Showing 23 results

SUMMARY:
Mentions receiving mail at Tsona and newspapers for pressing flowers. On 2nd June they camped 3 miles up the Bimbi La route from Podzo Sumdo in the Tsari valley, describing a steep path through rhododendron, bamboo, and evergreen forest. On 3rd June they went up toward the Bimbi La, noting a tiny berberis (specimen 1763) and a pretty androsace covering the hillside, before heavy rain set in.

CONTENT:
85

held up much, though our man found it waiting for him
at Tsona. From now on we should not do so badly. I
got four mail letters from home dated 20th April which is very
good. We had 36 newspapers which are badly wanted for
pressing flowers in.

2nd June Camp 3 m up Bimbi La route from Podzo Sumdo. 9 miles.
B.P. 190.0 Temp. 54 Time 2.30pm Ht. 12441'. Up the main Tsari
valley to Podzo Sumdo at m 6, then turn up the side valley to
the NE. The path here is quite good & the ascent through
rhododendron, bamboo & evergreen forest pretty steep. Good
camping ground 3 miles up in an open space, with fir
rhododendron close by.

3rd June. Halt. Fine till 1.0pm, then heavy rain all day.
Went up to the Bimbi La, on a good path, never very
steep, the whole way. It leads through dense rhododendron
for 2000 ft or so, then on to bare open hillside. Here
I found a very small berberis 1763, growing only a
foot or so high. Also a very pretty androsace which
covered the hillside for 100 yards or more. We went
right up close to the pass, & then turned R. up a

SUMMARY:
Collector notes eating wild fruits and finding mec. seed; Kashmiris sent to collect encountered bears. Halt at Bimbi La with androsace collected, then a rainy march to Chikchar amid disputes with local transport from Migyitun and a troublesome Chikchar headman, before moving on to Camp Totsoen in mist. Dawong assisted due to someone’s sickness, and Puntso managed to bring the Migyitun people up.

CONTENT:
sickness, so it was left to Dawong to help me. I hope he recovers
quickly. The other evening I went up opposite camp to look at
the cliffs, and found some mec. seed, and a lot of raspberries and currants,
and we have been eating them ever since. I sent up all Kashmiris
to collect next day, and they came across two bears, which rather
spoilt the collection.

Bimbi La
14th Sept. Halt. Beautifully fine in the morning, after a good
deal of rain at night. Got a last lot of androsace. ? A. geraniifolia

To
15th Sept. Chikchar 10 m. A foul day. Heavy rain nearly all day after 9 am.
Puntso got the Migyitun people up with some difficulty, and after a long
wait and much argument we got off at 8.0 am. The Chikchar
people are still here, but go off in a couple of days, so we cannot
wait here at all. They are the worst lot we have come across, or
rather their headman is. He thinks he is of some importance, but
of course he is of none and has never travelled anywhere, so gives
more trouble than all the others. A few G. detonsa are ripe
here at camp. I have now been here four times, and have been
very lucky, as this is the only wet visit I have had.

To
16th September. Camp Totsoen. 5 miles. It just kept fine up till about
11.0, then misted all day. We did not move till 9.0 am, as the

SUMMARY:
Notes problems with transport, dispatching Pintso and Tsongpen from Podzo Sumdo to Chinchas to begin a second Kongbo seed-collecting round, and leaving Migyitun for home. Short excursions around Bimbi La record collecting seeds of androsace, gentians, primulas, and widespread Cyananthus, including a halt at Bimbi La camp and work with Ludlow.

CONTENT:
Bimbi La

inducing them to turn up in time, or even at all. They have brought us up as far as our old camp, but will not go on any further. I hope they agree to stay the night & take us up in the morning. Pintso & Tsongpen left us at Podzo Sumdo & went on to Chinchas, where Pintso will send Tsongpen off on his second round of the Kongbo, to collect seed. I gave him 260 shao to see him through. I hope Pintso may also trace the mail, & send it up at once. We are now on our way home, having left Migyitun for the last time - without many regrets.

6th Sept. Fine, sunny most of the day. Went up toward Bimbi La, to the top of the rhododendron zone, to collect seeds of a lovely little androsace which was in flower here before, & got a good packet. It is not all ripe yet though. Found also a fine gentian - or Lomatogonium growing among masses of Cyananthus which covers the hillside. Only out for the morning.

Bimbi La camp

7th Sept. Halt. Fine. Went to Bimbi La with Ludlow. Saw Gentiana shetantha, & a fine blue one on the la which looks like G. ornata. Collected some seed of 1778, the nivalis primula found by Danang. The other, P. rotundifolia (orbicularis?) sp. was not ripe. The Cyananthus everywhere on the hillside looks a little different, so I collected

SUMMARY:
Travel from above Natrampa to Karubra and then near Kashongla with generally cloudy, wet weather and some snow higher up. Seeds of several plants were collected, and the party met a Sikkim lama from near Trashi Trongmo who spoke some Nepali. Distances and times between camps are noted.

CONTENT:
7th October. Camp above Natrampa. 6 miles. 11500'. Cloudy all day, with a little fine drizzle. The clouds come rushing up the valley from Lung, and gradually fade away, but it is still generally wet. Found some seed of Gent. Waltoni ripe, the little yellow sedum, and the yellow Dracocephalum: also the Thalictrum collected at Zumsati. Coolies very happy but exceptionally slow. Left camp at 6.30, reached here at 12.0 noon.

8th October. Karubra. Another very short day, in at 11.00. We could see that beyond the Duchung La it was absolutely clear all morning. Here the sun shone most of the day, but it also rained nearly all afternoon. Monsoon clouds come up to the main range, and just fade away. Got seeds of the blue Dracocephalum and P. pulchelloides, an aquilegia and the big scrophularia, and a few of the small androsace. The big one is not yet ripe. Here we met a Sikkim lama, who had forgotten all his Lepcha but could talk a little Nepali. He comes from near Trashi Trongmo, where he has been for 14 years: a nice man.

9th October. Camp 2 m W of Kashongla. 14000'. A most disappointing day. It rained all night, and snow was down to 500' above Karubra.

SUMMARY:
The writer records numerous alpine plants and seed collections, endures a foul, windy camp, and notes Ahmad Sheikh down with fever while lamenting that Lumsden left the quinine behind. They describe irrigation channels reminiscent of Hunza and then march 7 miles to Trün along river galleries, passing a side gorge bridge and the old village of Tenzika, with environmental measurements noted.

CONTENT:
51

contained a great deal, would be thoroughly worth visiting later. I saw Paraquilegia, Meconopsis (a small one), 4 Primulas, the seeds of one sikkimensis one I collected a few of (1327). An Androsace (1328) a few seeds. Gentians, saxifrages, rhododendrons and many other good looking things. A foul camp with an awful wind and dust. Ahmad Sheikh down with fever, I suppose malaria again. Lumsden left the quinine behind, dash him, but between us we can muster about 20 pills. Birds interesting. The valley is obviously wetter, but is a dry one till the rains come. South face still pretty bare even high up. Up this side valley I noticed two water channels had been taken off the main stream. The engineering reminded me forcibly of Hunza. They must have been a mile or two long and were for the most part along cliff faces.

25th April. To Trün 7 miles. Barometer 194°. Temp 60° Time 4.0 pm. Approximate height 10426'.
Road easy, but along galleries keeping 100 ft or so above the river. At mile 1½ cross a side gorge by a bridge and at mile 3 an old village called Tenzika. Then level past several gorge side nalas to a

SUMMARY:
In wet conditions the party split up: the diarist had a poor day on a dry hill while Pasang returned with a strong collection including a new Androsace, a suspected new Cochlearia, and P. macrophylla var. macrocarpa, alongside notes on Diapensia himalaica and several Primula including white P. caveana. The following day they worked up the valley east of camp in soaking weather; Gunden went far and gathered white P. caveana, but little else was found, prompting thoughts of leaving the area within a few days.

CONTENT:
22nd June Haer. A wet miserable day. We split forces, I sent Pasang and Gunden up Dimpuang valley with instructions to leave it when well in, and to try high up on the south side. They are not in yet, but I had a very poor day in the place I chose. I went up the hill dividing the valley to the north of us. It was dry and almost bare of anything. At 15,500 we found masses of Diapensia himalaica, and beside it P. tenuiloba and P. concinna. There is also some P. caveana, which always tricks me. But that was really all—a disappointing chukker we had. I found two plants of white P. caveana; would like to be able to get plenty of seed of that, or roots, if seed not available. Pasang came back at 3:30 and had a good collection: a new Androsace, the Cochlearia(?) which I wanted and which is, I believe, new, first for us in '37; some more P. macrophylla var. macrocarpa in first-class condition, a cushion Androsace, and various odds and ends. So the day was not so bad after all. I have seen a good-looking place for tomorrow, up the valley to the east from the junction. But one can never tell.

23rd June - Hall. Up the valley to the east above camp. A soaking wet, windy, cold, beastly day. This was the place I thought looked so good, but it had nothing in it. Gunden went miles, but for nothing but a good collection of white P. caveana, and we got nothing worthwhile either, while I felt the climb up after leaving the pony a good deal. It was very steep indeed, and in waterproof and waterproof trousers was hard going. I really don't think now that we will be able to stay on here till the end of the month. Another three days will finish all that we can do, and there will be no other side valleys to try. This has been our wettest day yet, I think.

SUMMARY:
The writer records taking a group photo as the party prepares to split, listing members and discussing conflicting reports about the Tobrang–Pang La route, with Golay warning it is impassable for mules and plans to send Petuk back with them. On the 10th they collected 19 birds and prepared potted flowers for travel, and on the 11th August they marched 11 miles to LAO (11,200'), aided by Tibetans when coolies were short, with misty weather and an owl collected.

CONTENT:
As our party will be splitting up soon, I took a group photo yesterday of everyone: there were F.L., self, Ahmad Sheikh, Rauzana, Ba Kingsa Puntso, Danong, Kusho, Tenduk, Kurtep, Menchung, Petuk (syce), Golay (dak), Dotila (HH's sepoy) and two mules of Torgues'. Reports of the road from Tobrang via the so-far unknown Pang La varied a great deal, but were generally that it was not too bad. But Golay, who brought our mail the other day, came from Singhi Dzong that way, and reports it to be awful, and quite impossible for mules. So we will have to send Petuk back with them when we can use them no further.

10th: Today it has rained off and on most of the day, but we have been out for some hours and collected 19 birds, many of which are valuable. Our collection of birds is probably even now worth £200, the amount promised by the Museum, which we have not yet accepted. I am taking three flowers from here in pots - a primula, an androsace and a gentian, but I fear they will hardly survive the bumping rough treatment of the road.

11th August. To LAO. 11 miles. 11200'. Fine till after arrival in camp at midday. Only 20 coolies turned up to time, but others arrived later, and we were saved by some Tibetans who came to the rescue. Mist low all day, and no views. No flowers, but shot an interesting little owl and a few other birds. Although

SUMMARY:
The diary records movements from the east side of Kongbo-nga La via Mye to Shu, with delayed coolies and negotiations for transport. It notes forest and plant observations near the pass, attempts to contact Gyantse and Ford by wireless, strong winds, and halts on 1–2 Dec due to uncertain transport.

CONTENT:
Nang.

28 Nov. Camp on E side of Kongbo-nga La. Coolies had not come in by 9.0, so we set off at 10.0 with about 30-40 loads only, leaving Samdup behind. A good day but spoilt by transport trouble. Reached the pass by 2.30 & in at camp - not at Nye - at 5.0pm. Coolies came in soon after except about 15 who only turned up next day. It was good to be in forest again, pine, larch & birch on the west side, & juniper, larch & birch on the E, with pine on N faces. Rhod. vellereum common, with two small Rhodos. On the E side saw some P. jaffreyana & a lot of Androsace of 3 species.

29 Nov. Mye. A short march in today where we should have reached yesterday. Samdup also turned up by 11.0 & our kit has again caught us up. I saw two partridge on the way up the Pass. Ludlow then saw one 'Kuling' & another, while Ludlow missed a Crossoptilon on this side. This is the first village with pent wooden roofs. All to the W of this are flat roofed. The hilltops often have early morning mist on them now - a sign of a damper climate. I was surprised to see no Mec. simplicifolia on the pass - only M. horridula.

30 Nov. Shu. An easy march. We were in by 1.0 (start 8.0) & coolies were in shortly after. A few were late. I tried to contact Gyantse at 3.30 pm (BT) by W/T, but got no answer. Later tried Ford (TASA) but again got no answer. Local Dzongpon's man tried to refuse to give us anything but day to day transport. We demanded 'Dzongyel', & we think we have succeeded, at the price of 2 days halt & a than of cloth & ten cigarettes! Supplies difficult, & we have hardly managed to get anything. Very strong wind in evening.

1st Dec. Halt. Fine, but clouded by midday. Wind by 2.30.

2nd Dec. Halt. Fine & clear & windy. We doubt if our transport will come as promised, by this evening. This is a bad place to get away from - in 1938 we were held up five days at Kyimdong Dzong.

SUMMARY:
Diary entries record fine weather, observations of flowering Gentiana and seed collecting of Primula species around Kyimpu Halt and Le La. On 4 October the author moves to a camp north of Drichung La, parts from Ludlow and Lumsden, and continues with Ahmad Sheikh, Tsongpen, and Pimbo toward Trim while continuing seed collections.

CONTENT:
Scrophularia & Codonopsis vinciflora. Androsace not yet ripe, & G. waltonii is in full flower.

2nd October. Kyimpu Halt. A fine day with sun all day. The Drichung La has a lot of snow, but it should soon go with this sun. Went up to the Le La, & saw G. amoena in full flower. Got a fine haul of seeds of P. nivalis (macrophylla?) & a similar higher altitude one. Most are barely ripe yet, as P. cawdoriana, P. rotundifolia. A little Mec. bella found.

3rd October. Kyimpu Halt. A perfect day, even the hills being clear of cloud almost all day. Stayed in camp & dried & packed seeds.

4th October. Camp N of Drichung La. 15000'(?) 7 miles. Fine, but cloudy except from 8.0 am till 1.30 pm. Quite a good day for seeds again, but P. cawdoriana is not yet ripe. Left Ludlow & Lumsden behind, will next see them in India, at Dirang Dzong about the end of November. Ahmad Sheikh & Tsongpen accompany me, & Pimbo as far as Trim to make the bandobast. Seeds of P. nivalis sp very common & ripe 2719. They are the same as the Le La seeds 1561(2). Also a Primula like P. atrodentata, but I think perhaps different 2722. Snow lies about 500 ft above camp, & thence to the top. I handed over my gun

SUMMARY:
Notes record minimum temperatures and weather at Latso and Lunang on 19–21 December, seed collections with numbers near Tse and Tumbatse, and Kodachrome photographs started at Dan with scenes at Dan Phu Chu and Tongkyuk Dzong. Photo subjects include Hippophae and snow peaks, dated 21–23 December 1946.

CONTENT:
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Min. temp. Latso. 19-20 Dec. 4° F. Snowed during night cleared up by 4.0 am.
Lunang. 20-21 " -4° F. Clear all night.

Seed collected: 12013 Androsace small. again taken near Tse. 19/12
P. capitata ? near Tumbatse.
12015 Notholirion hyacinthinum Tumbatse
12016 Cypripedium sp. " N.
12017 Berberis purple fruit. " S
12018 " red " " N
12019 Rhod. " S.

Kodachrome 10. Started at Dan on 21. 12. 46.
Scenes at Dan with snow peak at head at Dan Phu Chu.
Hippophae rhamnoides, with snow pk. behind.
Close up of Hippophae fruit. 21/12.
Tongkyuk Dzong to snow peak. 22/12
Rest ho. at Tongkyuk Dzong. 23/12