Breckenridge was being descended upon by miners from all over the country, and a fear of missing out on the riches made some of the men anxious to continue on. After a couple of weeks with Ouray and his people, the party convened and discussed leaving. However, it was the beginning of February at this point and the snow had been relentless since their arrival: meaning that half of the party was forced to stay put with their wagons and horses until spring. Eleven men in total were unencumbered to proceed on, and they decided to do so. They intended to travel first to the Los Pinós Indian Agency, which was the closest outpost to the camp, and proceed onward to Breckenridge from there. Chief Ouray saw that there was no changing the men's minds, and gave them food for their journey, as well as safe directions that bypassed the mountains. Packer, however, was in favor of getting to the agency by going through the mountains: stating it was a more direct route. Five of the eleven men were adamantly in favor of following Ouray's directions, which would largely have them following the Gunnison River, along its banks. Packer insisted that he knew the country well, and that his way was quicker, eventually securing five men to follow him. Oliver D. Loutsenhizer and the four other men left first, following the Gunnison River. This party's own journey was besieged by bad weather and freezing temperatures, and although they followed the river, provisions ran out well before they reached their destination. The men were close to starvation, when cowhands with the Government Cattle Camp near Gunnison, Colorado, came upon them by chance and gave them food and shelter. They remained at the camp until later that April.