19/12/08
Three days of field training to satisfy a paper work issue so I could go and do my work. I didn’t make a fuss as it sounded fun and gave me an opportunity for a pleasant walk in the hills, to wet my appetite for the more satisfying field trips yet to come.
Helicopter dropped a party of eight of us at Trajer Ridge hut not far from the rise of ice to the plateau. We started off with a cuppa tea and then went for a circuit walk up and down some hills, practising walking on ice and snow and cutting steps. We then began the walk west to Davis. Different party members each had a go at navigating as people brushed up on reading maps, using a compass and GPS and leading the group. We passed by the occasional penguin as the walk took us around hills, over lakes of ice, and across plenty of snow and rock. We slept out one night in the bivvy and spent the other night at Watts hut. Overall it was just a nice walk in the hills and a good way to get to know a few more expeditioners. All the oddities of being out in the field returned quite quickly. The Vestfolds are a nice place, and we will return to them for some work later in the season. For the time being we have higher priority places to visit.
