transport if the mountain passage proved impractical. On October 1, 1845, Barlow and three men scouted ahead of their company and entered Mount Hood's foothills from the east near Tygh Creek, about from the mouth of the Deschutes River. They came within perhaps of Mount Hood. They thought they had glimpsed the Willamette Valley, and learned from the Indigenous people in the region of a trail leading to Oregon City, but returned to Tygh Creek about five days after their departure. There Joel Palmer was waiting for him with a 23 wagon party. Palmer had followed Barlow for a better route, and had just returned from exploring the same area. The combined company organized road clearing through the forest, mostly by burning. The clearing party made it to the top of a ridge, now known as Barlow Pass, where they were effectively lost. Barlow, Palmer, and a man named Harrison Porter Locke hiked the south face of Mount Hood west of Palmer Glacier to scout a westward route off the mountain. Palmer, in better physical condition than his companions, climbed high on the glacier (likely Zigzag Glacier), and took detailed notes on the surrounding ridges and rivers. They returned to the group, arranged for guards for their wagons at a place they named Fort Deposit. Several families in wagons ill-suited for travel through the wilderness remained at Fort Deposit, while the remainder returned to The Dalles. Barlow's group followed the Sandy River west on foot. Palmer noted an intersection with a trail coming from The Dalles by way of Lolo Pass, around the north side of Mount Hood, which had previously been the only overland trail traversed by pioneers. Near the present-day city of Sandy, they turned southwest to reach Eagle Creek and Philip Foster's farm near present-day Clackamas. That autumn, Barlow considered the route over the mountains and petitioned the Provisional Legislature of Oregon for permission to build a road on December 9, 1845, claiming that his estimated cost of $4000 was lower than that of others familiar with the route. Permission was granted with a vote of 8-2 on December 17, 1845, approved by Speaker pro-tem Henry A. G. Lee, and signed into law by Governor George Abernethy. The road's toll was authorized for two years effective January 1, 1846 and specified toll rates at five dollars (about a week's wages, equivalent to about $ today) for each