James: Here's something I just found, sounds rather fantastic and might interest you... [inserts link to our Join A Team post about Traversing the Hajar Mountains of Oman]
Janneke: Out of all calls that I’ve seen, this one might be the most special!!!
…
That was November 25th and two weeks later we had booked tickets to Oman and two weeks after that we landed in Muscat.
We knew nothing of Oman and our experience of long-distance hiking was short. Coinciding with the turn of a new decade it seemed like an appropriate time to jump into the unknown. It was the unknown that drew us in, and the Hajar Mountains offered many opportunities to explore places that may have only been seen by a handful of people, if any.
Traversing the Hajar Mountains was the most incredible adventure of our lives. For fifteen days we were taken out of the 21st century and into our own magical world where we slept under the stars and drank water from ancient reservoirs while barely seeing another soul, except wild donkeys and fearless mountain goats.
Wilderness Trekking Oman, John Edwards’ book, was our expedition bible, he kindly sent us both a draft copy to help with our preparations. In a spreadsheet we created a kit list and Janneke made a detailed risk assessment, was there anything else to do? With only two weeks between booking flights and leaving, we didn’t have time to overthink anything - is it wise to carry all our food for the entire traverse?!
The second morning we woke up high on the blind side of the ridge where darkness had forced us to camp short of our goal. Going over the top a cold wind gusted into our faces as we looked down unable to see where the path went, although now we could see yesterday’s planned target – the town of Hadash far, far below, we still had a long way to go and how the hell were we going to get down? Our 25kg backpacks that had encouraged a good sweat ascending 1400m now pulled on our shoulders towards the vertigo inducing cliff edge. Very slowly and with great caution, occasionally crawling, often climbing we made it to Hadash where we were welcomed by a local family to enjoy coffee and oranges as our heart rates recovered.
John has crafted a wonderful route taking in the best of the Hajar Mountains while ensuring you are never too far from water or a local settlement, where you might be fortunate to encounter the generous hospitality of the Omani people. We set off as newcomers to the Omani mountains without a local guide; navigating was a rewarding experience using occasional painted markers, GPS and John’s daily description of the route. The hardest and most exposed parts of the trek are comparable to the GR20’s famous Cirque du Solitude. However, with consistently good weather, the Hajar traverse is more welcoming.
Oh the sound of complete silence that is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Being on an ancient donkey track in a foreign country under the stars with nothing grounding us to the modern world - it could have been 1000BC. Though it wasn’t always so quiet.
“BZZKKARHGGHH!!”, we will never forget that moment the trickling waterfall we had passed under ten minutes earlier exploded into thunderous roaring life. In our cave a short stone’s throw away, we took a step back as the avalanche of water rushed down the gully and we nervously laughed at our fortune. We now knew never to sleep in a wadi for risk of flooding - from then on, we hotfooted it across every gully with frequent glances upwards.
Wild camping every night greatly contributed to our experience as it allowed us to cook during golden sunsets, fall asleep to shooting stars and rise with the morning sun. Before long our daily rhythm got in sync with the simple yet enriching mountain life. With time we learnt to distinguish between the unpredictable ‘man tracks’ and our preferred gently meandering donkey tracks.
From the moment we met, we never seemed to run out of stories to tell each other, or dreams to envision. During our first days of spending time together in Malaysia, we climbed a mountain, chased a tropical storm and got invited to share a meal with the locals during a circumcision celebration. What connected us was our love for meeting new people and finding personal growth in unpredictable, exciting adventures, and getting to know others on a deep level along the way. In Oman, we set off as vague travel companions, but we grew close in mind and heart.
In a valley high among the mountains we drank coffee with a shawawiya (semi-nomadic pastoralist) sharing smiles and a few words of Arabic before we bid him goodnight to set up camp by a 3000 year old donkey track as the old decade faded into the new. If you are seeking a challenging adventure with unexpected turns, the Hajar mountain traverse will offer you a thousand and one.
Janneke & James
