After not much luck in Pai we've headed out to the Nan region of Thailand, about six hours drive East of Chiang Mai. Nan is not really on the tourist map, and it's a much smaller place with a totally different vibe to everywhere else we've been so far. A small town with some of the best food we've had on our trip, Nan is set high in the mountains with 80% of the land on a 45 degree angle or more. Our travels through the region brought us to heaps of small villages where the local people still live a traditional life.
-Josh on the Tard Luang-
Our time in Nan was to bring us some of the first real rain of our trip, Four more first descents and a multi-day expedition.
-Will on the first slide of the Tard Luang-
-Josh slides on the Tard Luang-
The first river we checked out was the Tard Luang. A local guide in Nan had told us he thought there were waterfalls there. We parked next to the river and looked around - we couldn't see much except that the was a steep gradient leading up the valley and a decent amount of water running past us. Then we were met by the park ranger who spoke no English, but pointed upstream and made excited gestures of waterfalls with his hands. Awesome!!
-Sam lines up for a sweet slot-drop-
With that we got our gear and started the hike. What we found was a sweet series of slides and drops, with just one portage in the middle.
-Sam hucks whilst Josh poses with the rangers (our guide is on the right)-
Our guide was invaluable. He led us up the path, across the river and up to the best whitewater on the section. Every time we thought we were at the best drop he'd just wave us on and keep heading upstream. The Tard Luang is a classic run and a beauty of a find.
Will
Sam
Josh
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