Journal Entries from Wadi Rum, Jordan
We spent the last couple days camping out in Barrah canyon after sharing a ride out there with some climbers from Colorado. They were headed to Barrah finish a rebolting effort on a route called Merlin’s Wand and we offered to help. After removing all the old cord from the route and installing the last rappel station, we got down from the route as an old Bedouin couple approached. They didn’t speak any English but we eventually figured out that one of their goats was stuck on a cliff and they wanted our help to get it down. We hopped in the back of their truck and rescued a baby goat that somehow found its way 30 feet up a rock face. We climbed 2 more routes that day including a corner system we accidentally stumbled across that was perhaps the best pitch we’ve been on thus far, but wasn’t in the guidebook. We ate falafel and hummus given to us by our new friend Hamada and then slept 11.5 hours under the stars. On day two, we woke up and started up a long route called Star of Abu Judaidah which our Colorado friends had climbed the day before. The route turned out to be incredible and the views from the top were epic to say the least. Halfway down the rappels, we saw our driver Suleiman arrive at the base and start a fire we could smell 500 feet up the wall. He had arrived 3 hours early, but came to surprise us with Bedouin tea, fruit, and cookies. We still wanted to climb more, so he drove us to a sport route that is apparently the only overhanging route in all of Wadi Rum. I fell at the very last bolt but my consolation upon lowering was more tea brewed by Suleiman. We hopped back in his Land Cruiser and drove back to the village just before sunset. We ventured over to the climber’s restaurant run by Hussain Alrefaae (aka Abu Ali) and proceeded to eat ginormous portions of lamb, veggies, and rice that he cooked just for us. We spoke for hours about politics, religion, and life until it was time for bed.
February 20, 2019
As I write this, I am laying in my sleeping bag on a floor sofa cushion in Muhammad Husain’s house in Wadi Rum, Jordan. It’s almost 7 pm and I’m exhausted... ironically, I haven’t climbed for 3 full days. Upon arriving in Rum, the weather was perfect and stoke was at an all-time high. After 4 days of incredible climbing, I was in a very happy place. On day 5, we ventured to Petra and upon our arrival back in Rum, the rain began. Petra was fascinating but my experience there honestly wasn’t fantastic. I was tired and without a guide I felt blind walking through so much history. It rained heavily yesterday, and the power went out in the entire village. It was quite cold and overall, a bit of a depressing day. For dinner, we went over to Abu Ali’s place. He had promised to make us a traditional lamb dish called Mansaf, and we were really looking forward to it. When we arrived, Abu Ali wasn’t there but his Sudanese friend Abdula was and had prepared food for us. It was pretty meh but we tried to hide our disappointment. I think Abdula saw through us though. During the meal, I began asking Abdula about his life. Two days ago, we got a small dose, but at this meal we learned quite a lot. Abdula is a refugee with very little in regard to personal possessions or money. To say he has had and currently has a hard life would be an understatement. He told us about trying to open a bank account in Jordan to save money to go back home but being rejected by every bank due to his refugee status. He also told tales of not being able to feed himself in Jordan and he didn’t even dive deep into the hardship back home during the war. It was a one-sided conversation, and it was quite sad. Yet it was so real. I couldn’t help but think about all the people in this world who have lives similar to Abdula. He moved to Wadi Rum to make money as a tourism guide and was living on the floor of Abu Ali’s restaurant. It appeared he didn’t have much of any support and mentioned all the times he cried in bed as he pointed to his thin mattress. I left that meal with so much to digest... should I dedicate my life to making other people’s lives better? If so, what should I do? What should someone as fortunate as me do to help people like Abdula? Will I just continue my life on its current course and spend little time helping those less fortunate? I hope not. It so insane to think how different our lives are. The amount of money I made last year is probably enough money for so many people to live for the rest of their lives. All I know is that I’m happy I’m here in Jordan and am able to have conversations with people like Abdula... because at the end of the day, these are the types of experiences that will shape my conscience and impact my future life decisions.
We woke up today and the weather still sucked. In fact, it sucked all day even though the forecast said it was supposed to be partly sunny. After the usual breakfast at Hamada’s, Chris and I decided to climb a Bedouin route to the top of Jabel Rum. We choose Hammad’s Route and started from Muhammad’s at 9:02 am. After a maze of scrambling, some roped climbing, and mentally challenging route finding, it was 1:45 pm in the afternoon and still a decent distance from the summit. It was finally in sight but I was not feeling it and wanted to go down. I had been in a strange mood all day and was taking everything extra slow. Usually, I am the bolder climber, but today, I was happy to let Chris fill those shoes. We bailed and finally made it back to town around 4:30 pm after hearing an alarmingly laud gunshot from below us at the base of the mountain. I was happy to be down. I had heard sounds of prayer from the local mosque so I assumed that power was back on but that was not the case once we returned to the village. We walked back to our room zygote dinner at a new restaurant at the south end of town. It was dirt cheap. I’m really looking forward to climbing tomorrow. It’s crazy how happy climbing makes me feel. Maybe it’s also a bit sad... it honestly is kind of like a drug. I’m going to bed now. Night.
February 23, 2020
Today is our last day in Jordan. Minus two semi-depressing days of rain coupled with an ongoing power outage in the village, life has been awesome in this part of the world. The climbing here has been super adventurous and amazing but honestly quite scary. On to more solid rock.
March 2024 Afterthought
This was my first big international climbing trip (other than a quick visit to El Potrero Chico) and it really shaped me as a climber and person by opening my eyes to so many new perspectives. Chris Farah and I were in Jordan for 10 days and climbed most of the classic trad lines in the area. I have a deep love for this part of the world and hope to go back one day soon.
During a late night interview with Chris Kalous on the Enormocast, I chatted about Wadi Rum, and the goat rescue specifically. Listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0nQhvqZqBLFmaq8GJZsTIf?si=fae3dcce47dd4886
