Part 181 - 8–10 August: Travel along Tang Chu from Trashidinka to Samtegang via Ritang; plant collecting and rain

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SUMMARY:
Diary records marches from Trashidinka to Ritang and on to Samtegang, with heavy rain, heat, and severe leech problems. The author collects primula roots and some iris seed, notes lilies seen but unreachable, and mentions a mule sent by Tobgye to meet at Wangdipotrang.

CONTENT:
on the way to Samtegang.

8th August. To Trashidinka. Tang Chu valley. 11 miles. Heavy rain all night, fine and very hot today. Collected roots of the small new petiolaris primula 3192, and also some seed, which however is not yet ripe. It is beastly hot down here, and I have not very great hope of getting these roots home, with more than a week of this heat still to go before reaching Ha.

9th August. To Ritang. 6 m. There is a path which leads down the Tang Chu, which is a much quicker way between Ritang and Trashidinka than the way we went up. Follow the left bank down to m 1 1/2 then cross to the R bank to m 4. Recross and ascend fairly easily to Ritang monastery at 5 1/2 and village at 6. Path is good. Leeches were very bad and I had nearly 40 bites on my feet. We saw one Lilium wallichianum, but not in flower, and collected some iris seed.

10th August. Samtegang. 13 miles. Rained very hard all yesterday evening, all night and all today without a stop. More lilies seen across the Tang Chu, but we could not reach them. Tobgye has sent a mule to meet me at Wangdipotrang, and it came on up here. Rain keeps it reasonably cool for the primula roots, and I don't mind some more days of