Part 103 - Route along the Tangchu past Chubana with alpine plant notes

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SUMMARY:
Wet morning clearing to a fine evening; the route follows the Tangchu, passes a mani and the village of Chubana, then climbs steeply through forest to huts below a ridge. Botanical notes include Meconopsis villosa common from 11,500 to 13,000 ft, Androsace rhizomatosa var. major common, and Primula lesteri (No. 3192) observed near mile 9.

CONTENT:
Rained all night, was misty & very wet when we left in the morning. Cleared up till 11:30, rained very hard till 4:00 pm. Beautiful evening.

Path drops steadily to the Tangchu at m 1 & follows this up on the L bank. At m 2 a mani is reached where a big valley comes in from the East. Above this is the village of Chubana & much cultivation, about 70 houses. The path is then very steep up the ridge for 3 miles. At m 5 it levels off & the side valley is crossed to the L bank at m 6. Then again a steep ascent through forest to where the forest of rhodo. & abies opens out & there are some wooden huts. This little clear patch is surrounded on three sides by cliffs & the river falls down from the N West. The ridge is about 1 mile further on & approximately 1000' higher. // A good day.

At first we found nothing at all, & it was not till about m 9 that we got into things. Meconopsis villosa is very common from 11,500 up to here 13,000'. Barely yet out. Then we got a very pretty Androsace (3195: Androsace rhizomatosa var. major), which is very common. A little further up I saw a Primula No. 3192 (P. lesteri 3192 - see Aug 8). This might