and sleeping bags,  heavy winter coats with hoodies underneath, boots, mitts, scarves - you name it, we can get it.  There'd likely be a TV camera there - at the very least, camcorders, cameras, cell phones.  There would be a police escort part of the way and well-wishers.  If anything happened to our children along the way, we would be charged with murder or man-slaughter, neglect, child-abuse, child endangerment.
We simply cannot be homesteaders in this respect and I'm not so sure that's a bad thing!

Oregon ferry crossing, Kansas River

http://www.kshs.org/

http://www.zug.com/