During the winter I had given earnest consideration to the question of the date on which the party that was to march towards the Pole should leave the hut. Our hoped-for goal lay over 880 statute miles to the south, and the brief summer was all too short a time in which to march so far into the unknown and return. The ship would have to leave for the north about the end of February, for the ice would then be closing in; and, moreover, we could not hope to carry on our sledges much more than a three months' supply of provisions on anything like full rations. Finally, I resolved that the Southern Party should leave mid-winter quarters on October 28, for by starting earlier the ponies would probably suffer from the severe cold at nights; and if the ponies were quickly incapacitated, we should have gained no advantage from our early start. [Illustration: Preparing a Sledge during the Winter] But the date having been fixed, it became necessary to arrange for the laying of the depot during the early spring, and I thought that the first step towards this should be a preliminary journey on the Barrier surface, so that we might gain an idea of the prevailing conditions, and find out if the motor-car would be of service for at any rate the early portion of the journey. CHAPTER XIX PRELIMINARY JOURNEYS The sun had not yet returned and the temperature was exceedingly low, but the _Discovery_ expedition had proved that it is quite possible to travel under these conditions. Accordingly I started on this preliminary journey on August 12, taking with me Professor David, who was to lead the Northern Party towards the South Magnetic Pole, and Bertram Armytage who was to take charge of the party that was to journey into the mountains of the west later in the year. We were equipped for a fortnight with provisions and camp gear, packed on one sledge, and had three gallons of petroleum in case we decided to stay out longer. A gallon will last three men for about ten days, and we could get more food at Hut Point if we required it. We took three one-man sleeping bags, for although the larger bags are certainly warmer one's rest in them is very likely to be disturbed by the movements of a companion. At first the weather was bad and consequently progress was slow, but although the temperature was about forty degrees below zero we slept soundly at night, and arose praising the one-man sleeping bags. We reached the old _Discovery_ winter quarters at Hut Point on the morning of August 14, and I took the Professor and Armytage over all the familiar ground.