Ob Khan NP Death Valley

[johnnysneds]

Ive done this route before a while back in the rainy season and it nearly killed me so ive aptly named this route "Death Valley". That time was on the KLX where my battery died on a steep part of the climb and i had to be rescued out at night!
Done it again yesterday with Jon and Darren. All I can say is this has been without doubt the most enjoyable and challenging day out so far for me around Chiang Mai. After an incredible climb and eventually arriving at Samoeng for some tasty Kao Soy we headed back down the trail in the opposite direction, easier and more enjoyable imo. This route has everything, river crossings, rocks, steep hills, fast tracks, bike deep ruts, bamboo tunnels you name it.
Make sure you have decent tread for this bad boy. Its still pretty slick in some places and i wouldn't try it alone.

Click here to download the .GPX file Ob Khan Death Valley

 

[MastaMax]

sounds awesome, thanks for sharing the track

btw: can't see the picture

 

[johnnysneds]

hmmm not sure why you can't see! pdf link inserted from MobileMe.gallery. Maybe it should be jpeg- dunno. I can see it on my computers!

 

[Ally]

Nice ride there guys

Did you get any happy snaps of the Wat Luung Khun Win midway through that track ?

You can get the track & see a couple more pics here ...


:RO
Ally

 

[johnnysneds]

Hey Ally,

I dont recall the Wat in your pictures. The route from your link is slightly different from the one I posted. The part thats missing was by far the toughest, unforgettable!!!
You have done miracles if you did that trail on a d-tracker with those tires, I wouldn't have thought it would have been possible yesterday. Im hoping this trail will dry out a bit better which will make it an awesome route.

Im in the market for a quick snapper to take along with me on trails (maybe the new Canon S?? whatever it is when it comes out), only got a big clunky dslr at the mo, so unfortunately no pics.

Here's some the first time I attempted this route, awful state to get myself into. Alexuk will vouch how hard this was and he's a racing snake!

 

[Ally]

Blimey that track is well rutted. Well done.

There was one steep incline going northbound that I just threw the bike up the beast and held on for dear life, got 3rd of the way up and wabbled too much and had to lay it down, I empathise with that pic of yours!

Indeed the tyres were totally inappropriate but I just see a track and think, hey why not :RE

The wooden temples in the middle are a real gem, they will now have been further developed, they were adding more when I was there nearly 2 years ago.

There is a 4x4 track in from the side as I saw trucks at the temple but have never done that route. Maybe it was part of your track?

Ally

 

[MastaMax]

Wow those trails look AWESOME! There goes the top1 priority for my next ride.

 

[AlexUSA]

My kind of trail for sure. Will try this out later this week.

 

[Ally]

If you want my opinion, south (Mae Win) going north is friggin hairy enough! Try it.

Ally

 

[KTMphil]

Johnny - Extremely glad i missed this one .....looks horrible, this is where LUFC messed his knee up?


How do you find the KLX 250 on the trails v's the WR450 when it gets really shitty?

 

[KTMphil]

Im in the market for a quick snapper to take along with me on trails (maybe the new Canon S?? whatever it is when it comes out), only got a big clunky dslr at the mo, so unfortunately no pics.

The Canon S 100 seems the best choice right now, although there's a new Sony (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V) that CNET thinks is the best:

post6559.html#p6559

 

[johnnysneds]

How do you find the KLX 250 on the trails v's the WR450 when it gets really shitty?

KLX - Began this trail around 09:30hrs, got to the top (one way) and rescued out the jungle by locals due to battery failure at around 20:00hrs.

WR - Began this trail around 10:30hrs, got to the top and continued on to Samoeng, had some Kao Soy, returned back down the same trail, rode home, had a shower and beer by 16:00hrs.
When its shitty ill choose the Wr over the KLX any day of the week! :RO

 

[AlexUSA]

I'll probably be giving this a try South-to-North on Saturday.

My Thai riding buddies don't get going until lunchtime so I'm open for company if anyone wants to start in the AM with me.

 

[AlexUSA]

Did the "Death Valley" track solo today. Popped in my headphones and headed out from Santitham about 13.00 and hit the dirt road with the river crossings and the slick uphills around 14.00. By 15.00 I was out of the hard part and onto major truck roads (this included a chat with some Thai guys coming down from the North on Supercup bikes).

Those first 10km or so are technical but not particularly difficult if you keep your momentum up for the uphills. I can see it being pretty bad if you're not moving quickly enough and have to stop halfway up some of those uphills. More experienced riders shouldn't have any trouble and it's not too long even if you do have to struggle through it.



After that first technical 8-10km, you come to a 3-way intersection with well posted signs (Thai script) leading you (right) a further few km to the turn-off for the temple Ally has mentioned. I took the detour off the main truck road to check out the temple and the wood construction was really very cool. This is coming from someone who is 110% not into temples but this one is worth a visit if you're already in the area. Very peaceful grounds.



Other than the temple, the interesting stuff pretty much ends at the 3-way intersection. Typical truck roads with some nice views and lively Karen villages to ride through until you get back on tarmac near Samoeng.

One interesting note: As you get close to Samoeng, you'll cross a large bridge over rapids. You will turn left to go to Samoeng. If you turn right, you will enter (in my opinion) the best single track trail I've ridden in the Chiang Mai area. It will ultimately dump you up North on the 1269 near the turnoff for "Pong Yang".

I wrote a report with Maxime on this a few months ago coming from the North. It's a far superior track if you're looking for a challenge around the Samoeng area. See rainy-season-singletrack-south-of-samoeng-t476.html (I did it again a few weeks ago and it was awesome - tons of water crossings).



View attachment DeathValleyAlexUSA.rar

 

[KTMphil]

Nice report Alex.

Ill map it and post tmrrw.

 

[KTMphil]

Alex USA's "Death Valley" tracks



Map Copyright ©www.RideAsia.net - Permission to copy required

 

[Ally]

Hey thanks Alex for the update, yep, it's 'technical' alright.

Pikey put me on to it some time ago, I am surprised more ride reports haven't surfaced from other long in the saddle riders around Chiang Mai, as you say that area is excellent riding.



Ally

 

[AlexUSA]

Just a slight correction to the map above.