As the hiking season approached, Jack was eager to explore new trails. With less than a year of hiking experience, he had yet to conquer many destinations. He had planned a trip to Doi Luang Tak long in advance, but the wait was unbearable. Deciding to squeeze in an additional hike, Jack set his sights on Phu Soi Dao in Uttaradit Province. The allure of the unknown, despite its reputation for difficulty, excited him. With the location chosen, the next step was to find a date. Fortunately, a national park announcement revealed that Phu Soi Dao would be open in July, aligning perfectly with Jack's plans. Seizing the opportunity, he organized a trip for the park's opening day, thus embarking on his "Phu Soi Dao Opening Hike 01.07.60" adventure.

Please follow Jack's travel and photography journey on his page, "Little Traveler." You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/jackrockerphotographer. Please like the page to support him.

The date is set! Yay! Let's go to Phu Kan. This trip will be a bit special. Jack has 9 members, some of whom he knows and some he doesn't. Including Jack, there will be 10 people in total, which perfectly fits in one van.

We continued our journey on Friday night, June 30, 2017, by Uncle Sak's van. Look, look, look! Uncle Sak has put a sticker of Jack's page on the back of the van. Hehe.

It takes about 7 hours to reach Chat Trakan District. We stopped by the Pa Daeng Market to buy food and fresh ingredients. Stock up here because there are no shops ahead.
The national park office is just a few dozen kilometers from the market. The entrance fee is 40 baht per person and 30 baht per vehicle.
While we were paying the entrance fee, an old man greeted us and asked how many people were in our group. We said 10. He exclaimed, "Wow, you've filled the whole van!"
If you plan to visit Phu Soi Dao, it's best to call and book in advance. The park will then arrange for porters to assist you.
Especially during peak season, here's the contact number: 095 6299528
Preparation and things to know
You need to be physically fit before hiking because the trail is very steep.
Prepare lunch to eat along the way.
Bring at least 2 bottles of water. Jack's trip members prepared 4 bottles for us.
At the top,
There are toilets and showers, but you need to fetch water from the stream yourself.
There is no electricity, but there is rainwater to drink.
The air is humid, and it drizzles occasionally.

When will the park make the entrance card match the name of the park?

We arrived very early, being the first group. The tourist service center was not yet open.

While waiting, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and sorted the items for the porters. Unused items were stored in the car. I weighed my backpack, which came to 9 kg this time. Two small groups of children arrived, one of which included Tin Tin, who is also on our page. Thanks for saying hello, little sister! You can say hello to us anywhere, we don't bite! 😜 In conclusion, there were three groups on the opening day of Phu, which was good because it meant fewer people and less chaos.

We were all set when the officer arrived to register us.
The officer mentioned that the flowers were blooming early this year, which made us and another group of students cheer.
Although there might not be many, we were still excited to see the Rafflesia.

Weigh the central part, pay money, hurry up because Jack intends to be the first group.

Tents and bedding are available for rent here, but the prices are a bit extravagant.

Here's the number 1, lol. Why? Because it's a little bit of pride, you know?

Payment completed. The officer took a large group photo of us.

The charges are related to the opening of a mountain.

Photo with Uncle Sak
After that, the park has a car to take you to the starting point of the walk. Free service.

The starting point is at Phu Soi Dao Waterfall, which is located in Uttaradit Province. However, the park headquarters is located in Phitsanulok Province.

The officer's son, Phu Pha, accompanied us to the trailhead. The officer took numerous photos of us.

Before embarking on your journey, pay respects at the shrine and to the local spirits for peace of mind.
Along the trail, admire the cascading tiers of Phusoidao Waterfall. Enjoy a leisurely stroll as you listen to the soothing sounds of the waterfall, especially during the initial, more relaxed section of the path.

The path will have a wooden bridge and iron stairs.

A section of the bridge is made of sturdy bamboo, as tested by Chef Mieng.

The waterfall is blurry because it was taken with a handheld camera.

They still look cheerful.

The new forest is lush and refreshing.

As we walked, we joked about whether the park had anything special for us as a group that opens the mountain.
After walking for a while, we had another point about being a group that opens the mountain: if we let other groups overtake us, it would be embarrassing.
Because before we went up, our seniors took a lot of pictures of us. If we arrived after others, it would be embarrassing.
P'Pob encouraged us to let Jack go first, saying that otherwise it wouldn't be worthy of the group that opens the mountain.
Oh, we're not here to play around! 555555555

The initial phase, as mentioned, remains relaxed.

However, from now on we will encounter the real thing. The first stage is the "Neun Song Yai", the path starts to get steeper.

We didn't take many pictures to save battery life.

Exhausted but okay.
Knowing how tough it is here, Jack prepared well this time. He climbed 10 flights of stairs every day for a week before the trip, which helped strengthen his legs.
After walking for a while, we reached the "Hill of the Conquerors".

The route to the top of Khao Prap Si Am is a mix of steep and flat sections, covering a long distance and offering increasingly panoramic views.

After conquering the "Neun Prab Sian" hill, we will encounter the "Neun Pa Ko" hill. The path alternates between steep and flat sections, with a slight descent.

Stopping to capture a moment along the way.

The road ahead is steep and rocky, leading to the Tiger's Ridge.

We will see a high-angle view now.

Wow, the air is cool. Although the path is steep, the cool air makes for a comfortable walk. Really?
We walked up the steep path, looking up at the mountain peak ahead. We thought and said to each other, "Don't tell me that's where we have to go?"

The truth is cruel.
That hill is the hill of death. Oh, I wish I could die here.

The road is steep all the way, but the view is beautiful.

I'll continue later, it might be a bit slow because I'm on my way to Chiang Mai. Hehe.
I'm back to continue now, sorry for the delay.
From this point, we stopped to take pictures and take a break. The wind was cool and comfortable, I wanted to sleep right there.
There are only two of us in the picture because we started to separate as we walked. Two people went ahead, Jack was with two others who were behind.

After a short break and a chat with a local vendor, we continued our journey. We were nearing our destination, just a stone's throw away.
As we admired the scenery, the rain started to fall intermittently, in light showers that came and went. This is typical weather on the mountain.
Finally, we reached the signpost, and I wanted to shout with joy: "We're here!" We arrived at 2 pm.

Walk a little further and we will reach the tent site.

We will pass by Sai Thib Waterfall before reaching the campsite.

The path ahead is soaked, unsure of where to avoid it, let's just wade through the water!

First, we hold the luggage tag document to receive the items carried up by the porter.

You can rent additional items at the office, but you will need to pay for them downstairs on the day of your departure.
Keep the zip-lock bag from the staff member safe and do not lose it. The items you will definitely need to rent are a water tank and a water dipper.
This is because there are bathrooms and showers available, but you will need to collect water from the stream yourself. If you would like to barbecue, charcoal is available for purchase at the top.

Let's take a walk to capture some photos of the pine forest and the Celosia argentea flowers first. We haven't eaten the lunch we bought yet, but taking photos is the most important thing. Haha.

Sporadic cockscomb flowers bloom amidst the intermittent mist carried by the wind. The sky is white, as the sun has disappeared.

Let's continue with the images. There are many of them.

After taking some photos, the sky cleared up for a brief moment.

Four of us arrived first. The two younger ones rented park tents and are sleeping comfortably. Jack and Am are left without any camping skills. 55555

Jack brought a hammock to sleep in. This trip, Jack is the one who pays for the hammock. It was his first time sleeping in a hammock. He didn't know how to tie it, and he was afraid to sleep in it because he was afraid the rope would break. But then, the same kind-hearted uncle who helped us before came to our rescue.

The uncle helped us carry our belongings from the baggage claim area and set up our campsite, including tying up our hammocks. We were so grateful for his kindness!
He was so nice, but he wouldn't tell us his name. Haha. After setting up the camp, we waited for the rest of our group members.
We figured it would take a while, so we started preparing food. After about two hours, the rest of our group finally arrived. We all took a break to rest and relax.

We were so happy to see you guys make it up here, even though we were a little worried about the steep climb.
It was raining on and off the whole time, so we didn't have much time to explore. We just took some pictures around the campsite.

The twilight glow with the pine clearing as my backdrop is nowhere to be seen.
Because everywhere I look, it's just white. We're just helping to cook food.

This is the first trip where I cooked my own rice. On other trips, someone else helped me cook it. It's edible.

The rain came as desired, but it was a bit too much. Hehe.
I wanted to see it, but it was a bit too much. Hehe. In the late afternoon and evening, it rained heavily. We ate dinner in the rain.
There were no activities tonight. After dinner, we went our separate ways to sleep. There were no stars to see.
It was cold at night. The dew was very heavy.
DAY-2 The second day of pristine white tourism
In the morning, everything was still white as before. This is a very clean white trip.
What is the sun? I don't know. When we woke up, we continued to eat. Did we just change the place to eat?

We agreed to eat first, then walk to the kilometer marker, and then come back to collect our belongings. Let's take a look at the morning atmosphere.

Twelve degrees

Bathroom and shower

Let's take a look at the food. Many people might wonder what we eat in the forest. We eat whatever is available. It's simple. Wait a minute, is there a Starbucks on the mountain?

Thank you to Ms. Por, the equipment coordinator, who kindly provided us with the equipment and set up the props. She is very kind.

"I'd like a soda. Ask the hawker to buy it for you, as there's nothing for sale up here."

We kept the porters waiting while we were busy with various tasks, but it was mainly due to the preparation of food.
It seems that every time we go on a trip with Jack, we end up making the porters wait because of the food preparation.

So we changed our plan and packed everything before going for a walk. As expected, Jack's trip always ends up being the last one to leave.
In the end, we didn't go anywhere and just took pictures around the campsite.

Unsure of what to photograph, I decided to capture scenes from our campsite. Apparently, Jack, our trip leader, has a reputation for photographing everything, haha!

Finally, we finished packing our belongings. We cleared the area and put everything away neatly so as not to burden the staff. Tourists must cooperate to keep nature beautiful. We are ready to return home.

Are we still holding up?

The sentence is empty. Please provide a sentence or phrase to translate.

Despite not exploring other areas during this trip, our group, composed of both experienced and novice hikers, successfully reached the summit. This accomplishment instilled a sense of pride and satisfaction, confirming our ability to navigate the challenging terrain. As we descended, we gathered for a group photo at the trailhead sign, marking the completion of our adventure. The photo captured our collective joy and the camaraderie forged through shared experience.

We started our descent around 11 am, while Jack continued to take pictures.

Nature along the path

Finally arrived! *Screams* I'm here at last!

Summary:

• Ascent: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Descent: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Return:

• The group gradually returned to the base camp.
• Three people descended first, and the guide accompanied them.
• The guide was very kind.
• We paid an additional rental fee and paid for porters to help with the descent.
• We showered and ate lunch. The food at the welfare canteen was delicious.

After 4 pm, our team members all came down. Everyone had finished their personal tasks, and it was time to head back.
Wait, wait, wait! We still need to take a picture. The special thing about being an open group at Phu Kradueng is that
the park issues free certificates. We received ours from the park chief himself.

The park ranger we spoke to in the morning when we arrived, who asked us how many people were in our group, turned out to be the park superintendent! 55555
Thank you to the park rangers, the porters, and most importantly, the 9 other people who joined us on this trip. Let's go on another adventure together soon!
This is the end of my review. Thank you to everyone who read this far.
I hope this review will be helpful or inspire others to travel.
Experience is not for sale, you have to travel to get it.
#LittleTraveler The next trip will be a wet one, exploring Chiang Mai in the rain. Please stay tuned.