Hello to a Sunny Day, Returning in Foggy Skies

Manākhīr, Oman

Al Jabal Akhdar…..Mountain range close to Schnoot, Oman

Our little adventure this weekend was to get into the mountains and do a little hiking. I was excited to put on my socks and hiking boots and head into the chocolate mountains and get a flavor for the outdoors. The sky was bright blue and not too warm, perfect for hiking.

The road up to our starting point was steep with many hairpin turns. On the way up I kept trying to pronounce Al Jabal Akhdar…..over and over again with Shira’s help, making sure the accent is on the “H”. The destination for the hike was right next to a plush resort called Alila Jabal Akhdar resort. in the village of Al Helailat. We used the restrooms and took a peek around. Wow, I’d love to stay there but rooms start in the high $300’s. A great place to use the bathrooms, they smelled of lemon grass and had a nice hand lotion.

We had met the man who marked these paths and many more of the paths on this mountain range. If you have spent any time hiking anywhere you know that trail markers are very important. These markers were freshly painted red/green/white. There were only a few times we had to search for the next marker.

About an hour or so into the hike we stopped to take in the view, I was gulping down some water and looked up and on the rocky edge I saw a goat somewhat near by. We were standing near a pool of water and realized this was a smart goat to live around here.

As the three of us were stumbling through the rocks, there would be pools of water and we’d stop to see what might be alive. The guys being scientists who love toads and and tadpoles could have stayed there all day. I kept walking for awhile and came across this lovely patch of grass. I found a spot in the shade and enjoyed some alone time. When the guys arrived they were all excited because they got to see two Arabian toads mating. Leave it up to them to watch another fornication happening. David got some good photos of them.

The path was rated moderate which I’d agree with but it was also a rugged terrain. With that said I should explain why. There was a lot of loose rock of all sizes and a good amount of the time we were in a wadi where there were very large rocks….so I had to to focus on each step and not dare look up until I was on solid ground.
I was so glad to have on my Salomon hiking boats with great ankle support. The goal was to hike to a dam and then up to an old ancient, mud and stone village that is now uninhabited. When we reached the dam I was pleased to see more green grass but surprised to see it on the mid level of the dam. After a short rest we headed up towards the village.

About 45 minutes before we reached the village, we could see it from a distance. Knowing that was our major goal, I was anxious to move along. I wanted to spend time around the old buildings or what was left of them.

By the time we reached the village the fog was quickly rolling in and we thought we should head back so I did not spend the time I’d have liked exploring the buildings. But I did notice this cave and peeked inside, I was surprised to see the dark colors and realized this was where there were fires. There must have many of them for many years to make the marks on the stones like this. I find this photo to be somewhat artistic. If I was a painter I’d try to paint it. This other photo of the purple and grey stone was a part of the side of the mountain but I only noticed it near the buildings.

We headed back to the car. Eventually I put on my windbreaker that I was glad to have and by the time we reached the car, the fog had poured in all around us. A good time to end the hike and this story.