Matt B and Diana hiking across red dunes to check out a climb:
Eroded cliffs with red dunes in the distance:
The erosion has created fantastical features on the mountains giving them the appearance of melted wax, dripping and twisting down the cliff faces. Sometimes, encircled by cliffs, I felt as though I was in an immense opera house surrounded by tiers of box seats filled with people. Rather impressionist, I know, but it was an amazing similarity if I squinted into the sun just right.
Diana and Matt B. hiking through Rakabat Canyon to a climb:
I liked the region so much that I actually enjoyed all the trad climbing I did, and it is a special place, indeed, if I'm enjoying the trad climbing.Cool evening light on mountains behind the town of Wadi Rum:
Sunset:
Tom, me, and George celebrating at the top of a climb:
Abseiling down a route:
Tom and George coiling ropes at the end of a route:
So much for peace and quiet. Tom decides to actually respond to clients while on vacation:
The awesome 50 meter 6a+ crack first pitch of Warriors of the Wasteland. You can just barely make out Matt B. at the horizontal break near the bottom of the pic:
Red dunes:
Lonely yellow flower:
Dune ridges:
Me leading the first pitch on Essence of Rum:
Maverick (aka Mark) and Aidan wound up having one evening where they weren't enjoying the trad climbing so much. They had set off on a long route that would take them to the top of Jebel Rum, a massive mountain directly behind our campsite, and didn't quite make it to the descent before dark. Wisely, they chose to spend a chilly night on the mountain instead of trying to find the abseil points in the dark with headlamps. Duncan and Nathan set off at first light the next morning in case they needed help, and ran into the tired and hungry pair who were rapidly descending. While everyone was relieved that Mav and Aidan were ok, I was just happy to welcome a couple more people to the "I've-unintentionally-spent-the-night-on-top-of-a-mountain-on-Hot-Rock" club. It was getting lonely being a club of one now that David is gone.
It is quite surprising, actually, that there are not more climbers here. We passed through during the alleged high season for climbers, but saw maybe 12 other climbers at the one official campsite in town while we were there. Tourism is taking off in this town of 1,500 people, however.
George sunbathes (lower left) on a cliff overlooking the town of Wadi Rum:
It is the reason the town exists in its current form, having started out 20 years ago as just a couple of houses. The busloads of daytrippers that come to Wadi Rum for a jeep or camel ride into the desert, plus the groups on multi-day treks into the spectacular canyons, use the Bedouin as guides. Now the Bedouin all have cell phones and 4x4s in addition to camels, yet they have lost none of their legendary hospitality.
We took a three day trip out into nearby Barrah Canyon for climbing and the fellow that dropped us off and picked us up invited our group of 15 people to his house for dinner. What person in their right mind would invite a group of grubby, hungry climbers to dinner? We're likely to eat them out of house and home! Of course we took him up on it, and there was so much food that most of us were reduced to wallowing around like bloated maggots before we could finish it all. I did my best, but couldn't make it past five helpings.
Freshies! First morning tracks on the way to Barrah Canyon:
Bedouin and camels on the move. Heading for coffee?:
Tom might look suave and sophisticated if it weren't for the headlamp:
We hadn't broken down in BiRT for some time, but it really wasn't necessary for one of the jeeps taking us to Barrah Canyon to splutter to a stop:
Better than pushing BiRT, I suppose:
This Bedouin fellow (lower left) tried to talk to me and Diana before going his merry way with his camels:
Sunrise from camp in Barrah Canyon:
Diana (lower right) takes on some serious crack:
Gail (top) and Hannah (bottom) try out the double climb method:
Diana relieved to be on the belay ledge:
Yet another gorgeous sunrise in Barrah Canyon:
Now for something different -- sunset:
I'm growing weary of sensational sunsets:
I don't consider myself much of a desert person, yet found Wadi Rum to be extraordinary. It's not necessary to be a climber to appreciate the area, even. One day Diana and I joined Matt B. on a canyon adventure hike that he said was one of his all-time favorite days out ever. He had done the hike twice before -- once with a guide when he had first visited Wadi Rum several years ago and once with Emma and a couple of Germans he met before Hot Rock arrived (Matt and Emma had left the group back in Aswan to spend more time in Wadi Rum).
Diana and I figured if Matt says it was a good day then it must be a good day. We eagerly agreed to join him and, what do you know, it turned out to be one of my favorite days ever. We hired a Bedouin to drive us to our start point, hiked up a mountain (which involved much clambering and climbing without ropes along a rock "trail" that had maybe five cairns the entire distance), then proceeded to abseil through 10 different ab points -- some of which dropped a person into water and required swimming -- into a canyon. Never have I had such an experience. Definitely a 10+ on the funtastic scale. To top it all off, we hitched a ride to camp at sunset in the back of a Bedouin truck that just happened to be carrying a camel. I never envisioned that I would one day share space in the back of a pickup with a camel while speeding through the desert.
Diana climbing up the mountain:
Why did we decide Matt knew where he was going?
Matt and Diana get close to the edge:
And now we enter the slabby portion of our hike. blech. That's Matt lower left:
Who needs rock climbing shoes? Me working my way to the top:
Definitely don't want to fall down into that abyss. We had to bridge the entire length of this chasm, which, at one point, required turning the other direction. Very bizarre, but somehow it worked. Diana gingerly works her way along:
Overlapping steep-sided, mini-canyons. Easy to get lost when you get down in that mess:
Diana doing some more free-climbing. About this time we were wondering why we didn't bring our climbing shoes:
Matt and Diana checking out a cool cliff:
Colorful rock shards:
Stunning sandstone features:
These types of formations were everywhere:
Now the fun begins! Time to start descending:
Matt works his way across one of the pools deep in the canyon:
Diana checking out her reflection? Nope, just prepping for...:
her next scary step:
Tree in the canyon:
View from the top of one of the abseils:
Matt comes down one of the final abseils:
And it's sunset by the time we exit the canyon. Bedouin tent in the foreground. Wadi Rum is around that gap in the mountains far left:
Tent update: The tent blew away again during a particularly windy day while I was out climbing. Only 3 of the original 12 stakes remain now. I'm going to recommend to Marmot that they make stakes at least 4 feet long when pitching on sand and ground that turns to mud in the rain. Perhaps also include some cement blocks with the tent... I may also have to start setting cat traps for all the little buggers that find my tent irresistable since the urinating frenzy at St. Katherine's. Their sense of smell is better than the average soap washing, apparently.
