WLE Day 6 (08-13-2011): Hasroun - Tanourine Reserve - Laqlouq - Aqoura

WLE Day 6 (08/13/2011): Hasroun - Tanourine Reserve - Laqlouq - Aqoura

Length: Aprox 35 km, 9 hrs

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Routine is in now and the team works efficiently every morning. Chamoun is usually the first to get up and wake both Samer and I. Departure times depend on several factors including length of hike, difficulty level, and destination objectives … On average we have been departing around 7 am and hiking anywhere between 7 and 9 hours. We usually wash our clothes in the evening (if not every night every other night). Surprisingly, even though we rope dry, the clothes have been drying stiff by early morning. Everyone tells us it’s because of the consistent wind all night. The problem has been the clothes while clean of sweat and any odor are not completely clean when it comes to the white which is slowly but surely turning to spots of dust brown … Hopefully, soon we will get the chance for a decent wash with detergent to take out some of the dusty spots. One lesson is clear, try not to hike with white- even though it may be the coolest in the summer.

Another routine is showering, which takes place as soon as we arrive. There is nothing that can refresh a tired soul more than a nice warm (or cold) shower- depending on the weather outside.

A third routine has to do with our meals and water. We usually have a quick breakfast of pita bread with cheese or Labneh (dry yogurt), drink some water, and fill our camel bags with water. Some places where we have been have provided us as mentioned in previous posts with hefty breakfast meals, others not. The first may way us down early on in the hike but means there is no lunchtime hunger. The latter will not but will make one hungry come lunch hour. Neither option is perfect as we are in the middle of nowhere around lunch hour without much options. In either case, it also means at dinner time, we are ready to devour whatever comes our way.

So the 6^th day plan was to hike from Hasroun to the town of Upper Tannourine. We all had breakfast at the Karam Hotel- it was one of the hefty ones. Samer complained that he had not slept well because Chamoun had snored the previous evening. We left Hasroun around 7:30 am hitching a ride from the town up to the trail. It took around 10 minutes to get there mostly through unpaved road surrounded by orchards on both sides. The driver was nice and told us all about the town, its inhabitants, and even about his wife. “She’s short, fat, and no longer that attractive,” is all he had to say about her … He had sold his Apple Orchard and bought the Mercedes he drives around as a cab. “I am old and there is no one to work it anymore as my son is in the military, so this is more practical for me,” he explained.

It was a hot day and the trail to Tannourine while not very difficult was made so because of the loss of body fluid. The trail itself was full of orchards. Water wells were not abundant but close enough for comfort. As we went higher, farmland was replaced with barren terrain. Some 3 hours and almost 10 km into the hike, we finally came upon the Tannnourine Cedar reserve, much larger but unfortunately much lesser known that its counterpart north of Bsharre. Paulette, Chamoun’s wife, came to meet us there. She came with her mother and her two dogs. They were excited to see Chamoun. He took advantage of this visit to offload some dead weight in his bag- essentially all the stuff he had not been using since the beginning of our hike. In the meantime, Samer and I talked to the reserve park rangers who recommended some places to see in the park in little time we had. We went in and were impressed by the organization as well as the size and density of the reserve, although quite inexplicably a part of the reserve was named after Dalida- a 1970’s singer (well to be fair they did say she had visited Lebanon several times).  When we came out of the reserve and realizing that we still had about 6 hours left in the hiking day, Samer, Chamoun and I decided it would be a waste to simply stop for the night in the town of Tannourine, which was less than 3 km away. Rather it may be worth a dash on to the Aqoura-Afqa areas. This would save us a day of hiking as we would have done two hikes in one day. The distance however meant that it would be a challenge to Samer, who was already bothered by the heat. He sportingly decided to take our bags in Paulette’s car straight to our destination some 24 km away. Happy to see Samer comforted, I took off following Chamoun.

We needed to maintain a pace of about 5-6 km per hour. The hike took us on the shoulder of the mountain facing the towns of Upper and Lower Tannourine. It afforded some spectacular views. Once we crossed this chain we headed down the mountain into a valley where the farms were rich with water and fruit. One of them offered us right off of her tree some berries (tout). I never tasted anything like them. Another farmer offered us Apples. One offered us water from a well called Freedom (houriyyeh). “Enjoy your freedom,” he said, “And God bless our army.” Then we came upon a wild cherry tree with what ther term “rainbow cherry”. Before I could blink, Chamoun was already up on the tress picking. He has a very strict rule not to ever pick from people’s orchards, but this was in the wild so he uninhibited his (and my desires). I can categorically state, that these were probably the best cherries I have ever tasted in my life bar none. I could not stop and Chamoun had to eventually drag me away from this beautiful wild tree … On we went.

At the bottom of the valley right before we were about to ascend the next and final mountain, Chamoun came to an abrupt stop. I was following a few meters behind and was equally startled. He then put his hand behind a rock and came out with what looked like a snake. “What the hell are you doing Chamoun?” I yelled, “Don’t be stupid. I mean this is no time to show off. What am I supposed to do with you if it bites you?” “Wlik ya Wissam,” he answers, “don’t worry this is just shed skin.” I came closer and saw the skin of 5 foot viper. After taking some photos, I wanted to show it to Samer, so I folded it and took it along for the ride.

It was a blessing not to have been carrying the hiking bags. God Bless my brother. Two exhausting hours later and having climbed what seemed like an endless mountain, we came to a shepherd tent inhabited by an old lady and her husband. It turns out they were from a town in the Bekaa and they spend summers in this tent tending their flock of sheep. The woman insisted we have lunch, but we needed to move on to Laqlouq close to our meeting place with Samer.

It took us a while to get there, but once we finally did, I was very surprised by the houses in Laqlouq- mostly mansions with manicured gardens. One house was absolutely stunning, with green grass the type one is accustomed to see in the US but rarely in Lebanon. Another one had a funky triangular design … Almost all had small ponds storing their water.

Some 6 hours after we had departed, Chamoun and I reunited with Samer at a Café at a fork in the road down to Aqoura. He was bored stiff but very happy to see us. Shortly after we began our decent to Aqoura and were met by our host Hassan, who had driven from the town in the valley to meet us. He drove us to the apartment were we would be staying. So “what is special about this town Hassan?” I asked. “I am not sure,” he said, “we have about 5 stores, and about 45 churches!”

Later on the evening when Samer and I had gone for a walk in the town, Samer looks up at me and says, “You know, I wouldn’t mind a life like this one day …”

WY