Five things I learned on my first Mountain Trekking

Muscat - During my high school days, I was interested to join the local mountaineering club. I had the orientation on what to bring, wear, fitness preparation and safety aspect of the activity. Unfortunately, I wasn’t financially capable to support the interest and had opted to drop. Fast forward 20 years, I am now able to provide myself all the necessary tools required to enjoy the outdoor activities from Scuba Diving, Water Skiing to Camping.

L-R: Hamed Al-Saadi, Abdulhamid Al-Hadhrami, Khalid Al-Mazrouai, Cledion Taporco

With just a day of preparation, I got what I need but my fitness level is not at its peak (it has never been because beers always taste good) coming from my annual holiday in Philippines. There were initially 9 of us ‘office junkies’ that would scale a mere 300m from an altitude of 2000m but were down to four knowing that our patrol leader is Abdulhameed, seasoned Omani Triathlete and an outdoor enthusiast. 

Reward: The Ghubra Bowl from the top of which Wukan village
can also be spotted

Jabal Akhdar is about 2.5 hours drive from Muscat including the uphill drive of about 40 minutes. The high elevation of ‘The Green Mountain’ makes it a great place during summer months as the temperature would be 10 degrees that what it is in Muscat and would even drop more during night time. 

Abdu slept comfortably with no tent and is not concerned about foxes
and scorpions, else he'll eat them

At night, the sky was really amazing with all the stars seemed so close and the moon appears like a ball of light in one of the peaks. The stillness and the deafening silence made me appreciate how peaceful was our life for the era of commercialism. All we can hear was the bray of the free-roaming donkey and the hiss of the insects.

Before China introduces the metal grills in Oman, this the local way of bbq.
Who introduced the bamboo then?

While we almost try all the time to be professional on the timing on most of the trips, we are still late to arrive and had our lunch past 2 pm with this goat sharing the remains.

Goats in Oman eat rice! Shaa is the arabic for Does while Anz are for Bucks

Proud owners of 4x4 vehicles (Jeep, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner and Pajero)
meet in Birkat Al Mouz

After gobbling up our lunch, we have just enough time to distribute our supplies with Abdu making sure that we all have our fair share. 

Apart from food, we each have to carry at least 6 liters of water. In total,
our backpacks weighs between 10-15 kgs.

In front of us is the village of Manakhir, where handful of houses are built.

While I almost have everything what I need according to my research, the following are very important I should say.

1. Always follow the lead of the experienced hikers. It is inevitable the few of the group would like to experience the adrenaline rush or have the interest to show better path. When confused, always follow the lead of the most experienced hiker because they have the sixth sense of how to find the right path. I have compared it in cooking, that if we are not able to arrive at the taste that we desired, an experienced chef would know which ingredients are missing and what to put in sequence.

This was the last time that we had an eye on Manakhir Village

2. Look for signs. Although the track that we follow is considered unmarked, we are not the first to be there. There are also enthusiasts like us that are kind enough to create trekking signs such as carefully arranged rocks and paint spray. Another is the presence of donkey or goat dungs, in the first place we are using donkey path anyway. So during the time that my companions are out of sight, I had the hint that I am on the right path.

Paint Spray showing which direction to go.

Decaying remains of a goat along the path.

 

Artistic way of creating trekking marks

3. There is no substitute for proper hiking boots. Just because I have an all-terrain shoes means that it was enough to absorb the punishment of rocky path. A good trekking boots would be something that has hard out-sole, soft insole, high-cut or enough to cover the uncle and it should be an omni-grip. Luckily, mine was able to survived but have unnecessarily stretch my leg muscles. Khalid had semi-sandals which cost him minor cuts from the sharp edges.

For this reason that the guidebook called it 'The Balcony Walk'.
In photo is Abu Ahmed, our search and 'reconnaissance' expert.

4. Long pants are a must regardless of weather and terrain.  I thought that because we are in Oman where sun shines almost year round, a rugged short would do. Long pants protect from harmful rays, insect bites but more importantly from cuts in the event of an accidental slip. A multi-pocket pants are handy for the energy bars and other essential tools

While we have to manage our water well, these goats don't have that problem.
They even most of the time, I guess as trail mark for them.

5. Food and water management. We are trekking in Oman not in Philippines where water from certain fauna can be extracted. The terrain is almost dry and the only sight of water (which is stagnant) is hundreds of meters down on a dead-drop cliff. Banana and Dates are very handy and provide a good source of carbs and sugar.

Fresh dates of Oman, the yellow one is called Khalas and is the number 1
variety.

These might seem basics for the experienced hikers but for beginners like, it made a whole lot of sense. Of course, those are lessons for myself and there are plenty of resources available in the internet that will help you better prepare. 

On winters, this plant boast a array of colorful flowers

Perfectly camouflage Arabian lizard, how else would I call it?

Can you spot another camouflaging lizard?

It took me more than 10 clicks to finally got this photo. Even on stones, this
insect appears like withered leaves.

It is already past 7 pm when we rendezvoused on the marked trail, and
anytime soon the mirage will disappear and we will be in total darkness.

We took a used smoked hand grenade that we found on a small camping ground.
Adjacent to our path is a military training facility, the toughest in Oman. I don't
know if this belongs to them.

Overall, the trip was very unforgettable and our bond as brothers are ever stronger. We all share our personal stories and get to know each of us better. We all look forward for the next trip sometime next month. Until then.

Mabuhay!