establishing a base at San Diego on July 14, 1769, the expedition headed northbound. The expedition made camp in San Pedro Valley and on November 1, 1969, Portola made Ortega the chief scout and sent him along with other men north to locate San Francisco Bay within three days. The following day on November 2nd, some of the troops were out hunting deer, and discovered a large body of water which was San Francisco Bay, and they promptly reported back to Ortega. The next day on November 3rd, they returned to Portola to report their discovery. Prior to arriving at San Francisco Bay, Ortega while standing on what is now Berkeley Hills on October 1769, saw a small island on a body of water which he reported to General Portola of his finding. This island turned out to be Angel Island. The Portola expedition along with Ortega returned to San Diego in 1770, but headed up north again to attempt to locate Monterey Bay, which proved to be difficult as they struggled with starvation and because of this ate their mules. Along with starvation, the soldiers suffered from scurvy and fatigue. Ortega went ahead and encountered natives who directed him where to go to locate Monterey Bay. Due to the efforts of the expedition, the Spanish were able to build four presidios in Alta California: San Diego (1769), Monterey (1770), San Francisco (1776), and Santa Barbara (1782). These presidios functioned to protect the friars, protect the workers and those keeping the natives in good conduct, establish small towns, and to fly the flag to warn any potential invaders. Through his accomplishments and the support of father Junipero Serra, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and held the position of Commandant at the Presidio of San Diego from 1773 to 1781. Before that he was Acting Commandant from July 1771 in the absence of Pedro Fages. As Commandant he went with Fray Fermín Lasuén and twelve soldiers to explore the site chosen for Mission San Juan Capistrano. Junipero Serra supported Ortega to be Fages' successor as governor of the Californias but was unsuccessful. Ortega turned out to be a lackluster manager of finances and as a result was moved on from the Santa Barbara Presidio by inspector Nicolas Soler and was replaced by Felipe de Goyocoechea. He would then serve as commandant of the Presidio of Monterey between 1787