2n2r5

After a delicious lunch and a quick nap, we were ready to start the first leg of the trip into the mountains. We put on some insect repellent, sunscreen and hiking shoes before we started down the dirt roads towards the tallest mountain around. Everyone was excited and still had a good spring to their step.

Sabine showing off her excessive energy.

Right away, our guides could tell that we were up for just about anything. They started off by letting us know that if they caught a snake, that would be our dinner for the night. The funny thing is that most people in the group were actually okay that. We made our way though the villages at the base of the mountain and up passed a trash dump. The dump looked like it had recently caught fire. The guides said that it had also taken out a lot of the forest as well. As soon as we got to the tree line where we were to enter the jungle, you could tell that this area was severely damaged by the fire. Most of the trees had come back but all of the bark was charred and there wasn’t much undergrowth. The air was very hard to breathe and it seemed to make the first part of the trek even harder. The guides told us that the first day was to be the hardest and steepest incline. We hiked what seemed to be around two to three miles up through the trees with our overloaded packs before we stopped for our first break.

I must have been delirious because I took that time to find a tree to climb to get a better view. In the process I got myself covered in soot from the charred tree that I chose to scale. The view wasn’t really a whole lot better and all I managed to do was get dirty and waste a lot of energy. We carried on up the hill for a couple more miles but stopped a couple times along the way to help catch our breath and rest our legs. Once at the top of the hill, everyone seemed to get a second wind. It must have been the idea of not having to go up anymore. Our first stop was going to be at a waterfall and it was all going to be downhill from where we were.

This was definitely the part that I liked best. (Going down hill)

It didn’t take long before we started hearing the rushing water. Both our spirits and pace picked up. Going down the hills ended up also being a little bit more treacherous. We had a couple people take a good spill on the loose rocks and leaves that coated the ground. The fire hadn’t damaged this part of the forest. That meant that the ground was harder to see and you weren’t always sure about your footing. We got to the waterfall and it wasn’t quite what we had expected. By definition, it was indeed a waterfall, however it wasn’t as spectacular as we were probably all thinking. It was more like a watering hole with some rocks around it. Regardless, it was water and I needed to get in. I didn’t hesitate for a moment when I was told that I could jump in. I was striping my shoes and shirt off while running towards the water. I took a big leap off of the rock that was about five or six feet over the water. I splashed down in the surprisingly cold and shallow spring. The others weren’t as daring and only Aaren and Sabine decided to join me.

Me on the rocks getting ready to jump back in... someone needed a tan.

There was another group there. That is where I got rid of those pants that I bought at the night market in Chiang Mai. There was an Australian guy that needed a pair of pants. I told him I had an extra pair for only 100 Baht. He graciously handed over the 100 Baht and proceeded to change into the pants. That probably wouldn’t have been such a big deal if he hadn’t decided to do it right on top of the rock where everyone was jumping into the water. He looked as ridiculous as I did in those pants. I don’t think that they were meant to fit anyone correctly. Either way, I got 100 Baht and my bag got lighter. I also got tipped off to the water slide that was downstream just a little bit. There was an area of the stream about 100 feet long that was a very gradual decline and ran over a slab of rock. The rock was very slippery and smooth which made for a sweet head first slide into another smaller swimming hole.

After messing around with the slide I dried back off and headed back to the group that were still at the waterfall. I got there just in time to watch Aaren jump off the rock and land in the shallowest part of the swimming hole. Immediately, you could tell that he had done something to his foot. He was hobbling around and couldn’t put too much pressure on it. We were a long way from where we were going to sleep for the night and didn’t have any roads to get him back quickly. After a quick inspection of his foot, the guides decided that it wasn’t broken and was most likely a sprain. They wrapped it tight and we started our journey up the next hill to get to the village. Aaren was struggling to keep up which ended up benefiting us a bit as we would get nice 10-15 minute breaks to wait for him. It also let us take in more of the scenery which hadn’t been totally lost on us. We just finally got a chance to stop and admire it.

This is where it was appearent that Aaren was going to need help.

There were a few small farms and little huts along the way. There were irrigation systems that drew water from the rivers and piped them all over the hillsides. We saw these blue pipes just about every where we went. We were back on a trail now which had been used for small trucks and mopeds. The road wound around the hills, passed more farms and overlooked the hills that we just climbed across. Our guide had found us some longan fruit and lychee to snack on. I became addicted to lychee for the rest of my trip in S.E. Asia. It was very easy to find and traveled well on my bus rides. The longan is also very good and was up there on my list of favorites as well.

We finally got to the hilltop village where we going to spend the night. Awaiting us when we got there was a cooler with some Chang beer in cans which went quick. The

Our celebratory beer for reaching our first nights camp in one piece.

hut that we were staying in very nice compared to the majority of places in the village. The sleeping area was located up stairs and was already laid out for use. There were three sets of bedding on the floor with mosquito nets hung over top of them. Downstairs had a large table and a camp fire as well as a make shift shower. The bathroom was little more than an outhouse with a manual flush bucket. The kitchen and guides sleeping area was underneath our sleeping quarters. This wasn’t really roughing it. Although we were missing a lot of the modern amenities of the guesthouse back in Chiang Mai, we still had a lot more than just a tent and a fire.

The guides started cooking up some free range chicken and rice. We took this time to jump under the shower and change into some dry clothes. The day had worn us our and we all sat at the table staring at the flickering candles until the food was ready. They had cooked us another feast complete with all the freshest veggies and fruits around. After dinner, we all sat around the camp fire telling stories and sharing jokes with the guides. Aaren was still complaining about the pain in his foot so the local doctor came with a large block of ice. The drinking and stories continued for a couple hours before Cheryl, Chris, Aaren and Christoph went to bed. That is when the rice wine came out and the night got started. It was just me and Sabine left with the guides. The rice wine got passed around in small cups and then thrown back like shots. It was nothing more than moonshine made from rice. One of our guides was the first to succumb to the strong alcohol. He was sitting on a log next to the fire and then just fell backwards, fast asleep before he hit the ground. We checked to make sure that he was okay and then took him into hut so he could sleep it off.

Something about setting things on fire always puts me at ease.

We came back outside and continued the drinking when one of the guides turned to me and said, “Want to go?” Without hesitation I agreed. I had no idea where we were going but was still wide awake and was up for an adventure. We walked across the village to a house that had a game of poker going on. It wasn’t a poker game that I had ever seen before. I sat next to my guide and watched as he bet. I couldn’t figure out what was going on and neither could my guide. It was his first time playing as well. The stakes weren’t high, even by local standards. It was 5-10 Baht to play a hand. The guide bought me in a few hands which I apparently lost. I was more interested in the rice wine that was being passed to me. We stayed and played poker for a couple hours and right before we left the guy that I sold the pants to came walking by saying that he had lost his guide. The last time he had seen him, his guide nicknamed “Rambo” was smoking what they believe was opium. I wished them good luck and we went back to our hut. The fire was still burning and Sabine was still out drinking with the other guide.  It must have been around 3 or 4 am before we finally got to sleep. It was a long day with some unique experiences. The next days trek was going to be twice as long and Sabine and I were already down to less than four hours sleep.

This was were we spent the first night.