Whilst moving the sledging stores to Safety Camp, as we called the depot, two miles in, we came across two tents left by Shackleton two or three years before.  They contained a few stores and a Primus stove, which proved to be most useful later on.  On January 30 and 31 we completed the depot at Safety Camp and then reorganised the depot party, owing to Atkinson’s developing a very sore heel, which made it impossible for him to accompany us.  It did not matter very much, because we had heaps of people to work the depot-laying journey, only it meant a disappointment for Atkinson, which he took to heart very much.  The question of sledging experience made us wish to have Atkinson on this trip, but he gained it a few weeks later.  Accordingly, I took over Crean’s pony, Blossom, whilst he took charge of our sick man and returned with him to Hut Point.  Scott himself took Atkinson’s pony, and on the 2nd February the caravan proceeded in an E.S.E. direction to make for a point in approximately 78 degrees S. 169 degrees E. Most of the ponies had 600 lb. leads on their sledges, Meare’s dog team 750, and Wilson’s 600.  We found the surface very bad, most of the ponies sinking deep in the snow.  After doing roughly five miles we halted and had a meal.  Oates was called into our tent and consulted with a view to bettering the conditions for the ponies.  As a result it was decided to march by night and rest during the day when the sun would be higher and the air warmer.  There was quite a drop in the temperature between noon and midnight, and it was natural to suppose that we should get better and harder surfaces with the sun at its lower altitude.  We still, of course, had the sun above the horizon for the full twenty-four hours, and should have for three weeks yet; the choice was altogether a wise one and we therefore turned in during the afternoon and remained in our sleeping-bags until 10 p.m. when we arose and cooked our breakfast.

Camp was broken at midnight and the march resumed.  For three hours we plodded along, a little leg weary perhaps, on account of the unusual time for marching and working physically.  We had lunch about 3 a.m. and rested the ponies for a couple of hours.  The surface was still very bad, the ponies labouring heavily, and my own animal, Blossom, suffered through his hoofs being very small, so that he sank into the snow far more than did the other horses.  It was on his account that we only covered nine miles.  I did some surveying work after our 7.30 a.m. supper and turned in at 10 o’clock until 7 p.m.  Captain Scott took over cook in our tent and made the breakfast.

For the next few days we continued marching over the Great Ice Barrier, the distances covered depending on the condition of Blossom and another pony, Bluecher.  Both of these animals caused anxiety from the start, and, owing to their weakness the depot-laying distances scarcely exceeded ten miles daily.  There is nothing to be gained from a long description of this autumn journey, it was merely a record of patiently trudging and of carefully watching over the ponies.  Generally speaking, the weather was not in our favour, the sky being frequently overcast, and we experienced an unpleasant amount of low drift.