JDH informs his wife, Lady Hyacinth Hooker, of his latest travels around the United States of America. He & his party camped at La Veta Pass in the Rocky Mountains to explore the forest for plants. The travelling party consists of: Dr Asa Gray, Lady Jane Loring Gray, General Richard Strachey, Lady Jane Maria Strachey, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden & Dr Robert Henry Lambourne. From La Veta they travelled by rail & wagon to Fort Garland, a remote military garrison, & then ascended Sierra Blanca; the highest mountain in the Rockies at 14,500 feet. He describes the ascent: hard work cutting their way through Aspen & Pine forest & sleeping out in the cold. They then travelled by train past Pueblo to Colorado Springs & by coach to Manitou [Springs] at the foot of the mountains close to Pikes Peak. It is a popular resort for invalids & here JDH met Dr [Samuel Edwin?] Solly an acquaintance from London. Next they will go to George Town [Georgetown] & ascend Gray's Peak, then to Cheyenne on the California rail line. JDH longs for news from home, any letters sent have gone astray. He wishes Hyacinth were with him but the travelling is expensive and uncomfortable for ladies. The conditions are tiring but JDH is learning 'an enormous deal'.