St. Catherine’s mountain - (Sinai) Hiking

This mountain is usually climbed at day light unlike Mt. Moses it is composed of a 3 hours hike to the foot of the mountain followed by another 3 hours climb to reach the top. Wadi El Lega, meaning valley El Lega or sometimes called “Wadi El Arbeine” is the route taken to Mt. St. Catherine (Marked with a blue arrow on the picture). At the end of the Asphalt there is a police station which will not let you hike without a permit and a guide. The route is not difficult but it could get tricky for inexperienced hikers. It is preferred to do this on a 2 day journey trip. This means that a camel would have to come along the trip to carry food and shelter. For the adventurous type of person who doesn’t want to travel with a guide, would have to carry his/her water, food, warm closes and even sleeping bag if planning to stay the night over. Out of experience, I would recommend to do this on a 2 day trip. This way it would certainly give more time to enjoy the sunset and sunrise scenery at the peak.














This view is the same as the one above The white line represents Wadi El Arbein (blue arrow)
















This map is the same as the one above but from another view and showing the distance in Km.
I climbed Mt. St. Catherine in one day journey.
I had to detour the police station so I took the parallel valley called Wadi Sharig (marked with a red arrow on the picture). At the beginning of this valley there a camp called Fox. The whole trip took approximately 12 hours all together including the resting stops that we took.
I had to carry approximately 4 liters of water in my back pack. In a situation like this, a walking stick would be very helpful. Getting to the foot of the mountain would take not less than 2 hours. There would be found a Deir, meaning monastery named like the valley, Deir El Arbeine. After half an hour or 45 minutes climb, there is a small bridge. Seen from its side it would look like a wall. It is built out of mountain rocky stones, so it may appear camouflaged. It is actually a water reservoir which is designed to block the water coming down the narrow valley and would also be a path to the other side. Crossing this bridge, would lead to an obvious dead end which is in shade most of day. This place is ideal to rest and also has a water hole which has natural drinkable and cold water called Bir Shennan.















After a long hike through the valley it will eventually end with a western view of the other side.
At this point you will find two tracks. At the right hand side would be a down hill track. At the left hand side would be the uphill track to take. This would not be hard to notice as the St. Catherine's pick would be clear from this point. When this point is reached it is best to stop and look around.
Look behind at the view of the valley that should be taken on the way back down. A tip would be to mark this place with stones. Putting small stones over bigger ones and furthermore making a small noticeable unnatural stone tower.
This would be as a reminder of that intersection point. From there, 2 km of one and clear track would be upcoming. Look at figure 2.

On the decent:
If you are descending the mountain without a guide, make sure you know what you are doing. Remember that the descent is harder than the climb. That is because not many ways lead to the top but in the contrary when going down, many are leading to different places.

My first advice is that Mt Moses should be seen and identified and used as a land mark to follow. Have a good look at Mt. Moses when you are at the bottom at the Monastery in which you will find Bedouins living who can help you identify it. From the top and starting to descend, make sure to have more than at least 3 hours before sunset.
If the situation doesn’t go that way, make sure you have a good flash light.

The key for not getting lost nor disoriented is at one intersection point described below.
This intersection point should be reached before sunset. It is on the map as "the before sunset point". After finding this point, there are no more worries of getting lost because it is the start of a down hill valley which will lead you back to the monastery.

Furthermore you will certainly notice this point when hiking up the mountain. It is the end of the uphill valley and the beginning of a new sort of a plane track with a panoramic view of the West.
When this point is reached it is best to stop and look around.
Look behind at the view of the valley that should be taken on the way back down.
Also and very importantly, you will be looking towards Mt. Moses (direction North East).

Keep in mind that this is the view that you will be looking for when going back. At this point while going down the montain, you will find another down hill track which will leads you North West further away from the monastery. This track can be mistakenly taken because it is the continuity of the downhill track, so keep in mind that at a point you will need to turn right. On the way down as shown in the figure 2, when the track starts to be straight, that's where the tricky point is. That is where you should start looking for the valley that will take you back the way you came. This vally should be at the right.

Finally my last advice would be; if approaching low level of the mountain be sure that your direction is North East, towards Mt. Moses. If not, then it is always recommended to go back the track you took and try to see where the missed turn was. I called this point as the Before Sunset point as I believe it would be very hard to locate in the dark. If this point is crossed before sunset then the rest of the long serpentine track inside the valley can be done without worries on a flash light.

Tip:
Walking to the mountain from the less traveled track, Wadi Sharig; i Spotted a dark colored snake from 5 meters distance. Walking noise may not be enough to scare away danger that's why i would highly recommend a waking stick.
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From Dahab To Nuweiba - (Sinai) off-road motorbike trip

My personal hiking experiences made me learn a lot of essential things needed to navigate in the desert. Those things are in brief as follows: Putting things up to scale, recognizing landmarks, knowing the dangers, keeping focused, making assumptions, knowing my limits and finally having different backup plans.

To start Motorcycles journeys deep into the deserts or even just camping on the side of the road, camping skills and good equipment are a must. My first hiking/camping experience was a very uncomfortable one. I believe that most of all campers had similar trend in the learning curve. In other words it is normal to start with a very bad experience and then as you do more trips you get to know more the value of things.

1. Getting all the essentials for camping: sleeping bag, Rug sack, tent or hammock, Foam pad, toilet paper, tooth brush, whistle, sun block, flash light, ect..
   





2. Never take things that will not be used to minimize load that would be carried.
   





3. Try to get the right sleeping bag according to the season.
   





4. Wearing the right clothes. This is also explained the next point.
   





5. Staying in the area for one night before going deep in the desert to know exactly how the weather will be. Also to prepare your body by walking or cycling around the area and finally to finish off all the toiletries needed. As much as all of this is important physically, it is also very important for mental preparation.
   





6. Minimizing used space by using compressing straps and multi purpose tools.
   





7. Taking the right amount of water in the right type of container.
   





8. Packing a minimal 1st aid kit

Thinking about camping in general it is mainly all about perfecting comfort in very remote areas. Hiking is a step further, which requires more skills but with the same concept of perfecting comfort. Therefore it is most commonly known to have a bad experience camping or hiking on most of all first attempts. That is what makes the whole thing a challenge. In other words, all campers are challengers who like to be part of nature no matter how harsh it may be. This is to witness its beauty and be enriched by it.

Moving on to Motorcycle equipment, now this differs from one to the other by many aspects. The motorbike itself defines its necessities as for tools and spare parts. I don’t have much experience in this area as all my motorcycling trips were not backed up mechanically whatsoever. Even if I would have had a flat tire I would have to go for the rescue plan, which would be either to walk or stay.

I have done 3 off-road trips so far and they were always just me and my bike. That means no instant help when needed. In order to do so I needed to make plans for any problem that I might encounter.

Planning Safety:

1. Trips are very short, as long as I am doing trips by myself, they cannot take longer than one day.
   



2. To always tell at least a friend where I am, in case of an accident or so. Therefore if the bike breaks or some problems leave me stuck in the desert, someone out there would know and would come looking for me. (Have to tell someone near)



3. That leads to one thing, that's to stick to the plan that I had given to this friend.



4. Wide scotch tape is one important item that could be very useful.

A motorcycle was like a bliss making discovery much faster and as enjoyable. Unfortunately other preoccupations and things to put in consideration came along. So at the end it is just a different style to travel. I don't have a GPS, so I travel the old fashion way. Sinai seams to be a place where it would be really easy to learn how to navigate. There are many land marks everywhere which can be easily identified according to maps. Actually there are so many land marks that this might be probably why people might get lost. Still, Sinai is an easier place to navigate which is much better than the western desert where it's just sand and more sand 360 degrees around.

This trip was my first off-road motorcycling experience in Sinai. I Left my friends at Dahab, gave them a copy of my Google maps and told them that I should be out at the other side near Nuweiba right after sunset.

The Route taken shown below in dotted black


This trip was composed of two parts - Wadi Kudr and Wadi Ghazala. The map below shows only the first part, Wadi Khudr. Following the entire Yellow dotted path displayed on the map would lead to Ein Khudr which is an Oasis and the starting point where people visit the white canyon. The plan was to make it all the way till the oasis and have a sneak view at the start of the canyon.


This sandy area on the right is where Wadi Khudr begins


I started off following a sandy hard terrain. Very briefly this track was to an end and the fine sand area followed all the way till the end of the first 10 Km. The tricky parts of off-road motorcycling navigation is composed of many aspects.

Fine sand means you have to keep the motor running at a high RPM which means relatively fast. If you are going fast you need to be looking very far ahead in front of you to be able to avoid traps. Car tracks are considered traps as they may shift the bike in a tricky way making you fall off the bike. Looking at those car tracks more closely from a biker's point of view, they consist of 2 parallel carved tracks and a small bump in between separating them. The problem is simply when going from one lane to the other and having to cross this small bump.

The bump is small, but the problem is that the bike is going parallel to it. It's as if going very close and parallel to a pavement and suddenly wanting to hump on the pavement. This is a difficult task which requires experience. The small bump is made out of all the accumulations of small particles that flew to the sides of the carved tracks made by the car wheels. Therefore it is usually deep fine sand or deep penetrating accumulations... Crossing this small bump creates a sudden heavier resistance on the handlebars and also shifts the front wheel to unwanted directions. This move must be taken with agility creating harmony in the balance.

The upper body movement is very important to keep the balance in such situations. Unconsciously and most of the time upper body reflexes are in continuous action trying to keep the balance. I believe that is one thing about what rally bike riders mean by mental endurance.

All bikers prefer to ride on untouched land but the problem is that it is not always the case in Sinai. Unlike the western desert, it is sometimes very hard to go on a path other than the car track. Those cases are when valleys are just too dense with big stones making it much simpler to ride in the car tracks and having to put up with its dangers. Other than looking on the track, looking around for one aimed landmark(s) is another task that must be done. Once a landmark is reached it has to be relatively right with the monitored distance traversed.

Right before my turning point my target was to find this red circled place. It seamed like a nice and easy to spot landmark. Therefore expecting to see it after a number of Km and knowing that very close by it is the end of Wadi Kudr, my turning point and also the continuation of Wadi Ghazala.

Looking south, the green dot is also marked on the map above.


I stayed for brief rest at this place eating a snack and refreshing with a juice.

Jumped back on my bike and very shortly 2 Km away I had arrived at the point where Wadi Ghazala has a turning point. Either go according to plan towards Ein Khudr direction south or continue towards the other tarmac exit all the way through Wadi Ghazala. Time was against me as I had to be out of the desert on the tarmac before sunset to be able to at least phone my friends and tell them that I am OK to cancel the rescue plan. Finally I decided to leave Ein khudra's plan behind for another trip and to continue North-East in Wadi Ghazala to the exit.

This was the turning point, the part where I had to go south west towards the Khudr oasis but didn't and continued North.

Looking North towards Wadi Ghazala from the same turning point.

North East directly to the second part of the trip, Wadi Ghazala Shown below. I assumed that going to the oasis and back to Ghazala would take a long time and I didn't want the night to come while I was still in the desert. I had in mind that I had told my friends in Dahab to come look for me if I wasn't out by sunset.

The second part of the trip (shown on the map above), is Wadi Ghazala. The Wadi took a long time to finish although it is about the same distance as the first one. It was really exhausting. At the beginning of Wadi Ghazala the terrain suddenly changed from fine sand to gravel which i like to call stony sand.
What I mean by stony sand is very small stones like big gains of sand. Going fast would still make the front wheel drift. These stony grains (gravel) slide over each other very easily making the front wheel sink not very deep, but very fast which causes sudden difference in resistance and even change in direction acceding to its preferred molding direction. Going too slow doesn't change the physics and would still make it difficult. Having to fight all those drifts in slow-motion is a very good workout but it stresses the body. That’s why I would recommend to bring many snacks as resting is key to keep up. After a while a trend starts building up and seeing small differences in the same track which allow you to understand it better. Bit by bit, I got to know when to slow down and when to speed up.

A nice website describing how to ride motorcycles on gravel: http://www.whybike.com/motorcycle229.htm

Just knowing very well when to slow down and when to speed up, felt like an invitation to pushing limits and expanding those ranges. That's when off-road felt like a rally. One tackle after the other it feels great until a reminder comes and tells you, that's not very safe. But the important thing about this sport is making a balance between is self confidence and knowing limits which are constantly put to the test. This terrain was very hard to ride. Other than the stony sand issue, I also had to stick to the car tracks as elsewhere was just impossible to ride (big stones everywhere).

This damp was very near the end of the Wadi




Along the winding track I came across this little feller called camel spider. At the time I didn't know what it was, I thought it was a scorpion but I didn't find a tail so I was really amazed I had to take a picture of it. Luckily it was just under where I stood. It's very fast and moves in very irregular lines. I am sure it was aware of my presence. Instead of running away or hiding, it was moving making a pentagon shape as if it was marking it territory.



Came back home, Googled Camel spider. Apparently it has a very nasty bite. Next time I would go camping I would remember this little feller...

Finally, I arrived at the end of my off-road trip and at beginning of the tarmac. It was just after sunset. Right on time, I was glad that I had made the right decision when I was deep in the desert in the intersection point. After a couple of kilometers on the road, I found my friend Moustafa Roushdy along with Emad in their car going the opposite direction. They were going to start the rescue plan. Thank God for having such good friends.

From St. Cathe­rine to Dahab - (Sinai) Off-Road by motorbike

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102529913485471892498.0004656c30bcca66218f4hl=en&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102529913485471892498.0004656c30bcca66218f4

To be continued...

From Sharm To St. Catherine - (Sinai) Six day hicking trip year 2000

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=uk&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102529913485471892498.00046563886388af6478e
My Friend Hassan Hamdy and I decided that we would walk from Sharm to St. Catherine through the desert. We came up with this crazy idea while we were looking at a great topographic map of Sinai. We figured that 20 Km per day would be a fine hike. We saw that it would be possible to do so and camp each night at different water wells. We packed our bags and hit the road.

This was the time for me to go on a hiking/camping trip. We were very exited by the fact that we were the ones choosing the tracks and doing all the preparations. Our plan was to do this on our own without a camel or a guide. We had confidence in every little aspect. Part of our preparations was to calculate walking speed, make other maps indicating distances and time to travel the distance, check backpack's weight choosing food.

We took the bus going to Sharm El Sheikh which arrived very early in the morning. We didn't stay for very long. Waiting on the road for a taxi to pass by, we took a microbus which was willing to take us to Nabk for a reasonable price.

The car stopped at the end of the Tarmac because the driver didn't want to go on the rocky track. We had to walk up to our starting point (Point 43 on the map). That was a walk of about 3 km which is equivalent to less than an hour walk. Coming from the south, we discovered that this point has a military checkpoint (Point 43 on the map). On the map it said the following:

43 – Nabk Oasis on the beach 15 Km north of Ras Nasrani airport. There’s a checkpoint and a police station. WARNING! MINE FIELDS! Around the area.

Looking at the map those red triangles are supposed to represent land mines. These are marked after point 43 and also deeper towards the desert and definitely not on the shore. Real life was not quite as the map was telling us. Very Close to the shoreline we walked by enclosed areas with steel cables and rotten signs which were supposed to indicate warnings from the landmines.

At the military station, we told them our plan, they said they will not let us pass because there were more land mines especially in the track we had in plan. This was depressing but we just had no choice but to go back to the asphalt. Luckily a pickup truck was passing by from the North and was kind enough to give us a ride up to the Sharm-Dahab intersection. We then hitchhiked an 18 wheeler truck which was on the way to Dahab and took us about 20Km away from Sharm and dropped us near Wadi Mandar. We never though that this huge vehicle would even think stopping for us. We were really surprised that it actually did.




































































Off course the driver didn't know anything about "Wadis" in the desert so we just asked if he could drop us 20km from here. It was marked on the map that a Bedouin settlement (Point 37) should be by the road at the entrance of Wadi Umm Adawi.

As soon as we saw the bedouin settlements, we called the driver from the back asking him to stop. There we started walking. Luckily we found that the first shelter nearer to the road was a Bedouin kiosk selling all kinds of snacks. We stopped for a rest and bought water bottles and drank fuzzy drinks. Asking the Bedouin, we were surprised to know that Wadi Umm Adawi was still further down the road. As per the map we were at the red circle. After a brief stay we took another walk down the tarmac (going to the Blue Circle).












Walking from the red to the blue Circle (Our second starting point to Wadi Umm Adawi). This curve in the photo can also be seen on the map.













When we arrived at our destination (starting point Wadi Umm Adawi) we were surprised by a stony road sign indicating Wadi Mandar. First we never thought that we would find signs with names for the Wadis, normally there isn't any. This one was an exception. We had serious doubts in everything at this point. We opened the map and looked for Wadi Mandar. We found that the Stony road sign was actually indicating the start of Wadi Mandar which is intersecting with Wadi Umm Adawi. Our inexperienced eyes looking at the map would have never anticipated that this point is actually having the two Wadis passing through it (Mandar and Umm Adawi). Our first plan was to take Wadi Umm Adawi from its beginning and we never thought that it could have another name at any point along all of it. Apparently this was not the case.

According to the map (point 37), it said that we should find a school at this entrance point. Many things came clear when seeing things for real. Even though we planned our trip, we were encountering many surprises. Finally we figured that this was our entrance to Wadi Umm Adawi as well as it is for Mandar (Check the map showing how the two Wadi's intersect) .We finally stated our hike after it was long past noon.













By the time we were half way along until the end of the Wadi, the sun was going down and we had passed many bedouin settlements. The last one along the alignment had people who looked like welcoming us. We went for a brief rest over bedouin tea. We asked verifying our directions and also if there was still water down this well of Id Yahmed. We opened our big map and started chatting over our big plan asking all details possible. They filled our water bottles and then we were back on track.






































The night was falling. We figured that this was a good thing walking under the moon light so as to gain distance in the cool weather of the night. Our water reserve was plenty. Finally we arrived at the near end of the Wadi. We settled our camping tent, ate, drank and slept. While walking, we didn’t feel the need to drink as much as when we arrived to settled. Somehow, unconsciously, we always felt that we need to drink very little so as to save water for the next day. But unfortunately that’s not how the body works. After an exhausting day like this one, our body needed water and we didn’t feel it till right before that night sleep.

Next morning, we were awakened by a strange sounding animal noise. After a fight about who was going out of the tent to try to scare this strange sounding animal away, I sneaked my head out to see that it was a camel which was also pretty far away from us. We were just not used to the dimensions of sounds in the desert. Our Tent’s color was dark blue and the early morning's sun was not successful in waking us up.

Eventually we packed our stuff, and started to hike our track again towards the end of the Wadi.
Arriving at the point where we had to cross the mountain, our water was so little dangling in our bottles it seamed not worth the effort of saving it for later. Although it is very hard for me to let go our mission, we just said this is crazy and we have to go back.

We went at the bottom of the nearest mountain to rest under its shade. After a long rest, drinking up our last drops of water, we knew we would have a long way back if by any chance we would not have found this water well. Although it was a hard decision, we had to go for plan B and return. While resting, we suddenly heard hammering sounds and people shouting as if two far apart strangers were talking to each other. We couldn't see anyone around... So we followed the voices and found that there was a mine nearby. They were surprised to see us. Off course no tourists ever come to this area. They welcomed us giving us shelter from the sun and cold water... To us this was gold. We were also lucky enough to have been at this very moment when a pickup truck had to pass by the area to pick some of the workers back to the asphalt. So they gave us a ride back. We were kind really unhappy that we didn't accomplish our goal but we were also very thankful that all of these coincidences helped us get back by the easiest way possible.

Although we may have not noticed at the time, we actually had learned a great deal of things concerning reading maps and traveling in the desert. We had endured many obstacles which made the way back look like a very hard task to do and also a longer way than it really is. At the mine workers point, we could have stayed for a while to hydrate, to fill our water bottles and for the sun to angle a little bit. We could have then continue our trip to Id Yahmed's well but we had our minds already set on heading back. Especially when we heard that there is a pickup truck that would be passing through in about an hour. It was like a ticket to heaven, simply too hard to let it go and continue our hiking which also, in our view never would had been if it wasn't for the mine worker's water stop.

Finally, many years after this trip, I have come to realization while putting thoughts into paper. Here is how we made it hard on ourselves.

1. We had chosen the wrong season (summer), hoping in carrying less heavy warm clothes.
   



2. We drank fussy drinks at the kiosk (which actually Dehydrates the body)
   



3. We were dehydrated. We had water in our bottles but should have stayed longer with the Bedouins to hydrate our bodies (the stomach can be full of water but time must be given to hydrate the bodies system). The rate of water consumption had eventually increased and we didn’t understand why, and thought that it was individual temptations. The balance was not right and it wasn't easy to determine.
   



4. We didn't have the foam pads that are used to sleep on and are put underneth the sleeping bags. Sleeping without those made it very unconfortable. We were feeling very cold. I remember putting my feet in my back pack to keep them warm.
   



5. Packing when the sun was already high over our heads.
   



6. We were wearing shorts, T-shirts and no hats. This was a very bad combination. We should have been wearing long sleeves long pens and hats to minimize transpiration and to protect our skin from the sun.
   



7. When arriving at the point where we had to calmly look at the map to put paper to reality, we couldn’t find a nearby shade. Considering an umbrella or just a hat at least is essential for hiking in Sinai.
   



8. At the time we arrived at the point were we had to look for our turn, it was midday which means that all the rocks had minimum shade so it was very hard to see tracks on the mountain we had to cross.
   



9. We were carrying water bottles and not canteens which made the water lose its coolness very fast.
   



10. While resting or waiting for a hitch hike ride, the body is still loosing water. Meaning that time is an important factor when water is limited.

Finishing the mission:
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Well the story above was my first attempt to do this trip which ended up pretty badly in a way. The story of my first attempt had to count as part of the whole adventure as to show you how easy we thought it would be and how difficult it really is. To me, this experience was a great one as I am sure we had learned so much from it. I wouldn't dare tell the story of my 6 day trip before telling about this small intro which gave me motive to go back out there and really do the track that we had planned...














Day 1:
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I went there again only this time it was in winter. I made a deal with the local Bedouins for food, a camel and a guide. My guide, chosen by the spoke of this reagion was a 16 years old bedouin named Jameel. He was chosen from the Bedouins spoke refaya'. I spent the first night camping right next to where they lived and the deal was to start early next morning and that was that.

Day 2: (1st heading Id Yahmed)
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We Loaded the camel with everything and started our hike to Id Yahmed's well.

This is Wadi Umm Adawi. The far end is where the asphalt is and where the hike started.














At the end of the Wadi we had to cross over this small uphill on our right hand side to go to another Wadi leading straight to Id Yahmed. This is the part where my friend Hassan and I didn't want to do on my first trial trip.














Right after the crossing, had to take a picture













Met some other Bedouins passing by. Was a rapid tea stop. Didn't even bother to sit the camel.













This is at Id Yahmed













Top view from Id Yahmed
































We Spent the night under the stars to wake up next morning for another long hiking day.

Day 3: (2nd Headding Beer El Quaroureya/Humr)
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After having a nice and light breakfast which was composed of Bedouin bread from last night and some tea, we started to pack up and hit the trail. The Wadi became narrower on our move until it ended and we went right up a hill following a trail heading straight to the top. At the top and behind this hill was Wadi Dangala. It’s A breath taking view from the top of a Vast and long Wadi. From this top view we could see the descent is narrow and becoming wider and wider falling into this Vast Wadi. At the end of it right in front, a huge mountain.


































At the near end of Wadi Dangala we settled under a tree for lunch and a mid day sleep. After preparing the fire and started cooking the food a huge bee came to visit us and was doing crazy air maneuvers in front of our faces like it was a jet fighter dog fight. We thought it was just a matter of time and that the insect would go away, but it didn't and one became two and two became 4 and so on. We found out that this tree had something particular those bees were protecting. To get rid of them thanks to the smart technique of the young Bedouin, we had to gather and make small piles of dried camel and sheep droppings all around the tree. Then we lit them on fire which made mostly smoke without a fire. This was really effective, We just had to wait a while away from it all untill they all abandond the place.

Lunch time under the tree in Wadi Dangala













After lunch at about 2PM we packed again and started the afternoon hike entering Wadi Humr on our left hand. We then continued our hike towards Humr. Along the way we saw many black hoes, some the ground, some hung between two moutains and many short unused pieces. We also saw many Basins full of water but unfortunatly off course, the water was hot. The purpose of these ones are mainly for erosion and animals. We walked by all the small enclosed gardens untill they were all long behind us and then we camped. Not near any water we relaied on our big water reserv which was carried by our camel. Unfortuatly, at this point on i wasn't interested in knowing where the water well is.

Day 4:
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Somewhere in Wadi Humr... If you look closely at this picture you would see two mountains (very winding walk). This part of the track was one of a kind; every turn had an extraordinary view. The track was somehow so much narrower in comparison to the previous Wadi. Huge walls of mountains from both sides made the Wadi feel tiny.

The herd of donkies.
Basins of hot water only good for animals and plants.
Passed the night in the wadi. no well this time.



















Day 5: (Near Mt. Umm Shumar)
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According to the map it said that Mt.Umm Shumar has one of the most spectatular top views, showing the two canals (Suez and Aquaba) and the Ras Muhamed's point in between. Part of the trip was to climb this mountain. Unfortunatly there were two problems. Firstly, the bedouin guide didn't want to climb with me and was telling me that it is an easy way and that i should go alone while he would wait for me.Secondly, I just didn't like this idea plus i was too tired to do the effort even though we would have stayed one night at its bottom to recover. Also and very importantly, it said on the map to take a guide as this one is only for experianced climbers.

Along the way, by sunset time we found a bedouin camp in the high ground of the left montain. Hidden by the density of the palm trees. We nearly passed by the spot without noticing it. That's when we were called and welcomed by the bedouin staying there. We spent the night tere. Next morning we woke up late as we were deep in the valleis of a high moutain reagon. We started our hike at about 9 am. Headding Wadi Rahaba.













We Arrived at about 12 pm (Wadi Rahaba). There was a big Bedouin setlement. In Between the houses, there was a big guest tent which was also where all the families gathered to eat and socialize. There were about 3 family houses which were depending on one water well situated near by. We saluted everyone and drank tea with them at the time when lunch was just getting ready. At about 3 hours later, after this great lunch, I had regained my energy, it was the right time to climb a small mountain to take pictures of Mt. Umm Shumar from far away.













The Highest montain with 2 peaks is Umm Shumar. It is shown at upper right part of the picture, the big block with two peaks connected.













Went down from the mountain, and started to setle my tent and get ready for the night.
It was the coldest night i had ever encountered in my life. I was wearing two pens 2 socks, 2 T-shirts, pullover, sleeping bag and covered and under a heavy bedouin blacket. Inside the tent, I didn't have the foam that campers use underneath their sleeping bags. I just didn't know about it. Now that i know, this item is essential as it prevents body heat loss to the ground.

Day 6 (Wadi Rahaba):
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I woke up very early before the sun was high enough to heat us up. Fortunatly some bedouins were also awake and made a fire. The previous night the Bedouins had mentioned that there will be a pick up truck passing by their camp. I was defenetly very tempting for me to to take this ride all the way to st. Catherine. We sat and negotiated a price for the car ride.
After agreeing on the price, I payed my guide Jameel his sum for the trip. and then took off with the other bedouins in the back of the pick up truck. After traveling by foot for 5 days, it was a bliss seeing all this landscape passthrough without doing any effort.

After a 17 km bumpy ride, we had finaly arrived to St.catherine's area. They left me a bit far from the tarmac as they didn't want the police to spot them and ask them any questions as they are not supposed to do touristic actions because they are not licenced to do so. I walked up to the road and started to hitchhike. I got a ride and finaly ended up in a houth hostel/camp in St.caterine's village.