Landslide At Doi Tung

ianyonok

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Heard there was a landslide at Doi Tung last night, so went for a look. We had had on and off rain continuously, for about a week, so there are probably lots of landslides around the mountains.
"Tree down, route closed" on the right turn off the royal road, up to Prathat Doi Tung, on the summit.
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So, I went up..... slowly... It had been a careful ride up due to continuing rain. mostly second gear.
Then came to this..
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Concrete power pole snapped by a falling tree.
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Further on, on the last short road section up to Wat Prathat Doi Tung.
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This road would have been built many years ago. To the left is a vertical wall. Perhaps this section was just a little too steep, on the right. I didn't feel like going any further.........
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Heading back down, had to very careful. Steep, wet, mountain road, wet leaves and green moss growing out from the verges over the tarmac...
Another collapse. Looking down at about 45 degrees.
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There were quite a few trees down along the road and waterfalls that are not normally there. Misty rain and cool..
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Doi Tung and the Nang Norn mountain range are quite special. As far as I am aware, not protected with National Park status and don't need to be. The King's Mother lived here for many years, working to improve the lives of the hilltribe peoples. She is held in such high regard that no-one ever burns or cuts the trees down up here. It just gets more beautiful every year. Looks almost like pristine jungle. When you visit, at a better time, the smaller winding roads and scenery around the area, are just fantastic.
Back down in the valley, the eastern side of the Nang Norn (Lady lying down) range is quite sheer in many places. Tam Luang, the Grand Cave, has a very long cave system, worth checking one day, for serious cavers, but closed between July and November, as it gets flooded.
A couple of klms south brings you to......
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.......a forest park with river running through it. I believe this is where several streams coming off the mountains come together and flow east.
Kun Nam Nang Norn is at; N20.37175 deg E99.87222 deg (OddvarGoran2017 datum format).......
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All very flooded on this visit.
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A very watery world across the rice fields..
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Big_Dave

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Mid August....I figured since the road closed signs were in Thai then it didnt apply to me....mai khao chai......Princess wasnt happy since she had to walk thru (note scowl LOL) I was happy as the proverbial pig in shit of course. The few locals that were stopped there were laughing their heads off at the mad falang...even more when the Missus got bogged and literally had to get towed out by a helpful, and already covered in mud, local guy. Hilarious. Im looking fwd to having sex again sometime in the next year.
 

ianyonok

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Hahaha...... Great photo! a picture does indeed say a thousand words.

Hey, it's beautiful up there though isn't it.
 

Big_Dave

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Apr 21, 2016
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Hahaha...... Great photo! a picture does indeed say a thousand words.

Hey, it's beautiful up there though isn't it.

Mate, I bloody love it. The scope for exploration there is enormous. The run from Hin Taek to Mae Sai via Doi Tung is superb. I could spend weeks there. Mae Sai on the other hand, wow, I was there 30 years ago and all there was was a few huts next to the old bridge across to Burma and a dusty main street. We had dirt bikes only in those days and it was a wild place.....now its a mad house. Not for me.
 

ZCM

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Im guessing this will still be a bit of a mess ?
Have a border crossing due and currently working out my route. Do i need to by pass Doi Tung or not too bad ? (dont mind a bit of a challenge..but also have sticky road tires..so slick mud isnt user friendly currently!)
 

ianyonok

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I think where the landslide is, is a flat section of road and they clear the mess up pretty quickly. So, that part is not really the issue.
But some of those roads are very steep and due to the fact that we have had a lot of continuous rainy days this year, I have noticed a build up of green moss of many of the roads in the area. It doesn't matter what tyres you have in those conditions, it's like ice. It is a very forested area on the little roads west of Doi Tung, so, the slimy moss grows when the roads don't dry out, due to lack of sunlight.
Personally, I would avoid some of those smaller roads at this time. It's not much fun, when it's that scary. Best to wait till November for those little roads.
 

ZCM

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Oh ..hmm.
Fair point.
Is this fairly recent then - the mossy areas?
When i did the west to east border ride a couple of months back it was fine, but yes, a lot of rain since then.
The side road up Phu Chi Fa was pretty steep and slippery with moss though.
I did take a ride around Chae Son way recently and had lots of moss, but wasnt too bad.
If it is really bad I will avoid. Would be a shame though! :(
 

ZCM

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Went in search of some signs of the landslide a couple of days ago. Did a full loop, but seems the area has now been cleaned up.
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