First camping trip with the dirt bike and new home made luggage carrying rig.
I travel light when staying in GHs and 1 15ltr dry bag on the back with a tank bag is enough for a week. But seem to have a lot of kit for camping.....
I have a 1" wide flat rope harness attached on the bike with bowlines and butterfly knots. One 16ltr dry bag attached each side for camping and cooking kit and a 20ltr drybag for clothes and other camping stuff.
The side bags are held by a rope from the passenger peg mount, up through the dry bag bottom buckle and then looped around the bag and harness like a parcel string, then up through the top buckle of the dry bag and secured tight on the rear rack.
This worked well, nothing came loose riding offroad, through water crossings and some rough stuff. But next time, I would do a parcel string loop right at the bottom buckle to prevent any possibility of the bottom of the bag swinging out of rope. Actually, in the end the harness on the bike didn't do much. The bag was really secured between the footpeg mount and the rack. All it then needs is a way to stop the bag swinging back and forth, if riding on the rough.
Chiang Dao is always a visual delight due to it's size.
I took the road north of the mountain, past the cave to Muang Khong. Paid my 20Baht entrance to the NP to ride the road.
Past the trail head for the hike to the summit....... still on the bucket list...... and not for rainy season. A 6.5klm hike including an ascent of about 1,000m.
It goes this way...
Light rain and great scenery.
Riding down to lower altitude.
Tarmac and concrete all the way to Muang Khong. A lovely flat valley on the Taeng River and farming community surrounded by mountains.
After that I headed south to the Huay Nam Dang NP.
After the bridge it's dirt and some good stuff.
Gotta be careful in the rain, but it isn't like the treacherous Chiang Rai slippery clay....
Had to move this big fella off the path.
Lovely area and a great ride through the hills and mountains
It turned out the Huay Nam Dang NP camping area was on the top of a mountain at 1,700m. Great views but it was going to be cold at night in the rain and I had no jumper with me. So, decided to move back down to the valley and some where a bit warmer.
Nest stop was the Mae Lao-Mae Sa NP and Pong Duet Hot Spring Geyser. It was late by now, so minimal daylight to get the hammock set-up and cook dinner.
In the hammock with the mesh screen zipped fully open in the warm evening air. Raining pretty hard but under the Monsoon flysheet, I'm nice and dry.
Next morning, went for a look around in the intermittent rain.
The stream flowing down from the Pong Duet geyser......
....... provided the morning hot mineral bath in the jungle....... and wonderful it was too.
There are outdoor warm pools for men and women and several walled pools as well as a mineral sauna room.
The campsite.
The hiking trail was next....
9.3klms hike...... ermmmmm... ok... lets try....
I travel light when staying in GHs and 1 15ltr dry bag on the back with a tank bag is enough for a week. But seem to have a lot of kit for camping.....
I have a 1" wide flat rope harness attached on the bike with bowlines and butterfly knots. One 16ltr dry bag attached each side for camping and cooking kit and a 20ltr drybag for clothes and other camping stuff.
The side bags are held by a rope from the passenger peg mount, up through the dry bag bottom buckle and then looped around the bag and harness like a parcel string, then up through the top buckle of the dry bag and secured tight on the rear rack.
This worked well, nothing came loose riding offroad, through water crossings and some rough stuff. But next time, I would do a parcel string loop right at the bottom buckle to prevent any possibility of the bottom of the bag swinging out of rope. Actually, in the end the harness on the bike didn't do much. The bag was really secured between the footpeg mount and the rack. All it then needs is a way to stop the bag swinging back and forth, if riding on the rough.
Chiang Dao is always a visual delight due to it's size.
I took the road north of the mountain, past the cave to Muang Khong. Paid my 20Baht entrance to the NP to ride the road.
Past the trail head for the hike to the summit....... still on the bucket list...... and not for rainy season. A 6.5klm hike including an ascent of about 1,000m.
It goes this way...
Light rain and great scenery.
Riding down to lower altitude.
Tarmac and concrete all the way to Muang Khong. A lovely flat valley on the Taeng River and farming community surrounded by mountains.
After that I headed south to the Huay Nam Dang NP.
After the bridge it's dirt and some good stuff.
Gotta be careful in the rain, but it isn't like the treacherous Chiang Rai slippery clay....
Had to move this big fella off the path.
Lovely area and a great ride through the hills and mountains
It turned out the Huay Nam Dang NP camping area was on the top of a mountain at 1,700m. Great views but it was going to be cold at night in the rain and I had no jumper with me. So, decided to move back down to the valley and some where a bit warmer.
Nest stop was the Mae Lao-Mae Sa NP and Pong Duet Hot Spring Geyser. It was late by now, so minimal daylight to get the hammock set-up and cook dinner.
In the hammock with the mesh screen zipped fully open in the warm evening air. Raining pretty hard but under the Monsoon flysheet, I'm nice and dry.
Next morning, went for a look around in the intermittent rain.
The stream flowing down from the Pong Duet geyser......
....... provided the morning hot mineral bath in the jungle....... and wonderful it was too.
There are outdoor warm pools for men and women and several walled pools as well as a mineral sauna room.
The campsite.
The hiking trail was next....
9.3klms hike...... ermmmmm... ok... lets try....