The Donner family and their hired teamsters left Springfield, Illinois, in April 1846, and at Independence, Missouri, their wagons joined hundreds of others traveling west on the Oregon-California Trail. Upon reaching the Little Sandy River, several families, including the Donners, left the main wagon trail in favor of a shortcut, and this small band of pioneers elected George Donner as captain. In August, the 23 wagons of the Donner Party headed west from Fort Bridger, the last outpost of "civilization" until they reached Sutter's Fort in California's Sacramento Valley, more than 1,000 miles away.