In keeping with his newfound interest and determination, Bilbo prods the dispirited dwarves to move camp to a place where they can begin their search for the secret door in earnest. The group moves to the western slopes of the Lonely Mountain, finding a sheltered valley with grass for their patient, long-suffering ponies, and fewer signs of dragon activity. The camp, while safe, is dark and cheerless, shadowed all day by the cliffs and mountain wall above. From this base, the group searches through the days in parties of two, casting for the path to the door.

And at last they find it--it should be no surprise by now that it is discovered by Bilbo and the two youngest dwarves Fili and Kili, who choose October 14 to explore a narrow, tortuous path above the camp that leads to the hidden bay where the door, without any obvious markings yet still recognizable for what it is, lies some 150 feet above the base camp. The excited young dwarves and the hobbit beat and push on the door, and speak some spell fragments to it, but nothing happens. Only temporarily defeated, they descend to the camp, where their discovery heartens Thorin and the others, and they prepare to move again, their goal finally in sight. As we will see, their elation is a bit premature, primarily because, as we already know, dwarves never listen!