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.