On February 9, Packer and the five others in his party left for the Los Pinós Indian Agency, intending to traverse the mountains. Besides Packer the group comprised Shannon Wilson Bell, James Humphrey, Frank "Butcher" Miller, George "California" Noon, and Israel Swan. The fact that no one in the other group opposed the departure of their "guide" has led many researchers to conclude that Packer's inexperience and overall attitude had become quite taxing to them, and that they figured they were better off without him. The men in Packer's party had a 75-mile journey ahead of them. The leader of the combined parties, Bob McGrue, guided Packer's party along the river route advised by Chief Ouray until his horses could not continue. McGrue unloaded the men's provisions and went back to Ouray's camp. The men continued along the river for a time, before Packer took his party along a path higher up in the San Juan Mountains, disregarding Ouray's ominous warning. This decision was made when the men barely had enough food to cover the supposed 14 days it would take to travel the safest route, possessed no snowshoes, had a bare minimum of matches and no flint, and also had no heavy clothing that would combat the extreme cold. They went into the mountains with two rifles, one pistol, a couple of knives, a hatchet, and minimal ammunition. What happened after this is not clear.