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SUMMARY:
The party halts in the Mara Chu valley amid heavy rain, severe damdim flies, and increasing leeches, taking hypsometer readings and collecting rhododendrons including R. rhabdotum and a Maddenii-series specimen (No. 3147). Pintso and the diarist visit the confluence with the Mara Chu; mail is to be sent via Chirang to Sarbhang, and plans are made to return to Phobjikha after one more day.

CONTENT:
extending down the valley for a considerable way. Tenduk has just turned up.

8000ft 29th May. Halt Mara Chu valley. Rained very heavily all last evening almost all the night. No sun today, but fine till 12.0 after which heavy rain onset. Pintso & I went down to the meeting of the path with the Mara Chu, probably rather more than 2 miles from here. Hypsometer readings here were: BP. 203.8°, Temp. 73°. Time 9.0 am. This would be a little lower, if anything than Adao on the L. bank, but there are some houses on the R. bank too. We saw plenty of R. rhabdotum, & I took one specimen of another rhod. under No 3147, which is a Maddenii series, but which I can't make out. It is scarce here, has a beautiful scent, & grows rather like R. rhabdotum. Otherwise the things we got were of no great interest. Trongpen & Tenduk were equally unlucky. As the damdim flies are so awful here, we are only going to stay one more day, & then return to Phobjikha. Leeches fairly numerous, & probably increasing every day now. Pintso will take a small mail to Adao tomorrow, & have it sent off next day via Chirang to Sarbhang.

30th May. Halt. Rained till about midnight heavily. Fine in the morning & most of the day. Damdim flies awful. They seem to get

SUMMARY:
The party leaves Naszi, traverses along the Tirgang Chu, crosses side valleys, and turns up the Mangde (Trongsa) Chu above the river, noting oak and Pinus longifolia forests and cultivation near Nimshong. It rains intermittently, and during a halt Tendu, Trongpen, and the diarist press a fern when a serow suddenly charges past them.

CONTENT:
Leaving Naszi, keeping 1/2 mile or so from the left bank of the Tirgang Chu, and well above it. To 1 1/2 m. path climbs, from 1 1/2 to 3 it is almost level, then a deep side valley is crossed, and another at m 4. Thence path leads slightly down and is easy. At m 7 more open forest is met. This gradually becomes almost all oak and Pinus longifolia. At m 8 1/2 the path turns up the right bank of the Mangde (Trongsa) Chu and keeping 1000 ft or more above the river goes up stream. Just before camp is reached, the path drops steeply. Considerable cultivation can be seen on the right bank of the Tirgang Chu 1 m above its junction with the Mangde Chu. The village is called Nimshong. Both banks of the Mangde Chu have considerable forests of Pinus longifolia. Rained as we left and we had two or three more showers during the day. During one halt however we had rather fun. Tendu, Trongpen and I were pressing a fern, on the path. There was thick jungle above and below and just 5 or 10 yards clearance for the path, running along a steep hillside. We heard something dashing down from above straight to us. Then suddenly a serow charged out straight at us 8 yards away, sheered off and brushed past us then slap down the hillside. Ten