Trekking Phu Kradeung

Karl knocked at my door at 5:30am.

I had been up for half an hour.

I was excited, anxious, and very nervous about the day that we had in store.

This was the day of our adventure; the day in which we were to trek Phu Kradeung...

We drove about an hour to a sort of base camp... a small open-air shop and restaurant where we ordered breakfast and prepared ourselves for the ascent.

We stayed at the base camp for about an hour as the sun slowly rose over the misty northern Thai countryside. The coffee was cheap, instant, and hot, and I savored a paper cup of the stuff. I knew that the day ahead would be a real challenge, and I was determined to appreciate my last respite before the ascent up Phu Kradeung.

Some monks stopped by to administer their morning prayers, and Karl and I took a moment to enjoy the moment before leaving the tranquility of the base camp behind. It was time to face our challenge.

A few minutes later I got my first glimpse of Phu Kradeung, a tall and steep mountain with a wide, flat plateau at the top.

"It doesn't look so bad from here..." I commented.

Karl laughed. "I'll remind you that you said that in half an hour".

Phu Kradeung is one of the most famous mountains in Thailand. The mountain is 1200 meters tall and 60km2 at the top. It's a challenge to trek up, but nevertheless one of the most popular adventure tourism destinations in the kingdom.

We stopped at the entrance to pay the entry fee - 200 baht for foreigners - then drove on to the park headquarters to check in and to order gear for our stay at the top.

Phu Kradeung National Park is one of the most popular national parks in Thailand. Despite the difficult trek to the summit, thousands of people climb the mountain every year. It's one of the best-appointed parks in the kingdom, meaning that you don't have to worry at all about bringing your own gear.

When we arrived at the headquarters, we checked in for two nights, and requested two tents, sleeping pads, pillows, sleeping bags, and blankets - all of which would be waiting for us at the top. All we had to do was to get there...

the base of the mountain... the zero km point

At first, we had planned to hike to the top of the mountain without any assistance.

At the last minute, however, I decided to take advantage of the porter service.

At the park headquarters, you can hire a strong local porter to carry your gear for you to the top of the mountain at a rate of 30 Thai baht per kilogram. With an exchange rate of about one USD per 2lbs, that's a fantastic deal! 

Even though I was traveling light (I only had a backpack with the next two days' worth of clothes), I was beginning to become nervous about the intense mountain trek which lay ahead of us, so I ultimately decided to hire a porter to carry my backpack to the summit.

I'm so glad I did...

The trek started gently enough, but after checking in at the park headquarters and setting out on the actual trail to the summit, the way suddenly became extremely steep and difficult.

As you can see from the map below, the first part of the trek and the very last push before the summit are the longest and steepest legs in the ascent.

Within the first five minutes, I felt like I was dying...

And I'm not being hyperbolic. My heart was pounding and I was gasping for breath. About ten minutes in, I started getting tunnel vision, and had to stop to catch my breath.

I was genuinely worried that I wasn't even going to make it to the first rest station... Was I going to have to shout up to Karl, who was trekking on ahead of me and calling out encouraging things to keep me going, that I couldn't do it??

I almost called it right then and there.

There were points of the climb where I was physically pushing off of my knees in order to take the next slow, torturous step.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this was probably the most physically demanding and difficult thing I've ever done in my life.

After about an hour the rooftops of the first rest area came into view, and I could have cried. Karl was waiting for me at one of the shops with a fresh coconut - some electrolytes to help us stay hydrated.

The good thing about Phu Kradeung is that there are several rest areas on the route up. Each one has little restaurants where you can get made-to-order Thai dishes, shops to buy snacks and drinks, and small souvenir stalls. I collapsed onto one of the bamboo benches.

We stayed at the rest area for about half an hour. Eventually I caught my breath and set my mind on the goal. I was determined to conquer the mountain. 

I was very happy to see that one of the small stalls was selling hiking gear, and I happily paid 250 Thai baht (about $10) for a trekking pole. This was the best 250 baht I've ever spent. It would make an almost unbelievable difference on the rest of the climb.

With a trekking pole in hand and a second wind, I was ready to take on the rest of the mountain. I was happy in the knowledge that the most difficult part of the trek was behind me, though I still felt a great deal of anxiety about the final leg of the trail.

We took our time climbing up the mountain, but after clearing the first segment of the trail, I was able to continue at a more or less decent pace and was no longer struggling. Don't get me wrong, it was still very difficult at times, but there was no longer any doubt that I could make it to the top.

I definitely appreciated each and every rest area that we passed.

As I was struggling so much, I was constantly amazed by the strength of the porters who seemed to be making relatively light work of the climb... and that's with some 40 kilograms slung across their shoulders!

The porters would take breaks too, of course. At each rest station there were bamboo poles set up which the porters could use to take off and hang their cargo while the rested. I was most impressed (and slightly embarrassed) that the porters seemed to be climbing at more or less the same pace as me.

Eventually we reached the final rest area. We decided to take a good long break, because the next leg was going to be difficult, and it would be a long time until we got another rest.

The final leg of the trek took us through what felt like the dense jungle. The trees grew much thicker here, and all the sounds of the insects and birds made it really feel like we were deep in the jungle.

The final leg, though longer and steeper than the rest, was actually easier than I had anticipated as small ladders had been constructed at some of the more difficult points. Nevertheless, it took longer to climb from the last camp to the summit than any of the other legs had taken, and I was thoroughly exhausted when I finally reached the top.

It was an amazing feeling to finally climb the last ladder and look out across the surrounding countryside from the top of Phu Kradeung's plateau!

I had read online that the climb could take between 4 and 7 hours. I am proud that we were able to make it up in about 5, despite my initial struggles. I felt so proud when I finally got to the top!

Unfortunately, the trek was far from over. It was a further 4km hike from the summit to the campsite, but after the climb, I felt like I could do anything. And besides, the top of Phu Kradeung is flat, and I can walk on flat ground forever. 

I was so relieved that there would be no more climbing that day!