Hiking a Wild mountain Wadi into the Jabal Samhan Leopard Sanctuary, West of Mirbat.
Halfway up – sooo thankful for the cloudy skies – it was 30 celcius
and the sun was scorching on the lower slopes. The pack weighed about 20 kilograms with 7 liters of water in it
– which was slowly disappearing as we went. The return trip the
next day was considerably lighter. A LOT less water weight!! I
picked up some WHO supplied and recommended electrolyte powder at the
pharmacy night before – great to throw into a few liters on the
hike. Funny how salty powdered electrolytes are!! Salt helps with
the absorption of water apparently. As we climbed the final stairs
to the top – noticing that someone had laid down concrete to the
top of the cliffs – the clouds came whipping along past us bringing
cool relief.
Some abandoned shell cases. Omani's
love their guns like most Arabs – check out the 'Battle of Mirbat'
for some history – I'll be checking out the castle there soon–
and visiting the fishing harbor seafood restaurant again – Mirbat
is famous for it's fishing grounds and lunch by the ocean after 2
days of hiking was Amazing!! Good fresh fish. I'm stoked to get in
the water and do a bit of spearfishing, but I'm REALLY curious about
the toxicity levels coming up from Somalian waters. Haven't found
any data online relating to this yet. It's something to consider and there might be some research on that in the next post here...
The wadi – we slept right down under
the left eye of the old man's eye socket in the rock face opposite.
It's a little hard to get the scale looking at this pic. If I were
standing in the eye socket over there, I'd be about 2mm high –
those 'bushes' down there are trees!! The scale here is pretty
massive... At this point in the hike I was sunburned and walking on
an ankle that had been sprained only 3 weeks previous – slow going
with caution was crucial on such rough terrain. This was the 8th
hour of hiking!! Ohya – consider – pirates, refugees, all kinds
of wanderers great and small have used these caves for centuries, but
we didn't see a soul after entering the wadi – just the Somali
refugees at the head. Of course, I can't help but
think... TREASURE!!! I'm going spelunking if we ever get back up
there. Of course, it's risky country. But after we had a small fire
going and some tea, looking up at the stars, it was amazing. A
different feeling than camping in the West. Same sky, different
wilderness... Wherever you go – there
you are!!
We were just drifting off to sleep and the coals were dying when we heard the first 'YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'. A few minutes later there was another distant 'yoooooooooooooo'. 5 of them came toward us from 3 different directions, and it wasn't until we heard a 'YOOOOOOOOOOO YIP YIP' about 50 feet off that we jumped up to build up the fire inside our wadi cave. My hiking companion and I speculated about what was watching us while I held a very large, heavy meat cleaver close. It was the only weapon I'd brought along, for use in dire (mortal) emergency. My first thought was Arabian leopards and I was excited (and alarmed) but they usually hunt alone. We had a pack converging on us. We're fairly certain through process of elimination that they were striped hyenas. I'm glad they backed off and left us alone, and I actually slept fairly well after awhile... In retrospect, I wish I'd gone out to greet them (and see what they were!!) - after the exhaustion of the 8 hour hike and the beauty of the fire and starlit sky, I simply wanted to avoid any conflict. I think the animals may have felt the same way. This range is in the Jabal Samhan wildlife reserve, and technically off limits to non conservation officers. American Andy and I are experienced eco-travelers and we left little footprint behind - we're pseudo-locals - the mountains are pretty desolate and not many people make the 8 hour climb for fun!! The only wild animals I actually saw were hyraxes - adorable chubby surprisingly fast rabbit-gerbil creatures. Yum!!
We were just drifting off to sleep and the coals were dying when we heard the first 'YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'. A few minutes later there was another distant 'yoooooooooooooo'. 5 of them came toward us from 3 different directions, and it wasn't until we heard a 'YOOOOOOOOOOO YIP YIP' about 50 feet off that we jumped up to build up the fire inside our wadi cave. My hiking companion and I speculated about what was watching us while I held a very large, heavy meat cleaver close. It was the only weapon I'd brought along, for use in dire (mortal) emergency. My first thought was Arabian leopards and I was excited (and alarmed) but they usually hunt alone. We had a pack converging on us. We're fairly certain through process of elimination that they were striped hyenas. I'm glad they backed off and left us alone, and I actually slept fairly well after awhile... In retrospect, I wish I'd gone out to greet them (and see what they were!!) - after the exhaustion of the 8 hour hike and the beauty of the fire and starlit sky, I simply wanted to avoid any conflict. I think the animals may have felt the same way. This range is in the Jabal Samhan wildlife reserve, and technically off limits to non conservation officers. American Andy and I are experienced eco-travelers and we left little footprint behind - we're pseudo-locals - the mountains are pretty desolate and not many people make the 8 hour climb for fun!! The only wild animals I actually saw were hyraxes - adorable chubby surprisingly fast rabbit-gerbil creatures. Yum!!
The massive face of the old man in the desert.
We camped the night under his right eye down below here...and yes, this is where I pulled out my phone and played
while putting a little fire together to brew some tea. It had never, nor will ever be heard in this place again... Unless...
while putting a little fire together to brew some tea. It had never, nor will ever be heard in this place again... Unless...
It was exciting to realize that I'd
discovered the Frankincense trees in their natural ecosystems – and
picked some resin right off the bark to put on the coals of our fire
later. Beautiful smell – available in all the local markets here
in Salalah, but not easy to find in the wild. It's an 8 hour hike to find wild trees that haven't been picked clean. Incredibly, I picked
up a 20 ounce bag for 1 Omani Riyal at the waterfront market –
that's about $2.75 Cdn. - incredible. That's enough to last me months - burning every weekend. Light up a little charcoal, drop on a few nugs, and the room
fills with the most appealing smoke – technically not narcotic,
great for meditation and contemplation.
Interesting rock formations – a
geologist would have LOVED this hike. Some FASCINATING
ROCKS!! I took this one for COOP...and all the hamsters and gerbils
I've known and loved...
I see these all the time
in Salalah – been wondering if they're 'Monarch' butterflies...? Back to work after 10 days off... Hope everyone here had a good
Eid al Adha
- it's been a welcome time to reflect and plan.
"Eid al-Adha commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice of his son,
Ishmael, to Allah as an act of obedience. Allah spared Ishmael after
seeing Ibrahim's devotion and instead gave him a sheep to kill. In the
Bible version, he is named Abraham and it is Isaac, not Ishmael, who is
almost sacrificed.Eid al Adha
- it's been a welcome time to reflect and plan.
The three-day festival also marks the end of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Prophet Muhammad's birthplace. Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage once in their lifetimes."
