Hunt purchased horses from the Arikara tribe near present-day Pierre, South Dakota and began the long trek over land westward. The party passed along the borders of the Black Hills and Bighorn mountains then crossed the Wind River mountains into the valley of the Green River by way of Union Pass. Here they descended the Hoback River to its junction with the Snake River and crossed Teton Pass to the abandoned Fort Henry, arriving October 18, 1811. Knowing that they were now on the headwaters of the Columbia, the party anticipated the majority of their struggles to be over, and Hunt yielded to the desires of his men to abandon the horses and embark downstream by canoe. This was a fateful decision as the course of the Snake River later proved to be completely unnavigable by canoe, forcing the party to travel by foot and causing the men to endure severe hardship. After nine days of attempting to travel the river, they lost a man and two canoes in the rapids and reconsidered their plan. Embarking on foot, they divided into four parties and took different routes to approach the mouth of the Columbia. Hunt's party arrived on February 15, 1812.