Phu Kradeung

January 24-27, 2025

I packed lazily for the trip and felt reluctant about driving late at night. Getting older seems to make me less enthusiastic about late-night drives.

During the hike, I made videos of my group running up and down the mountain. The fast-paced instrumental music I chose for the background matched the energy perfectly.

This time, I carried my own gear instead of hiring a porter, to prepare for hiking in Europe where porters aren't available. I packed only essentials and a bit of food, keeping my backpack at 11 kg, while Nami’s was 8 kg. It wasn’t too heavy and didn’t feel exhausting. However, the final climb before Lang Pae was incredibly tiring. I also noticed some small changes in the trail since my last visit.

Because of a wild elephant sighting, some trails were restricted. We had to reach Pha Yeab Mek before 2 PM, leave Pha Lom Sak by 4 PM, and stick to the cliffside trail. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go to the Sa Anodat route, which was a bit disappointing.

For the first time in my 7-8 visits to Phu Kradueng, I biked to Pha Lom Sak. It was a lot of fun! I’d recommend using a bike with big wheels since small wheels struggled in the sandy terrain and made pedaling harder.

Mobile internet worked well throughout the trip, which was a surprise since I remembered True didn’t have any signal here on a previous visit.

This was my 8th time hiking Phu Kradueng and Nami’s 3rd. Our last visit was six years ago, in 2019.