Next morning, before commencing the descent, I ascended a ridge on the mountains to the south, to the height of about 1000 feet above the pass. The snow had evidently only just melted from the greater part of the surface; it still lay in large patches under the trees, and the spring plants were just bursting into flower. The forest, as is usually the case at that height, was principally the alpine oak. A rose, willow, currant, cherry, _Lonicera_, and _Viburnum nervosum_ were bursting into leaf, and _Rhododendron campanulatum_ was abundant and in full flower. The greater part of the herbaceous vegetation consisted of _Primula denticulata_, a yellow _Corydalis_, and species of _Thermopsis_, _Anemone_, _Caltha_, _Onosma_, _Potentilla_, _Valeriana_, _Trillium_, and _Gentiana_. I continued to ascend to the limit of herbaceous vegetation, stopping only where the ground was uninterruptedly covered with snow. The uppermost level of trees was still at least 500 feet above me. In descending I followed the course of a ravine full of snow, the sides of which were covered by a dense forest of silver fir.
After reaching the direct road from the pass, which I had quitted to ascend the hills in the morning, there was a short ascent over a low spur, and then a long and very steep descent, to the bottom of a deep rocky ravine, so narrow and sheltered from the sun's rays, that the stream was still covered with a great thickness of snow. Over this I crossed to the north side of the valley, down which the road ran for the remainder of the march, descending at first with great rapidity, but on the latter half much more gently. There was plenty of fine forest, but, as usual, it was for the most part confined to the south side of the valley. The road lay along grassy slopes, sometimes steep and rocky, at other times, where there was any extent of tolerably level ground, covered knee-deep with a rank herbage of dock, _Polygona_, thistles, and a variety of other plants not yet in flower. It was in general at a considerable height above the bottom of the valley, which was deep and gloomy, and filled with snow during a great part of the way. I encamped at a village called Langera, at the height of about 7600 feet, and was surprised to observe large patches of snow still lying on the banks of the stream, at least three hundred feet below me.