The route: 107-3009-1095-4024(?) and back
This is my first trip report so bear with me & please forgive the lack of detailed distances & other newbie errors. I set out from Chiang Mai this morning with the goal of finding my way to Sop Kai from the south. I didn't make it all the way to Sop Kai, but I had a great ride anyway. From Mae Rim I took the 3009 (I'm fairly sure this is the one marked on the Mae Hong Son loop map as 3010) past the Prem Center & all the way to the 1095. There I turned left & after a few km reached Sop Poeng.
Here's the bike, looking clean, at a small reservoir outside of Sop Poeng.
At Sop Poeng I turned right onto what another rider has ID'd as the 4024, but I didn't see any signs. The road was well-paved for the first 2km or so.
Then turned to dirt, with a few stretches of concrete slabs.
Suddenly, after maybe 5km the surface was paved again and in very good condition. Thanks to the Muang Kai Subdistrict Organization! What followed was a great stretch of smooth riding with some decent views despite the smoky haze.
Here's a shot of the Subdistrict Organization itself, where the road forks. I went right, on the main road.
At the village of Muang Kai there's another fork. The right one dead ends soon, the left goes on another 6km or so to Kai Noi. The surface was packed dirt & slabs.
My shots from this part turned out fuzzy. At Kai Noi I nosed around a little but didn't see an obvious road continuing to Sop Kai, much less a sign. There was a dirt track leaving the far end of the village, but being pretty inexperienced at riding the remote dirt roads of northern Thailand I decided to turn around & leave that for another day when I had company. Backtracking to Ban Op (I think), I stopped to check my map again & a local teenager confirmed that Sop Kai is past Kai Noi. When I mentioned I was low on gas he also took me to a local pump. The gas there looked like regular old 91 & that's what the old guy said it was, but let me tell you my D-Tracker was a different beast with that gas in the tank - way more juice than usual. I may have to go back just to fill up.
When I came back to the Subdistrict, I took the other fork in the road, leading to Mon Ngoa. More packed dirt, with some slabs and a short stretch of twin strips.
Looking back down the road from the top of Mon Ngoa.
A rough track continues on from here but I didn't. With a sore butt after 3+ hours on the hard D-tracker saddle I headed back to the 1095 & then the 107 to Chiang Mai. I'll definitely explore this area again. I'm sure the views will be spectacular when the air is clearer.
This is my first trip report so bear with me & please forgive the lack of detailed distances & other newbie errors. I set out from Chiang Mai this morning with the goal of finding my way to Sop Kai from the south. I didn't make it all the way to Sop Kai, but I had a great ride anyway. From Mae Rim I took the 3009 (I'm fairly sure this is the one marked on the Mae Hong Son loop map as 3010) past the Prem Center & all the way to the 1095. There I turned left & after a few km reached Sop Poeng.
Here's the bike, looking clean, at a small reservoir outside of Sop Poeng.
At Sop Poeng I turned right onto what another rider has ID'd as the 4024, but I didn't see any signs. The road was well-paved for the first 2km or so.
Then turned to dirt, with a few stretches of concrete slabs.
Suddenly, after maybe 5km the surface was paved again and in very good condition. Thanks to the Muang Kai Subdistrict Organization! What followed was a great stretch of smooth riding with some decent views despite the smoky haze.
Here's a shot of the Subdistrict Organization itself, where the road forks. I went right, on the main road.
At the village of Muang Kai there's another fork. The right one dead ends soon, the left goes on another 6km or so to Kai Noi. The surface was packed dirt & slabs.
My shots from this part turned out fuzzy. At Kai Noi I nosed around a little but didn't see an obvious road continuing to Sop Kai, much less a sign. There was a dirt track leaving the far end of the village, but being pretty inexperienced at riding the remote dirt roads of northern Thailand I decided to turn around & leave that for another day when I had company. Backtracking to Ban Op (I think), I stopped to check my map again & a local teenager confirmed that Sop Kai is past Kai Noi. When I mentioned I was low on gas he also took me to a local pump. The gas there looked like regular old 91 & that's what the old guy said it was, but let me tell you my D-Tracker was a different beast with that gas in the tank - way more juice than usual. I may have to go back just to fill up.
When I came back to the Subdistrict, I took the other fork in the road, leading to Mon Ngoa. More packed dirt, with some slabs and a short stretch of twin strips.
Looking back down the road from the top of Mon Ngoa.
A rough track continues on from here but I didn't. With a sore butt after 3+ hours on the hard D-tracker saddle I headed back to the 1095 & then the 107 to Chiang Mai. I'll definitely explore this area again. I'm sure the views will be spectacular when the air is clearer.
