Part 31 - Camp on ridge south of Jirgang Chu; difficult route and plant observations

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SUMMARY:
The diarist reports scarce, undrinkable water and a poor route. On 3rd May they camped on a ridge south of Jirgang Chu, with rain overnight, clear morning, and mist returning at noon; coolies traveled from 6:00 am to 1:00 pm. They glimpsed Dungshigou and noted abundant rhododendrons and magnolias (Nos. 2980, 2982, 2983) with color variation by elevation.

CONTENT:
down, but I could not get a clear space through the forest to get a photograph. There is some drift snow still on it. The water here is quite undrinkable and very scarce. Tomorrow there is none at all, either on the way or at camp. In fact this is not too good a route altogether.

3rd May. Camp on ridge S. of Jirgang Chu 5 miles. Coolies 6:00 am to 1:00 pm. Rained pretty hard a good deal of the night, but was clear and bright in the morning, mist came up again at 12:00. Got a glimpse of Dungshigou through the trees at 6:30. The path was more non-existent than ever today, and a lot of cutting had to be done. But it follows the extreme ridge almost all the way. We came across first a white epiphytic Rhododendron (No 2980, Rh. Dalhousiae? Lindleyi?) then a lot of Magnolia Campbellii (No 2982). Then Rh. grande (falconeri) (No 2983) which covers an area on the hillside everywhere. It is in full bloom and really a grand sight. Low down it was definitely yellow with a biggish magenta blotch, but higher up was much paler with a small blotch. Here there were some pink