Hoback Canyon opened a route through the mountains first used by game and Indians, and later by mountain men and settlers, though its rugged trail was hazardous for horses and wagons. On September 26, 1811, the Astorian party led by Wilson Price Hunt entered the canyon here. Funded by New York millionaire John Jacob Astor, the large expedition sought to establish a fur trade enterprise across the unsettled Oregon Territory and to set up a base for Astor's Pacific Fur Company on the western coast. These were the first white men to pass this way. They were guided by three legendary trappers, John Hoback, Jacob Reznor, and Edward Robinson, and the stream and canyon afterward became known as the Hoback. On October 10, 1812, six Astorians led by Robert Stuart camped here on their return trip to St. Louis to report the establishment of Fort Astoria on the Oregon coast. On Sunday, August 23, 1835, Jim Bridger's brigade of trappers and Indians, accompanied by Reverend Samuel Parker, camped here after departing the Green River Rendezvous. The basin was then known as Jackson's Little Hole. As Reverend Parker delivered a sermon to the group, buffalo appeared, and the congregation left for the hunt without staying for the benediction. This was the first Protestant service held in the Rocky Mountains.