Length: Aprox 25 km, 9 hrs 35 minutes
Difficulty Level: Extreme
Now I know why they call it the Wadi of Hell …
We woke up 6 am in good spirits and started our walk at 6:25. There was light outside but the sun’s rays had not broken through the mountains surrounding Mqamin. Samer helped get us started and will be hauling the bags in a cab later on in the morning.
The initial climb started of steep, and only got steeper as we climbed. At one point it felt more like mountain climbing that it did hiking with a few slips. At one point one of my hiking sticks slipped and I need to retract more than 10 meters to retrieve it. As one climbed the vegetation began to change. From green, to brown, and finally to rocky … I had to make several stops to catch my breath. I don’t think I have been this exhausted in a long time. Finally Chamoun says, “Congratulations you made it.”
Now this hike originally was planned for two sections first to Kfir Bnine, sleeping the night and then the next day to Biqaa Sifrine. We had decided to combine the two for a total of 25 km. The only problem is Chamoun was not familiar with the short cut straight to Sifrine and so we had to start finding our way once we reached the peak. And that we did, unfortunately, it meant we had to scale a second mountain range. Just when I thought we had, we found we had to scale a third mountain range !!!
If exhaustion was not enough, water started becoming scarce. I never really realized how important water was until this expedition began. I usually carry a two liter Camel Bag and a half liter bottle. By the second range the water was running out. Fortunately, we found a well on our way to replenish. Once we scaled the third range, we reached an area with lots of vegetation, but very few people. We rationalized it is probably because of Ramadan and most people prefer to avoid the summer heat. By that time we also lost some of our bearing and Chamoun started to get a little anxious trying to find someone to help us along. He found a creek of water and decided instinctively to follow its source going upwards! Not another upwards … Fortunately his hunch proved correct and we finally came across a small farm with a pick-up. The farmer invited us in and his wife offered us Apples, Cucumber, and nectarine and water just in time !!! They seemed pretty isolated and poor, until it came time to say goodbye, and the lady asked if she could take a photo of us. “Sure,” we replied. And she pulls out a digital Sony camera and shoots some pics. The marvel of technology… Turns out she has two daughters, one of whom is a college graduate in environmental tourism.
The directions we were given were to follow the base of the mountain to reach the Sugar Well, which would then lead to Biqaa Sifrine. Unfortunately, it also meant going up and neither Chamoun nor I were in any mood for another steep ascent, so we opted for continuing on the lower end of the mountain. Asking for more directions confirmed it, and we were given the advice of sticking close to a water canalization. By that point the entire region we were in was green with Apple, Pear, and Nectarine orchards. Water was in obvious abundance and the inhabitants seemed to be making the most of it. The canalization idea proved to be a dangerous one as it meant literally walking on a 15 inch wall that separated the canalization from some fields 15 feet lower. I felt like a trapeze artist and was relieved that shortly after we opted for a safer way through the fields.
An hour or so later we finally reached the road that leads up to the Sugar Well and down to Biqaa Sifrine. The only way up there and then down was a paved road, and neither of us was in the mood of walking up a paved road and down another. At the point as the crow flies we were probably a couple of kilometers away from the town, but there was no road or way to cut across, so we hitched a ride with a pickup truck.
We reached Biqaa Sifrine around 4 pm, and went straight to Ammo Mustapha’s who provided us with a lunch feast to die for, and which I feared would spoil us going forward. Samer joined us there and seemed in great spirits having spent most of the day getting to know the people back in Qmamin.
After lunch, we headed towards the house we were staying in for the night- Abu Majed’s. It turns out the house is only one block away from Ammo Mustapha. Thank God for that!
As for my health report, pretty good except for some serious chaffing in some of toes. I added some anti-bacterial Neo-Sporin and tomorrow plan to add a few band-aids. Hopefully, it will solve the issue.
Will go to sleep now as I have to wake up again in 5 hours for the walk to Ehden.
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