Part 111 - Kucha La and Kulu Lungma field notes, 25–27 July

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SUMMARY:
Notes from Kucha La and nearby valleys describe poor flowering despite promising terrain, with common Primula (including Dryadifolia/tsangensis and nivalid forms) and several Meconopsis. Weather shifts from clear to mist, rain, and thunder lead to a move back to Kulu Lungma; wildlife seen or reported include lerwa with young, Heteroxenicus stellatus, bear tracks and cubs, deer, and possible wild cattle. A hypsometer reading near the Go nyi re ridge suggests an elevation around 15,800 ft.

CONTENT:
Kucha La

over a good bit of the hill to the E of the Pass saw nothing new. The nivalid primula is fairly common but over. The Dryadifolia one is also here & P. jonardunii (Dryadifolia). Little else. We move by N of the range tomorrow. I see clouds again rushing up from the S west over the hills, that the good spell must be about over now. It has been lovely weather.

Kucha La
25th July. Halt. Fairly clear for an hour or two in the morning, then mist over everything. We were back by 3.0pm, it cleared up after rain & thunder by 4.0pm. Although the country looks perfectly wonderful for flowers, it is very poor indeed, there is no point in stopping longer, so we go back to Kulu Lungma tomorrow & try there. Prim. Dryadifolia (P. tsangensis) of the Tsanangha 5865 (= 5931) & also the nivalid primula 5872 (P. calliantha), no longer in flower, are both common; P. chamaethauma also (no flower) but no P. valentiniana or others expected here. P. jonardunii (Dryadifolia) is also common. Mec. betonicifolia at camp abounds, & a rather poor coloured M. simplicifolia, M. horridula & M. sinuata (speciosa) (5940). I saw many lerwa today, with young just able to fly. Also Heteroxenicus stellatus near the Tsanangha, also with young, about the top limit of abies zone.

Kulu Phu Chu
26th July. Kulu Lungma. 6 1/2 miles. Rain at night, mostly fine today, with bright intervals. Went up the Kucha La first thing to take the height. We looked about there a little, but there is nothing but a little P. valentiniana & some P. nivalis sect. in seed. So we came on here, will work this area for a couple of days as perhaps there is good. We saw fresh tracks of bear this morning, the coolies saw two young bear the day we arrived. Much deer also pretty common. The coolies also said they saw some kind of wild cattle near the Kucha La - not yaks of course. I don't know what they would be.

27th July. Halt. Fine all day, but clouded, with bright intervals. We went off at 5.45 & came back at 4.0pm, up the ridge to the North of the valley. It is a continuation of the Go nyi re ridge, so we thought it might be good. And it is not bad. I took a hypsometer reading about 400 ft from the extreme top of the ridge, BP 186.2 T. 57. at 2.0pm., giving an approx ht of 14800, which puts the ridge at 15800', so we climbed about 4500' today. We are too late for the primulas of the semi dry (dry winter wet summer) zone. The little dwarf nivalid (P. amabilis?), 5889, primula is common, we found one solitary flower, from which I would certainly say it is nivalid. We also found a little more of