Exchange rate: £1 = 108.5 Nepalese Rupees (Rs)

Thursday 4th October ~ Kathmandu, Dhunche
Heavy rain in night. There was an early morning call at 5am, and we were ready to go at 5.45. Gear and people were crammed into two taxis to take us to the bus depot. The route north out of the Kathmandu valley is up through cultivated hillsides shrouded in mist. The paved road was washed out in places but still passable. Our remaining metal trunk burst when DK gracefully stepped on it to climb down the aisle. Reached Kakani checkpoint at 07.20. Much Alnus nepalensis woodland, Luculia gratissima and Oxyspora paniculata in flower on roadsides. We reached the ridge summit and the road levelled off giving views over a deep valley (Tadhi Khola which joins Trisuli River). Glimpses of Gosainkund mountains. We dropped down to Jurethum (‘35 km’ from somewhere) for a tea break at 8am. Then we continued downhill, passing through one very nice bit of Castanopsis forest. Crossed Tadhi Khola at 9.25 then up Trisuli valley to checkpoints. Much more tropical vegetation in the deep hot valley with Bombax trees, Dalbergia sissoo, Tectona grandis etc. Two troupes of Rhesus monkeys by the river. The paved road ended at 9.45, to be replaced by a bumpy climb on switch backs, arriving at Kalikastan,1560m, for lunch at 11.30. Half an hour for some daal bhat tarkari, and we were off again. The gear was stacked in the gangway so all the porters had to clamber over it to get to their seats. The metal trunk is now in an even more ruinous state! We reached a relatively minor landslide (1980m) at 1pm, but were able to drive the bus over it. We knew we would soon be at the major landslide at Grang, but Nima had told us that he had arranged for a bus to pick us up on the other side. While we disembarked a group of locals slaughtered a pig by the roadside: much to the amazement of SC. The smell of burning hair as they cleaned the skin added to the spectacle. The landslide site was busy with earth movers and lorries. Progress with repairs looked good and we hoped that it will be passable when we return. It began to spit with rain as we crossed the landslide, but at least we had a chance to examine the plants and do some collecting. MW took a tumble collecting a twining Codonopsis, but thankfully his rucksack cushioned his fall. We reached the other side of the landslide, but there was no sign of a bus. It soon became clear that we would have to walk the 10km to Dhunche. Normally this would not be a problem, but we had packed our kit expecting a bus ride and we were not fully prepared. DK was the worst off as he had only a fleece jacket and no rain coat. It started to rain harder and soon we were walking through a torrential downpour. We lamented the four umbrellas that were neatly packed in the trunk! Enthusiasm for botanising was gradually washed out of all of us, and the last hour of the 3-hour walk became an unpleasant slog (even though we passed through some interesting forest). Leeches made a reappearance, with all of us picking up bites (in the case of DK a feast). We had to wait, dripping and cold, at the police checkpoint 15 minutes walk out of Dhunche. This was a low point of the trip and we were not happy with the lack of the promised transport. The rain slackened off when we arrived in Dhunche, 2000m, and soon cleared to a pleasant evening. We stayed in the Buddha Hotel, a basic lodge, but at least there was space to sort out our collections. Our wet clothes were left dripping on a line on the balcony, but it was cold and misty so there was no hope of getting them dry. We were soon warmed by tea and biscuits as we chatted in candlelight making light of a dismal day. Dinner was daal bhat tarkari, warm and filling. MW’s plastic ‘garden’ chair collapsed and was discarded (he claims it was already broken). We were all tired but we could not turn in before processing our collections and attending to the expedition bags...they too took a soaking!

Friday 5th October ~ Dhunche, Dhimsa
Rain during the night, but it cleared by morning giving a cloudy start to the day. This time we were prepared for wet weather and we sorted our umbrellas and full rain gear. Our boots were still very wet, but at least we could start off with dry socks. There were some hassles with the landlady trying to get us to pay for the broken chair, but Pema stayed behind to sort it out and we left at 7.15am. Apart from no electricity and no water in the morning it was not such a bad place. It was strange that a town that has large electricity pylons running right past it has electricity problems! The beginning of the morning was bright, good for plants, and lots to collect. We were now on a popular tourist trekking route and several westerners passed us going up, and some going down. The recent heavy rain has caused lots of surface runoff and the path is awash with little streams. Thankfully the rain kept off today. Passed through shrubby slopes with Mahonia, Lyonia, Berberis, Rhododendron arboreum, Strobilanthes, Cuscuta and Prinsepia utilis. We dropped a few hundred metres at the start before crossing the river, then up, up, up. It was a very steep path snaking its way up to the ridge; Corallodiscus grew on the rock faces. Dinner was set up on the path side at 11am, 2450m. One of cook boys came down the path to meet us bearing a kettle full of warm orange juice and some mugs. We were still in temperate broadleaf evergreen forest at this point. The sun was hot in the clearing and we could dry some things: Pema tried to dry out some vital but soggy paper documents (DL gave him a ziplock plastic bag for future use). A Black-capped Sibia was in full voice near us. The afternoon's trek was not so arduous as the path was not so steep. The vegetation changed as we moved up into the coniferous zone with Pinus wallichiana starting to come in. Soon Quecus semecarpifolia appeared, and then Tsuga dumosa replaced the pine when we rose past 2500m; Acer and Rhododendron barbatum appeared. We arrived at Dhimsa, 3000m, early in the afternoon (3pm) and made camp next to the army post. We had thought we might make it to Sing Gompa, but we had many specimens to process and we appreciated the early stop. We collected over 60 numbers today, have a full drying frame and have run out of blotters. We just about finished the field book by dusk. Dinner tonight was freshly prepared momo and chopchop. Cold and clear night with bright moon and stars.

Saturday 6th October ~ Dhimsa, Sing Gompa, Laurebina village
A later start this morning, bed tea at 6am. Excellent views of the Langtang Himal to the north across the valleys. Before leaving camp at 7.35 we collected fruiting Cotoneaster and Viburnum. A warm sunny morning, most welcome. It was quite a short walk to Sing Gompa, through Abies forest then through burned forest with regenerating scrub of Berberis, Rosa sericea, Rosa macrophylla, Viburnum and Piptanthus nepalensis. More long ascent today, but nice plants on the way as we went through several vegetation zones. Early lunch at Hotel Sherpa beside Sing Gompa, 3300m, 10am. A small village of rather classy hotel lodges and a small cheese factory surrounded the old gompa. Grey langurs in the trees nearby. The afternoon route was up to Cholang Pati, 3600m, then finally up to Laurebina village (Laurebina Yak in the local guides), 3940m. Abies and Tsuga gave way to Abies and Juniperus, then Abies alone, and finally dwarf rhododendrons. On the way to Cholang Pati the path followed the sunny side of the ridge, then crossed to the shady side (Abies and Rhododendron) which was rich in bryophytes. On the sunny side Gentiana depressa was in flower and a Swertia with a Humming-bird Hawk Moth hovering in the flowers; also a red Euphorbia. After Cholang Pati we got into swirling mist but it did not rain. Rhododendron campanulatum and R. lepidotum were abundant, also notable were white-flowered R. anthopogon, Meconopsis napaulensis in fruit, and Primula denticulata in flower. Some real alpine plants at last. Excellent collections today, and pressing lasted well past darkness. Camp at Laurebina village was on the terrace of Hotel Mountain Rest (3940m) with a wonderful panorama. Quite a few trekkers going both ways. Bed at 8 with singing and guitar music drifting over from the Lodge, but much colder and a touch of frost at night.

Sunday 7th October ~ Laurebina village, Gosainkund
The altitude was beginning to affect us now. MW had a fitful night’s sleep and woke with a slight headache. DK also had a sore head. The morning brought wonderful panoramic mountain views of Langtang Himal, Ganesh Himal and beyond. Most of the lodge folk turned out early and were headed, like us, for Gosainkund. We had a good night with the drying frame and a lot of material was dry enough to come out of the press. However, there was still a lot that had not been corrugated, and some even without blotters. We departed at 7.30am, not far to go today and we reached our camp site at Gosainkund, 4380m, by 11am. The route up was over alpine pasture speckled with bright blue gentians (Gentiana ornata and G. depressa). Breathtaking views over our shoulders to the north, with the snow-capped Himalaya spread out before us. Tibetan prayer flags added colour to the scene, but the unpainted, concrete chorten definitely looked out of place. After the pass the path followed along the steep side of a ridge round to the lakes, with views of two big waterfalls below. Noisy Yellow-billed Choughs flying around as we collected on the warm sunny banks. The afternoon was spent catching up with our records, processing the seed collections and getting some washing done. This is a serene place with many (108 allegedly) lakes in a small area. The way up passes three lakes linked by waterfalls. The main lake is primarily a Hindu sacred spot so there are hardly any prayer flags. Copper tridents, coconut shells and other offerings litter the lake shallows. Coconut milk is offered to Shiva, a tradition brought from India. A row of bells outside the Shiva temple is rung by passing devotees. DL (with two Sherpa assistants) ventured out for two hours around the Gosainkund lake to collect molecular samples of Anastrophyllum joergensenii which he guessed would be found amongst the big boulders above the lake. Scrambling over the rocks was tiring at 4300m. As the sun set clouds boiled up from the valley, and there were wisps of cirrus overhead. A gentle breeze took the heat away from the sun, and it isn’t long before the sun failed completely and we donned our duvet gear. MW was snug in his down booties bought in Kathmandu. Dinner by candlelight. After an afternoon of drying we managed to fit all the wet plant material on the drier tonight. A good day, with the promise of a good foray tomorrow.

Monday 8th October ~ Gosainkund
It was a cold night with fitful sleep. 6°C inside our tents in the morning. A gentle start to the day as we waited for the sun reaching camp. Alpine Accentors, Wren and Hoopoe around the camp. After breakfast DL finished processing his mosses, and we split up to explore the area. DL & MW (with Sukaram to guide us) headed back down the path to look around the middle lake (?Bhairab Kund) and boulder scree. The others walked round the main lake (to SE) to see the watercourse that fed into it. Another hot day, eased by the light ruck sac. We collected a few new things, but by and large there is not very much to collect as it is rather acid soil and late in the season (it is very dry). Lots of Gentiana depressa and G. ornata in flower. However, the scenery was dramatic and very photogenic: a good chance for DL to use his tripod and large wide angle lens. DL made for the big block scree on the shady N-facing slope by the lake and found Anastrophyllum and other interesting bryophytes; he spent 1½ hours sampling. We met back at camp for lunch at 1pm. Another relaxed afternoon sorting kit, processing seeds and DNA samples, etc. We were now well on top of drying the collections, and there is only a half a drying frame tonight. News filtered through to us that the USA had started bombing Afghanistan last night. Dinner was followed by a cake. Superb sunset viewing the clouds down below but clear starry skies above. Quite late to bed (8pm).

Tuesday 9th October ~ Gosainkund, Sing Gompa
Minus one degree air temperature this morning. Leaving at 7.45 to the tinkling of bells we retraced our steps down to Laurebina village. The route down to Cholang Pati was enlivened by DK and SC getting animated over Sorbus, but little other than gentians in flower. Lunch at Cholang Pati, 11am. Once below Laurebina the large Rhododendrons and Junipers started to come in and we moved below the tree line. After lunch the Abies proper start. We reached Sing Gompa at around 4, and camped in the middle of the village. DK bought 2 bottles of beer (180 each....half the price of those for sale at Gosainkund). There was time to relax and unwind after a tiring day of descent. There were not many plants to press, but it seemed to take a long time and we had just finished when the daylight failed. We passed 300 numbers in the book. Weather was odd with misty cloud blowing across the ridge. One moment we were in warm sunshine, the next we were surrounded by cold mist. Pizza, pasta and vegetables for dinner. Down jackets on again this evening. Using Pema’s radio we tuned into BBC World service which informed us of another night of bombing in Afghanistan. DK was now back on the alcohol, so the evening whisky appreciation group was back up to strength.

Wednesday 10th October ~ Sing Gompa, Thulo Syabru
Thunder storm and heavy rain overnight, but a nice clear morning with only a little haze and low cloud hugging the valleys. Bed tea at 6am to horse bells gently ringing in the distance. Thankfully the two dogs that kept bothering us during the evening, did not appear during the night. Another good lot of dried specimens off the drying frame means that we now had the metal trunk full of dry specimens. When we get to Thulo Syabru we would be able to leave this trunk pending our return in a weeks time. A cool start to the morning, leaving at 8am and winding our way along the north side of the ridge in for most of the time in deep shade under Abies. DL was very happy as this was good for bryophytes, but not so great for flowering plants for the rest of us. He spent 20 minutes looking for Buxbaumia on big Abies logs, where he found it in 1992, but no luck. There was a lot of Rhododendron barbatum in the forest. We broke out onto the sunny main ridge at 10.30 to find a tea shop at Phoprang. There were good views of Langtang II and Langtang Lirung peaks. Just before Phoprang we saw a fir with mature cones. We had passed many hundreds of firs, and had been on the look out for cones, but this was the first we had seen. Tara, one of the Sherpa guides, swiftly climbed the tree and it wasn’t long before branches and cones we raining down on us. Unfortunately we soon realised that most of the cones were too old, and those that did look promising were riddled with grubs feasting on the seed endosperms. So Abies sadly joined Daphne bholua and Viburnum grandiflorum on our disappointing list of ‘Lots of fine plants seen, but sadly no seed’. We drowned our sorrows with mugs of milk tea at the lodge, sitting in the sun around a picnic table. This is one of a series of lodges organised by ‘Gosainkunda Hotel Management Committee’. Each lodge has a set menu with set prices (only the bottled water, fizzy drinks and beer are negotiable). A double room costs 120Rs single bed in a shared room is 50Rs. A mug of milk tea is 40 Rs and a plate of vegetable momos is 120 Rs.

On the steep way down towards Thulo Syabru we passed many trekkers tramping up en route to Shin Gompa. The vegetation changed to be dominated by Quercus semecarpifolia, and other evergreen broadleaf trees. A steep, often muddy track, through dappled woodland and latterly cultivated land. Just above Dursagang Pinus wallichiana starts to come in, and we were greeted by the unusual sight of apple orchards. We reached Dursagang, 2700m, at 11.40, and stopped at the tea house for a slap up lunch of puri, chips, Spam, etc. This feast must been very tempting to a family of German trekkers, who having battled up the hill in the sun, now sat down to their lunch of biscuits and salami. We were glad that we were going down and not up the path. The path gets steeper after lunch, but the vegetation quickly degenerates into disturbed cultivated farmsteads. There are some interesting small remnants of vegetation, mainly with trees and shrubs (plenty of Pieris formosa), but we soon descended past the hardiness level (ca. 2700m) so our seed collecting tailed off. DL collected two species of Asterella on a wall.

At 2.30 we arrived at our campsite on an old field terrace on the outskirts of Thulo Syabru, 2200m. There was time to relax, have a mug of beer (Tuborg here is 140Rs a bottle), wash and catch up with domestic chores. The campsite had glorious views down the valley and up into the mouth of the Langtang Valley. We could just see the last of the river rapids of the Langtang Khola, and tomorrow’s path meandering up a side valley well below us. We will have to lose quite a bit of altitude tomorrow morning before we can start going up again. There was a huge commotion in a nearby farmhouse when a large black eagle tried (unsuccessfully) to steal a hen. Sorting out the field book took until just after 5, and it started getting dark by 5.30. A full drying frame and two heaters tonight. Dinner was a wonderful chicken soup, roast chicken and daal bhat. Pema (the Sirdar) told us about his climbing trips to Everest: he has been several times but only once to the summit. Four camps are needed above Base Camp. The final 400m ascent takes all day, starting at midnight by head torch, the summit is reached at 11am. You can only spend 20 minutes at the summit as this is all the oxygen supplies will allow. Sherpas act as porters beyond Base Camp and it takes over 2 months to ferry kit between camps, acclimatise etc. Fee for Everest is $50,000 for a team of 7 foreigners. We nearly finished the ‘Old Smuggler’, which had to be made into a hot toddy to be drinkable!

Thursday 11th October ~ Thulo Syabru, Lama Hotel
The heaters worked really well overnight, and a great deal of material was dried. We left 2 kit bags of specimens here for our return. A cool start to the day with haze and a heavy dew. We set off just before 8am, winding down through the main village street. New housing and lodges have been built at the top of the ridge, but lower down the stark concrete is replaced by the darkly stained wood and intricate fretwork of the old homesteads. As you break out into the small farms, a look back over your shoulder you get a good view of the old town of Thulo Syabru clustered around the chorten and Buddhist prayer flags. Its down all the way to the bridge over the Pawo Khola. The vegetation is very degraded, but there are some nice patches of forest in the side valley. Several trekking folk passed us, most bound for the same place as us. It is hot in the sun, but the route often takes you through nice shaded woodland. Having crossed the Pawo Khola there are two routes to the mouth of the Langtang Valley: a high road and a lower road. As the high road had a recent wash out, we had to take the lower, longer route, contouring round the headland through oak (Quercus lanuginosa) forest. Eventually we reached the Langtang Khola just before Hot Springs, having dropped to 1640m; many big Albizzia trees. Along the river the forest is very different, warm temperate evergreen broadleaf forest of Lithocarpus and many other species including Michelia. We had good views of a monkey.

Lunch was at Bamboo Lodge, 1960m, a place reminiscent of a ski resort: white rubble terraces, plastic tables and parasols blowing in the wind. We got there at about 1pm after a long morning’s walk: it was ‘head down’ for the last hour. As we were late arriving lunch had gone cold, but this did not matter. We were famished and it tasted superb! On the sunny slopes opposite Euphorbia royleana was abundant. There was no respite in the afternoon, if anything the walk was harder as more of it was in sun. Soon after lunch we crossed the Langtang Khola on a wire suspension bridge and the path wound itself up the steep (sunny) north side of the valley. The lower reaches of the Langtang valley is incredibly steep and narrow, so it is almost entirely white water rapids with huge volumes of boiling turbulent water. Massive boulders fill the channel, some teetering on the edge of waterfalls. This river in spate must be an awesome sight. We were all pretty much dead on our feet when we arrived in Lama Hotel, 2430m, at 4pm. The village is named after the first hotel, but now has quite a collection of lodges and tea houses. Our camp was next to the original hotel, however, we are crammed in as space is at a premium as there are several trekking groups using this village. Pressing took over 2 hours, well into darkness. Dinner soon followed, washed down by some beer that SC had sniffed out. We finished off the Old Smuggler, and went to sleep with the Langtang Khola roaring in the background.