LEDINGHAMS TRIP ATTEMPT#2: 5/10/2020

Our second attempt to reach Ledinghams went far more smoothly. We were waiting on station for about a week for the weather to clear … not that the weather was overly hectic but a bit of blowing snow and overcast weather meant surface definition was very poor and not ideal for travelling. The first leg from Mawson to Colbec hut went without incident and the blue Hagg performed well with its new transmission. It did feel good to be on the move again and was a bit strange to be back at Colbec as it began to feel like our home away from home. We were ready early the next day eager to finally be able to head further west into an area we hadn’t been before. There was a small moment of “Oh! here we go” as we connected up the poly sled loaded with fuel we had left at Colbec when we returned to fix the blue Hagg. When we went to take off the sled wouldn’t budge as it had frozen into the ice. Thankfully after rocking in reverse and then into drive a couple times it broke free of the ice and began to slide properly. Ledinghams is about 70km from Colbec and it took us about 5hrs to get there as we were in no rush and took opportunities as they came past to stretch our legs and take photos of ice bergs as we drove by them. Funnily though the sun was so strong and wind low enough as we were driving along the Hagg actually became too hot and we ended up with the heater off, beanies off, sleeves up and windows open as we drove along over the snow and ice. The irony certainly not lost on us as we sat back and enjoyed such a great day. Once at Ledinghams we each set about unpacking what we initially needed and clearing blizz from around the hut and getting the heater on to begin warming it up. We each also had maintenance tasks based around our trades to get into so we filled out a bit of the afternoon getting into those. There was a fuel depot there which I had to bring back the old fuel and replace with the new drums we had brought, though we were leaving far less than we were picking up as the fuel left there was a remnant of the days teams were dropped out there in choppers. We picked up 8 x 44 gallon drums of fuel and left only 3 this time putting them in plastic ‘over packs’ to protect them better from the elements. The bit about this that kinda sucked is that the old depot was about 200m from the hut obviously so the choppers didn’t have to get too close to the hut to refuel. Also the depot sat in an area covered in rock and we couldn’t drag the sled over to the depot so we had to roll the drums by hand over the rock to the poly sled. Mark the FTO helped me get the drums over and loaded up on the sled and by the end both of us were actually sweating. Since the extended part of the trip where we would have been camping had been cancelled 3 of us were still pretty keen to sleep in tents so we set up two tents on the other side of the hut and slept out there for the three nights. We have two mats we sleep on top of, one just a thin kind of yoga mat and a ‘Therma-rest’ mat which is just an air inflated mat about an inch and a half thick. We then Cocoon ourselves inside an inner plus an outer sleeping bag which doesn’t leave much room to move around but was actually pretty toasty once inside. The next day we headed off looking for Fold Island Rookery, weaving our way through small islands a part of Stephensson Bay and proving a safe route as we went. We eventually found them tucked away in a sheltered spot on the sea ice in the shadow of Fold Island which even itself was covered in ice like some ancient glacier had once flowed over the top of it. The Rookery was extremely small compared to what I have seen at Taylor and Auster rookeries with maybe only 100 adults. We had to keep a fair distance so to not disturb them at all so we set up on top a tiny island overlooking them and got some photos and were able to better see them through binoculars. I had not seen penguin chicks yet so it was pretty amazing to finally be able to see them even at a distance. They look like grey potatoes covered in feathers and were old enough they no longer fit on top of their parent’s feet, so could see a couple groups of maybe 8-10 chicks beginning to creche (all huddle together) which was pretty cute. On the way back from Fold we passed Lore Island and found an old cache that had been left out there since 2001 – it had two Nelly bins of dehydrated meals, 20L of Unleaded fuel and a polar tent which had been absolutely shredded. That night back at the hut we treated ourselves to a cheese platter and since I brought my small portable projector with me we used the back side of a map as a screen and watched a movie – all very civilised. We had another cache to find at Kemp lakes the following day which we were unsuccessful in locating but had a great day driving and walking around up and down small islands and over frozen lakes looking for it. After our third night we packed up to leave but not after writing our names on the wall on the hut which seems to have become a specific custom to Ledinghams with groups and trips dating back to 1997 – maybe 50 people have been there since the hut was installed which is pretty cool. Again, the poly sled needed a little convincing to get up and moving after a few days sitting still and with all the extra weight we actually needed to use both Haggs connected with a tow strap to break the ice and get the sled sliding. After one more night at Colbec and then the final journey back to Mawson I was pretty happy to have a shower and sleep in a proper bed.