When they left St. Louis, the captains had hoped to reach the headwaters of the Missouri before stopping for winter. That was clearly out of the question now. By October 26, 1804, according to Clark's estimates, they had traveled 1,600 miles up the big river. They were no where near its source - or the much sought after Northwest Passage. Instead, after six months of hard travel, they were arriving at the last point on their map of the Missouri River that was known to them. From here on out it would all be new territory, where no white man had been.
