Wayfinder Ali: Wadi

Hidden Oasis Trek in Ras al Khaimah

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.

If you would like to go on this trek, you can head out with Absolute Adventure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A dramatic canyon

Deeper into the canyon, we scampered up rocky staircases and ladders formed by dry waterfalls.

Walking up dry waterfalls

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.

The two goat herders boiling water over a fire

An inside view of the small house

Waiting for tea

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.

That's me pausing along the ledge for a photo

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.

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.

The tiny date farm on the slope

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.

Exploring the Wadi in the Pick-up

Yesterday Eddie, Ania and I decided to paddle to Smuggler's Bay, a rather large secluded beach about 3 miles up the coast from our house. It typically only takes a little over an hour to get there even in the short sit on top kayaks we have. Unfortunately the sea had other plans for us. It took forever just to paddle to the point (a rocky bit of land we use as a reference point) because the sea was pretty big and the swell unorganized. Before the point, the swell was maybe 2 to 3 feet, but grew to 3 to 4 feet once we reached the point. We would have had an easier time had we had rolling swell, but each wave was covered in its own chop and the kayaks couldn't smoothly float over the swell but were banged around in different directions each time.
Typically, the winds and wave heights grow higher here in the afternoon. Ania fell off a boulder problem a month or two ago in India and injured one of her ribs, which started to ache as we paddled. We decided it would take another 30 to 45 minutes to reach Smuggler's Bay, and then we would have to immediately return knowing that we had rougher seas and a longer paddle to get back. Eddie would probably have to tow Ania back because of her rib. We decided the trip wasn't worth the risk or misery and turned around at the point. Swimming and body surfing on the beach in front of Paul's was much more fun than struggling back from Smuggler's bay.

Then we swapped the van out for the pick-up and headed into the wadi to check out one of the newer climbing spots we take clients and try to get all the way up the wadi before dark. The new climbing spot is pretty cool, a smooth vertical climb up a dry waterfall (it isn't dry when it rains!) and a complete arch to the left. I'll post photos of it next time I go there. We drove most of the way up the wadi, through this really narrow solid rock section that was just amazing. At one point, the rock is just barely wide enough for a truck to get through. It's just solid rock that you can feel and see how the water has sculpted the rock in that tiny passage. The rock is smooth and round. I'm sure it pounds and crashes through there. It's hard to imagine what it looks like full of water, how the rocks and boulders and crevasses shape the rapids.

All of us want to find a safe, dry ledge up high in the wadi to sit out a proper rain storm and watch the chaos unfold below us. We got to a split in the road, by a fenced in mosque and realized we would have to turn around soon to make it out by dark. We decided to drive another three minutes on one of the roads, and had to choose which one. Ania said the one to the left looked new, curvy, steep and more interesting so we took that one. I was glad to have the pick-up with off road tires and 4 wheel drive because I needed it to get up that hill. At one point the road took a hard left and looked pretty washed out and loose on the left hand side, not wanting to dig the left side into a little ravine, we got out and walked to the top of the hill. We were greatly rewarded when we got up there. Almost magically, there were large villages on the tops of the hills, which had surprisingly large flat areas. You would never guess that the tops of the mountains in the wadi were so flat and that so many people lived up there. There are little clues as you drive through the wadi, even in the narrowest, steepest sections there are big white water tanks that maybe hold two hundred gallons or so. The Omani army drops them off with helicopters and trucks so that the villages have clean drinking water. As you drive through the wadi, you wonder where the village is and how on earth they get to the water. I drove up out of the rocky narrow wadi, up this crazy steep, hairpin washed out dirt road, to find a large village atop a flat mountain.
We needed to head back as the sun was starting to go down, and Eddie wanted to drive, so Ania and I jumped into the truck bed to get a better view of the wadi. Going down that crazy steep hill we sat with our feet against the front of the bed to keep ourselves from sliding downward.

At one point Eddie sped up to get up a hill, Ania and I were deep in conversation and not paying attention, rolled backwards and watched out feet go skyward simultaneously. We were sure Eddie did this on purpose and thought he must be having a good laugh. Turns out it was purely accidental and he missed the whole ordeal much to his regret.

New places to explore

A few days ago, Eddie and Ania arrived. They flew in from India, where they had gone exploring. Before their India trip they worked in China for China Climb, an outdoor education program there. They are great additions to the house and program and I know we’ll have lots of fun together. Today, we took them into the wadi we frequent to show them our established climbing routes and the boulder field named Damian's Boulders. We parked the truck at the base of Damian’s boulders and hopped from boulder to boulder. It was really fun seeing Eddie and Ania’s faces as they saw all the boulders for the first time. Weeks could be spent climbing in that boulder field. They are exited about being here and all the fun things we’ll be doing. Then Micah took us to a different wadi on the other side of the dam, which has a really huge solid wall with lots of climbing potential. Micah, Mike and Jesi found it a month or two ago. It has the potential for multi-pitch routes and a boulder field at its base. It hasn't been developed yet so we hope to begin the process. We parked at the base of a smaller mountain and hiked to the top of it, where there is an abandoned village at the top and a great view of the big multi-pitch wall. Eddie has a really nice digital SLR camera and took loads of great photos. We climbed into the little houses and admired the construction of them. There are loads of pottery shards everywhere all over the ground by the village. Once you get a hang of spotting them, you can hardly take a step without spotting a piece. We found a pile of large shards with patterns painted and carved into them and managed to find matching pieces. There are hundreds of little stone buildings in the mountains and dozens of caves we are eager to explore.

Ania and I in the boulder field.