A few days ago, all the staff from Absolute Adventure headed out to Ras al Khaimah with Ram to learn a trek that until now, only Ram knew. We drove to a wadi in Ras al Khaimah where there is lots of new construction. I have to say I was sad to see the new construction on the road. I went climbing in this wadi last year, and much of the really amazing rock climbing has either been blown up to make way for the road, covered by the earth used to build the road, or is completely unaccessible. Some of the climbing still remains, though it is harder to get to. Thankfully, the wadis we trek through are so remote, they remain completely untouched by the new construction.
The trek began with a pump up a steep rock ledge that ran along the wadi rim. We looked down as we hiked to see water flowing between the boulders in the wadi below us. The ledge slowly levels out and continues horizontally for a while before descending back toward earth, where it meets up with the top of the drainage that was once below us.
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| Walking along the edge |
We stepped off the ledge onto flat ground, surrounded by the ruins of a very small village. After passing through the village, we arrived a a large drainage filled with huge boulders.
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| The massive boulder field |
Weaving around boulders, we found and followed an ancient path, small stone stairways hidden among the enormous rocks. We had fun jumping from rock to rock and finding different vantage points from atop the house-sized rocks.
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| Tony climbing old steps up a massive boulder |
Summiting the drainage rewarded us with a sudden view of green; an oasis of palm trees, tucked between the cliffs.
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| The oasis high in the mountains |
Beyond the oasis we entered another dramatic canyon with vertical walls. It rained recently, so there were dark streaks where little remnants of streams flowed down the rock walls.
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| A dramatic canyon |
Deeper into the canyon, we scampered up rocky staircases and ladders formed by dry waterfalls.
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| Walking up dry waterfalls |
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| Climbing up waterfalls |
Stepping out of the canyon, we walked on steeply sloped mountainsides, headed to the highest point of our trek. At the summit of the mountain, we could see all the way to the sea.
It was at the top of this mountain where we came to Musaibat village. Musaibat village is a small, and extremely remote village surrounded by towering peaks. There are several Pakinstani men who live in the village and care for the goats that belong to the families who own the village. These men live in extremely rustic houses without running water or electricity. They were very welcoming to us- it seemed they were excited to have company. Ram, who is from Nepal, speaks fluent Hindi and Urdu in addition to his own language, which made it easy for us to communicate with the goat herders. They invited all fifteen of us in for tea, which they made by boiling water over an outdoor fire.
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| The two goat herders boiling water over a fire |
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| An inside view of the small house |
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| Waiting for tea |
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| Ram pours us tea |
The tea they make is very sweet. I think they make it with Lipton Yellow Label, goats milk and tons of sugar. We were thankful for their generous hospitality, so we compiled a bag of goodies from the contents of our packs to return the favor.
We thanked them warmly and headed out. As we began our descent, I looked up to see one of the men taking our photo with his cell phone. We all got a kick out of it, smiling and waving for the camera. I was happy that they were as curious about us as we were about them.
The trail along the mountainside soon transformed into another lofty stone ledge that hugged the side of the mountain.
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| That's me pausing along the ledge for a photo |
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| Goofing off on the ledge |
Our views change as the ledge snakes around the mountainsides- we see the valley below, sheer rock faces around us, and the sea in the distance- a brilliant magenta mirror reflecting the setting sun.
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| Traversing the mountainsides, look how tiny we are compared to the mountain |
The ledge fades into the side of the mountain, becoming a rough, rocky trail. As we descended down a slope we passed a tiny but lush date farm surrounded by a high metal fence. We stopped to rest next to a remarkable sight- two small rock pools filled with freshwater, ferns and mosses thriving around them. Ram explained that this is a natural spring that flows all year. The locals have built these small rock walls to form pools to collect the water.
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| The tiny date farm on the slope |
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| One of the pools, magical in the setting sunlight |
We reached another drainage filled with boulders, and began rock hopping in the twilight. By the time we got back to the cars, night had begun.
