Part 97 - Latsa to Rapidang: weather, plant observations, and transport arrangements

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SUMMARY:
Entries describe travel from Latsa to Rapidang with shifting weather, few plants in flower at higher elevations, and notable abundance of Podophyllum emodi. Heat caused hardship for Jill, and mule transport from Yusum was ending; Muhammed was sent ahead to Lenda to arrange onward transport after efforts to continue to Lhapso failed.

CONTENT:
several showers & a very cold wind indeed. We were late in camp, & it was a poor very sandy place to pitch tents in a strong wind. But it calmed down at night.

30 April. Latsa on E side of Koncho nga la. Bright & fine, but clouding by 3.0pm. A strong cold N. wind blew nearly all day. There is little in flower up here except very fine P. atrodentata, Rhod. vellereum, & Prunus sp 12426 (Prunus caudata) which is rather fine. Rhod. primuliflorum var. cephalanthoides 12428.

1st May. Many Dyong. Lovely clear day, very hot on this side of the pass. There was nothing of interest, except Prim. pumilio. P. jaffreyana was in bud. All Rhod. vellereum had been hard hit by hail. The people here are very helpful indeed.

2nd May. Tronda. A very hot day finishing up in the evening with violent storms on the hills on both sides of the river. Poor Jill found the sand so hot that she almost gave up. She could not walk any longer & I carried her the last 6-8 miles. Her feet are alright, but the heat was intense. Nothing of interest anywhere. We have but two more days of our luxurious travel with our mules from Yusum. From Lenda on, it must be the same old bullock & odd animal as on our way down.

3rd May. Rapidang. Last night's storm cleared up & it was fine today till 2.0pm. Then other storms came on all round us. Podophyllum emodi (Podophyllum emodi 12429) here is more numerous than I have ever seen it before, & is really very pretty growing as it does in tight clumps showing 6-8 flowers close together. Our mule transport finishes tomorrow. I tried to get them to go on to Lhapso but they won't, so Muhammed went on today to arrange transport from Lenda onward. It has been very pleasant coming in without having to give a thought to transport. This was our worst part on the way down - with bullock transport day after day. Great damage was done then to boxes - now we have had none.