Hiking Omani Landscape

I fell in love with Oman when I visited for the first time few months ago and before that trip I had no idea how beautiful nature is in that country. And though I was able to experience some of the natural beauty the Sultanate has to offer I was still craving for more. So once a chance materialized itself I jumped into a plane and flew back to this mesmerizing country. This time I was on a specific mission, a hiking one that ends up at a waterfall. The hike was organized by Husaak Adventures.

The view around Wadi Al Arbaeen

It wasn’t my first time to hike but I have to say this was actually my first time to go on such a combo hike; one that included hiking, scrambling, swimming, and occasionally jumping off cliffs. Some of my friends think hiking is unpleasant and tiring and would even wonder why I still do it. They can’t seem to notice the enjoyment behind it and only manage to see the physical effort exerted. Yes, hiking requires employing some physical effort and that can be intense sometimes but despite that notion and the fact that I do have a bad knee I still go hiking and can’t seem to stop … ???

Well if you put the physical effort aside you can note that hiking tones you down on so many levels and one of those levels will be “your surroundings/needs” which has lots to do with packing for a hike. Yes, packing! When you are limited by the size of the backpack you will be carrying on your back throughout the hike you start thinking about the essential things you will mostly need to carriage along; the things you won’t be able to survive without. You will be surprised by how minimal those things can be. At such a moment I realize that we don’t actually need much to live or lead a good life, that we tend to cram our surroundings with lots of stuff and most of them are even unnecessary. I then comprehend that life is simple, that it’s us who make it complicated by being kind of materialistic. I believe that once such a realization is procured one should think about what is/is not important in his life and start to declutter the unnecessary rubble occupying it. And believe me, when that process is done you won’t believe the relieving feeling you will come across, the feeling of becoming lighter and at peace with what surrounds you because only then, the things you will be surrounded with will be exactly what you need in order to go on living and not what you thought you needed to do so.

Wadi Al Arbaeen

Hiking is also a great teacher and one of the lessons I learned through hiking is gratefulness. Gratefulness for the beauty encircling me, for the inner peace that fills up my being after spending time among nature, for being able to appreciate silence and the serenity that comes within, for the acknowledgment of how tiny a place I occupy in this vast universe and how humbling that realization is, and even for the things that are taken for granted such as the bliss of a hot shower 😀 Hiking taught me to appreciate my life, what I have and be thankful.

The view during the hike

As I noted before this was one of a kind hike to me; I would go up a rock then down a water stream with scenery changing from water running on pavements of stones to solid formations of rocks in different sizes, shapes, and colors. But yet that hike wasn’t only special in that sense but also in how I managed to deal with some encounters and reflect on them as well.

The physical effort was quite challenging this time because the terrain was different than other ones I experienced before and because of my bad knee too but the main test wasn’t the physical aspect of the hike but jumping off cliffs, that was something I have never done before!

<img class="size-full wp-image-623" src="https://agroudy.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/36.png" alt="The reward at the end of the hike The reward at the end of the hike ❤

The first jump was an optional 15 meters heigh jump that I ended up doing but after some considerations 😀 I hesitated and took some time till I finally made it. I kept on thinking, my head cover will be taken off once I hit the water (that’s what happened actually!), what should I do about that? Should I jump? Or shouldn’t I? And so I jumped, eventually, and till now I can’t be sure whether I hesitated because of my head cover issue for real or because I was simply afraid to jump!! The second one wasn’t as high but it was off a steep cliff and watching some of us getting scared before they jumped, I kind of chickened out myself! But, I was able to do that one too, only this time I was worried about my eye glasses which came jumping right after me 😀 hahaha

The scenery along the hike

All that hesitation to jump off those not so high at all cliffs made me think what if I was bungee jumping?! I have always had bungee jumping on my bucket list but didn’t get the chance to actually do it till now and with all the indecision I had with those cliffs, I wondered if I will be able to easily jump if not at all!! I always thought I was gallant enough for such adventurous acts but looks like something has changed in me along the way.

It could be owed to the loss of a best friend over a hiking accident; a simple activity that everyone does including myself but unfortunately ended up tragically at her end. An accident that could have changed how I think about such acts and whether it’s actually worth it or not to put myself under such a risk! Or maybe I’m not as courageous as I was few years back when I used to think that I can do lots of such ventures without considering the consequences regardless of what they may turn out to be. We usually take such acts for granted thinking that nothing can go wrong but only when something does that we come to our senses or start thinking objectively about the gains of going under such activities; at least that is how I have been thinking recently. Apparently, I still have some loose ended issues regarding all of this and I know I have lots of “facing” to do but perhaps talking about or thinking those thoughts over is a way of facing whatever fears I’m having; the fears that are hidden under the surface of glamour. I do my best to handle the uncertainties I still possess, I don’t want to end up being scared, it’s such a horrible feeling, to be scared of being out there doing and experiencing things. It will feel as if I’m letting life with all its pleasures and qualms pass me by and I know I don’t want that to happen because I’m not such a person.

<img class="size-full wp-image-625" src="https://agroudy.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/file_0002.jpeg" alt="I had the chance to meet this beautiful and peaceful creature while camping the night at Ras Al Hadd I had the chance to meet this beautiful and peaceful creature while camping the night at Ras Al Hadd ❤

In spite of the previous introspection and whether it’s considered bravery or cowardice, during that hike I was able to make an accomplishment that I failed to fulfill before and that made me really happy though it could be regarded as a small thing! See, I never had the arms to pull myself up a rope and formerly failed a couple of times. So when I was faced by that few steps rope climb I kind of freaked out. Surprisingly I was able to do it gracefully if I may say and to me that was one of the best moments in that trip. I always struggled with this issue in few previous hikes but being able to pull it off that smoothly just made my day; I can now pull myself up a rope 😀 Hurray! You might think what the big deal is, it’s just a few steps pull up nothing major! Nevertheless, those little achievements can have a huge impact on you, a positive one. Those little things work as an incentive, or a reminder that everything is possible as long as you are trying because all of a sudden after all those trials, bam, you have done it! That feeling of accomplishment is priceless.

A closer view of the waterfall ❤

With what I wrote so far, I can’t help but think of the mixture of emotions, thoughts, and contemplations the trip offered me. That was a trip where I was able to reflect, unwind, see and experience beautiful things, and also make new friends. Merely, this is how nature can disrupt your way of thinking I guess, shaking it up into a new format, changing how you used to consider things and upgrading your view of life. Spending more time outdoors makes you happy, happy at the mental and physical state you turn into. Connect to nature and you will become a better you. I owe it to the outdoors for what I’m and still to become and will be forever grateful 🙂

A feeling of contentment and appreciation to the beauty I see in the world 🙂 ❤

 

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