With a new day upon us, we had a new itinerary and a long list of new places to visit. The track to the top of Doi Soi Malai followed the ridge all the way to the top but wasn't as simple as it looked from a distance.
From yesterday's viewpoint it seemed as if it would be a relatively flat gravel track that snaked along the ridge but we soon found a few spots that were a little more testing. At this point we were grateful for the ground clearance we had and the slow crawl speed of the 4LOW gearing.
As excited as we were to take on the northern ridge we still had to pack up and cook breakfast. Our truck was parked facing south which meant our side view from the roof top tent was looking out towards the east.
We woke up with a fresh breeze blowing through the tent, morning light shining through and our dog sat up watching the sunrise! Either that or she was listening to the constant dinging of all the cow bells coming from the hillside just down below in front of us.
A quick shuffle around and my girlfriend joined her to look out across the view. We could have spent all morning just watching the sunrise and the morning mist over the valley below.
The temperature was about 17c as the sun came up and was very refreshing.
With the low morning sun, there were more shadows being cast across the mountains showing them in their true form. Unfortunately, many of the mountains here, just like in the north has been stripped of all their vegetation and tree growth. Wood was used and sold in local markets and reclaimed farmland was perfect for growing crops at cooler temperatures such as cabbage and having endless grasslands for grazing cattle.
Lone cows/bulls were often seen as well as random herds but no matter where they were, they could always be heard because of the bells many of them wore.
As always we made sure that any condensation on the fabric of the tent had dried as not to pack away wet. Up on top of the mountain, the humidity seemed low, the morning sun and the constant breeze dried it quickly so we didn't have to wait too long.
Once packed up and ready to go we hit the main track and began out last climb up to the top.
A few surprise ruts and rocks along the way but nothing that meant we couldn't continue. The last section flattened out nicely and finished with a simple and smooth drive, after all this was the main campground.
We looked back down to where we had just driven up and could see where we camped the previous night. Although we hadn't climbed much in elevation from the 2 camp spots, the overall altitude was around 1,700m
At this point at the peak, we were blocked from driving any further. There were large boulders blocking the track and any trails that did continue were single track, either for hiking or enduro motorbikes - cows too no doubt.
Off in the distance, we spotted a track near the top of one of the ridges. It was the track we had driven in on the day before that connects the main road. It was a section that climbed steep, rolled over the top and descended just as steep into the forest below.
After hanging out at the top campsite for a while we headed back as the sun started to heat up. We were estimating it would take roughly an hour to get back to the main road and had our fingers crossed that we wouldn't meet any other 4x4 trucks coming in on the way - trying pass on a single track in areas like this usually means someone needs to start reversing and the reverse can be a long way if there is no flat ground or bushes to push in to.
If you are interested in reading and seeing what happened in the first part of this trip and how we got here, please check out my other post:
4x4 Camping Adventure at Doi Soi-Malai Mountain, Northwest Thailand
https://hive.blog/hive-163772/@thinkit/4x4-camping-adventure-at-doi-soi-malai-mountain-northwest-thailand
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All content is original: the photos (unless stated), the writing and the adventure!
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