Many of my camping trips are made fairly comfortable by travelling with a 4x4 and mounted roof top tent. When driving a truck, there's no limit as to what you can and can't bring. This usually means we just load up everything and take way more than we need. The journey is still made adventurous since we pick our routes carefully and find real 4x4 only tracks but these are tame compared to the places you can get to with a dirtbike.
Moto camping has always excited me as there are so many more places that can be reached and with added adrenaline. Packing needs to be carefully planned since you end up carrying all your gear on your back and so therefore, weight plays a big part in what you take.
Since I explore many of the local mountain trails and tracks, I am quite familiar with most of the routes. There are lots of motocross and enduro adventure riders in the area but no one really moto camps overnight.
Nearly all tracks and trails are single track, similar to a forest footpath but all provide some kind of extreme adventure whether it be, rocky hill climbs, drop off ledges, sandy corners or tight 'tree trunk dodge-ems'.
Familiar with the trail, I made quick work of the ride and reached one of the new moto viewpoints that had just been cut through. The west side of the mountain was pretty wet from the mornings rain which made me wonder if I'd be able to get a fire going.
I spent a bit of time clearing the ground to set up camp, made a new fire circle and collected a bunch of wood, most of which was wet on the outside, so splitting was necessary.
Having everything packed up in my rucksack, I found that my tent and sleeping bag took up most of the space... perhaps time for a new ultralight 1 man tent!
The mountain had had a forest fire in recent weeks and much of what was on the forest floor had been burnt away, cleared and left black. Although easier to ride, clear new trails, cut and find new spots, it made camping very dirty, especially with the rain which turned the mud to a sooty-muddy type paste!
I took this trip recently, which happens to be the end of the dry season and the start of the monsoon season, hence why much of the foliage is bare or browned off.
The stack of rocks gave good cover from the countryside down below. Wild camping isn't really a thing in Thailand and is easily done without worry of being caught, reported or fined, in fact I am quite sure there isn't even a law for it as long as it isn't considered trespassing on private land. Nevertheless, it is still best not to draw attention to yourself when camping alone. I knew I would be using a head torch and lighting a fire so used the big boulders as a wall to keep me hidden from anyone down below driving the local roads or living in the small villages.
I moved my motocross bike round to the backside of the rocks so that the red plastic wasn't on glare and in full view of the road below.
As the sun started to set, the view from the rock stack was impressive. The sky was still heavy from the morning storm but pollution was likely playing a part in this too, so much so that the sun turned to a faint black orb at around 10 degrees above the horizon (look carefully in the center of the photo below).
While the light faded I worked hard at trying to get the fire going. Luckily I had brought along some alcohol blocks to get it started but it kept failing. I was down to my last one and needed to make it count otherwise I wouldn't be able to cook. I collected a load more kindling and tinder and started to split some of the larger broken branches.
The fire finally took but gave off a lot of smoke. There wasn't much I could do about it but didn't worry too much about it as a strong wind blew most of the smoke off into the forest rather than letting it rise straight up.
The only clear, clean and dry grown was on the rocks. One served as the perfect storage spot for me to lay my gear out.
Pushing a long branch through the sleeves of my shirt allowed me to hang it above the fire and dry it out. Although it was dry and looked gloomy, it was hot, sticky and very humid.
Many of the smaller more manageable sticks and branches had already been burnt off by the forest fire, I didn't want to cut what was still growing so dragged some of the large logs from fallen trees. Burning them mid-trunk would double the fire wood once they burnt through but did make the fire look slightly unorganised!
The city lights lit up the sky and I could see most of Pattaya. The view out to sea was limited due to the pollution or haze but was still nice to look out across from my very own private viewpoint.
Looking out into the forest and back down the trail I had ridden in on, it was pitch black. The only sounds were insects and with the cool wind on my back and my shirt still hung up, I sat over the smoky fire hoping it would be enough to keep me from being bitten alive.
As the fire died off, I moved some of the larger logs off so that it wouldn't keep burning and called it a night. I slept with both side vestibules open to allow a through flow breeze but left the flysheet on just in case it rained in the night and I had to zip up.
I woke to the morning chorus and got up to see what was what. I hadn't been visited in the night by any animals smelling me or my food, well not that I knew of and there were no footprints in the soft soil but there were lots of ants feasting on a few dropped pieces of food next to the fire pit.
The coals were still hot and didn't take much to get the fire going again but as I sat cooking some sausages and toasting some bread I felt something wasn't quite right!
From the hilly slope behind me scurried a squirrel jumping from tree to tree. The noise caught my attention and its rush showed that it was running away from something. A bird soon followed so I got up and walked round to the otherside of the tent and started looking off into the undergrowth. Almost without a sound came a local man foraging for a certain leaf call 'pak-wan' which is used in cooking. He hadn't seen me but was startled when he did finally looked up ahead of himself and saw me camped out.
We exchanged a few polite greetings and smiles before he went on his way. I kept my eyes on him just to stay alert but he disappeared off down the other side of the hill.
As the sun came up I sat quietly waiting for the condensation to dry on my tent before rolling it up to leave. A shadow caught my attention in the tree tops and I soon noticed a large eagle/buzzard had just landed. After posting the photos in a Thai species Facebook group I later found out that it was an Oriental Honey Buzzard.
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All content is original: the photos (unless stated), the writing and the adventure!
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Great, thank you 😊
What a spot! Great views across the valley
Sounds like you're in need of a "Backpack Bed" for your dirt bike travels
I just bought one myself for an upcoming walk along the Heysen Trail
It's a tent, sleeping bag and backpack in one
"Seasonfort" is the company that makes 'em
Sweet post, anyway. Had a good time reading it