A dive in fear! lessons learned from the field!

Olongway, Malawi

"Discovery is the privilege of a child: the child who has no fear of being once again wrong, of looking like an idiot, of not being serious, of not doing things like everyone else" - Alexabder Grothendieck

Growing up we only learn to fear things, it will take you one time of touching the fire to recognize its pain, our memory of pain will never allow us to do it again! that;s not a choice, it is there in our subconscious mind!!! this is how we grow all of our fears in the life!

The Jordan Trail Ownership ملكية درب الاردن

In Jordan as communities recognize the social, economic, environmental, and health benefits of hiking, trails development is becoming more prevalent.

ان زيادة الوعي لدى المجتمع بالاهمية الاجتماعية و الاقتصادية والبيئية و الفوائد على الصحة العامة للمسيرة في المسارات و الدروب البرية أدى الى زيادة العمل على تطوير المسارات و دروب المسير و المغامرة في الاردن.

The involvement of the local communities must be considered in the early stages of the trail development. Instead of adopting a top down approach where agencies plan and implement the development of trails with limited input from the public (which is the traditional way of trail development), an early involvement of the local communities should be considered to best serves the community and trail planners, as the combination of local knowledge and planning expertise creates a dynamic and interactive planning process.

Leave No Trace لا تترك اثر!

“The notion that [outdoor] recreation has no environmental impacts is no longer tenable.”—Curtis H. Flather and H. Ken Cordell,Wildlife and Recreationists

Great tit tired of seeing our acts :)

People enjoy the outdoors in myriad ways. We explore on foot, 4X4, and mountain bicycles. There are more of us pushing our sports to greater extremes and into more remote parts of the natural world every day. Our experiences are personally satisfying, but they can be costly to the places we visit and the animals we observe. (LNT Desert and Canyon booklet)

يستمتع الناس بالمناطق البرية بالعديد من الطرق، فنحن نستكشف هذه المناطق سيرا على الاقدام، 4X4، او بالدراجات الجبلية. المزيد منا يقومون بتخطي الحدود و الوصول لمناطق لطالما كانت بعيدة المنال. تجربتنا في هذه المناطق عادة ما تتركنا مستمتعين و راضين عن إنجازاتها، ولكن ماذا عن اثر هذه التجربة على ألاماكن التي نزورها؟ و الحياة البرية التي نراها.

Hike like a Martian

The Martian Film, Jordan, Wadi Rum.

In the outdoors I have been falling between two schools. Adventure and challenge school, where we hike, walk, run, or ride from A to B with the fastest time possible, a physical challenge for ourselves, body and mind, a way to cross the barriers in our minds that keep telling us we can’t, because this is how it has been programmed to protect us, and this is what it does all the time.

We tend to challenge our physical abilities. Go out to do a sport and have a healthier life style. The natural terrain makes it even more challenging. There in the nature we feel how we are small part of a bigger planet, an infinite universe. We keep searching for new heights, pushing toward new limits to prove the capability of the amazing human machine! (Just to mention Ueli Steck’s with his fascinating 82, 4000m Summit in 80 days project). We Human are setting new limits of speed and challenge for the outdoors. (READ MORE

Mount Washington

So my first weekend during the course have arrived, and all what I wanted is to make the most out of it!

So the decision was to take it to the extreme and knock the top of the highest mountain around! Mount Washington!

When ever I mention I am going to New Hampshire people start to tell me about Mount Washington and how crazy it's weather can be! The highest went speed and the most snow fall ever recorded were both on top of this mountain.

Amman, London, Chicago, Boston, and New Hampshire

The day before I leave was a busy day, maybe not truly but more mentally, a bit of last minute freaking out, Indeed I was still having some doubts if I did the right thing turning off the IT offer I have just got, and rather choosing again to stick to travel and to the adventure. But to get out of all this mess I decided to go out with some friends for one more last Shisha.

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I believe it is time for a new adventure!

It has been almost two years since I came back from Africa. The first year went well, but the second year unfortunately didn’t go as planned, this doesn’t mean it was bad, but it needed a stop and a look to change the plans for a better one.

I believe traveling is another addiction I am getting dragged in (considering the first to be Adventure and Outdoors), and so I believe it is time to hit the road again.

The Jordan Trail (Hidan, Mujeb, Kerak, Wadi Rum, Red Sea)

Rum to Aqaba, Aqaba Mountains.

During the last couple of weeks The Jordan Trail team was out on the trail, Mapping, Photographing and keeping notes about the trail, we have done two amazing parts. The first was from Wadi Hidan all the way to Kerak City, crossing Wadi Mujeb which took us 4 days camping out, one night near Shqaiq Area and the other 2 nights down in Wadi Mujeb.

Jordan Trail (Homrat Ma'en to Waleh)

Down Wadi Waleh - Hidan

During the last days we have done scouting 3 more sections of The Jordan Trail, (Zarqa Ma’en p to Makawer, Makawer down to Hedan), and parts of the third section that goes down from Humrat Ma’en to Zarqa Ma’en, all 3 parts are amazing hikes, where you get up and down through many different topographic

The Jordan Trail (Homrat Ma'en)

Monday (13, Oct), I joined the team mapping the Jordan trail in the first hike, the team was: Tony & Di Tailor, Mark Khano, Amjad Shahrour, they have already done mapping  a good part of the trail, Most of the northern regions up to now, I will be joining the team during the coming month mapping, walking and taking the GPS and walking notes for more than 200 km mostly to the south of Jordan, yesterday we hiked around 7.5 km in Humrat Maen Aria crossing from before wadi Hemara and reaching to Wadi Zarqa Maen, a pleasant hike, contained some up and downhill, the start point was full of Acacia trees, along the way we saw different birds, crested larks, Tristram starlings, what I believe a Hoopoe lark, some hyena tracks and territorial marking, different types of butterflies, and some interesting flora, but the most intresting thing in the hike was the amazing views toward the Dead Sea area.

Wadi Al-Hesa

Wadi Hesa : the end side toward The Dead Sea.

Wadi Al-Hesa goes around 25 km from the potash mines near the desert high way, all the way down to reach to Ghor Al-Safi on the Dead Sea. Most of its Water comes from Sad Al-Tanur -Water Dam-, which took its name from the archeological site near by in Khirbet Al-Tanur. The water in most of the parts runs in a gorge that varies in the different areas going from Limestone to Sand Stone, and to sediment walls in other parts. Many water source seeps from its walls, some from hot sources while others are cold. Some of these water sources are even drinkable. (Check the canyon map below).

Wilderness First Aid - Hike Safe!

In outdoors you should always be ready for the unexpected. In an extreme environment with many parameters out of control, accidents may happen. And then you will need to be prepared as a trip leader to provide the help and care for people who become ill or injured far from definitive medical care, and only using the limited resources Available.

The minute the guide accepts a participant to be in his group, he takes all the responsibility for bringing him back safe. In general, few simple acts of first Aid can make a difference between life and death, the lack of understanding these acts can put everyone in the outdoor group in danger.

King of the Jungle

There are no words to describe the feeling when you stand in front of a wild animal when you are in a Walking Safari, what if this animal was the king of the Jungle?

I still remember the first time I did so in my course in South Africa. There is nothing between us we stood there and looked each other on the eyes.

The whole feeling differs when you are the guide! Here you have to be aware of everything around you, every single move, not only that you have to be ready for the worst, if thee lion decided to attach –which not supposed to happen if you know what you are doing-, and above all give your client the chance to satisfy their lifetime dream.

Birding and Bird Guiding in Jordan

We’re down the end of the winter season. For birds the spring migration has begun and that means it’s peak season for bird-watching.

Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity in their natural environment either by naked eyes or with the help of a visual enhancement device –binoculars-, or even by listening to the birds’ calls and songs.

Hoopoe - Upopa epopos. Photo by: Osama Tamimi

Birding has become a truly international pastime, inspiring an increasing number of enthusiasts to travel the world in pursuit of rare and exotic species, often in fragile ecosystems.

Jordan is an exceptional place for birdwatching. Its geographical position means that it is a hub for migratory species from Europe, Africa and Asia. The birdlife of all three continents pass through Jordan twice a year on their passage between seasonal habitats and sometimes it is possible to see specimens from each at the same time.

During the period 28^th February to 7^th March Baraka have conducted the first phase of the first Jordanian Certified Bird Guiding Program that aims to train and certify specialized bird-watching guides capable of leading dedicated international birding groups accordance with international best practices. This is in a step toward developing the birding and nature tourism in the country.

11 DAYS, 11 MARATHONS TO GIVE HOPE TO CHILDREN IN JORDAN

Amman—After his run around the world, David Christof will cross the Kingdom of Jordan in eleven marathons from the 15th to the 25th of March. David hopes to raise money for Jordanian and Syrian children’s educational needs such as school improvements, supplies and equipment.

Over a third of all Syrian refugees who have found refuge in the Kingdom are children and Jordan is struggling to meet the needs for teachers, materials and space to provide them with an education. Informal schools run from garages and other ad-hoc locations attempt to provide education to the children who cannot enroll in the Kingdom’s over-crowded schools.

The First Specialized Training in Nature Guiding

A photo of the participants in the Nature Guides Training course

The RSCN held the first specialized training for their Nature Guides last Sunday (5-1-2014) as part of the building capacity for their employees in order to provide the guests with the best experience possible.

The training was delivered by Four FGASA (Filed Guide Association of South Africa) Guides (Osama Cori, Osama Al-Smadi, Abdulla Abo-Rumman, and Nadia Al-Aloul) who have spent a year studying Nature Guiding In Eco-Training Academy, South Africa.

This Course was a first of its kind in the region, covering an introduction to the intended skills needed for a guide to build the best experience for his guests, and covering the basic knowledge that the guide need to possess to be able to interpret the environment to his guests. The training where build through over 6 months during which the four guides were working on developing a training curricula similar to the South African one but well fitted to the needs of the region.

Why You Should Hire an Adventure Athlete?

I was reading some reviews for the book “Business Lessons from the Edge”, which talks about how extreme athletes use intelligent risk-taking to succeed in business, when the idea of this article came to me.

Why would anyone hire a crazy risk-taker who risk even his own life?

In a previous post I discussed the reasons that make us take a high risk action –as a sport-.

Well what does it take to succeed in business? Risk taking. Preparation. Self-confidence. The same principles that drive extreme athletes to the highest peaks of performance.
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Little Things in Life

A little Gecko

It is the little things in life that make the difference, the finest details what make the experience. Paying attention to these small details what makes the perfection. It is agreed that everyone will see the beauty of a flower, but it is hard to see the beauty of the ordinary things we face every day in our life, the beauty hidden in every corner.

When I used to guide the people on Safari, everyone wanted to see the big five, they all wanted to encounter a kill, but only few stopped next to line of solder ants going back of their battle carrying their winnings back. It was our job as guides to show them this beauty.

Age is never a limit

Few years ago, I been to some area near Al-Karak in an exploration trip -as I prefer to call it- to find a new canyon -was new for me and still not well known for mass hiking groups- with one of the local guides in the area. Early in the morning we prepared our gear, Ropes, helmets, etc... since the Canyon supposed to have 3 abseils

Before we head off, he told me we need to wait, his friend is going to join us, few minutes later an old man appeared, all grey hair, without any teeth in his mouth, he was 68 old then, it came to my mind is that the friend we are waiting for!! and the surprise was yes.

He had his own backpack and harness which he made himself. With all the walking, climbing up and going down he only needed two breaks, one for a cigarette and the other for making tea.

I wont talk about safety in the picture, we tried to convince him, but he wasn't interested in it. :)

Grounding, a better way to discover the nature

After we finished our afternoon walk in Selati Reserve trying to identify as much animals Tracks and signs, as part of the Tracking Course I was doing in south Africa, we started a discussion with our instructor Colin Patrick, who was one of the best field guides in South Africa, a person with a very high senses for nature.

Colin Patrick, Selaty Reserve, South Africa

Colin started “it is very essential for the tracker to think in a different way, to feel all the components of the nature around him and be open in his explanation of the animal behaviors that left behind the tracks and the signs he is trying to interpret”.

“One important aspect a tracker should not forget, and it can make all the difference between finding the animal you are tracking or not, is the unnatural noise that we make.” Colin added.

He then looked at one of my colleagues, garbed his back bag explaining, “ the bags we carry for example, many pieces  going out of its body, some metal pieces hanging from it, and too much friction, the noise of friction is not natural to animals, though it will scare them away. Even our clothes do make a lot of noise, certain fabrics can make too much noise, though we should be careful choosing our bags and our hiking clothes.” He then asked us to take off our back bags and put them a side.

“One big barrier between us and the wild life surrounding us are these shoes we are wearing. Look how antelopes moves in the wild, he takes the front limp off the ground to put it forward and then moves the hind limp to fall right exactly on the same place the front was before, they recognize that walking can make a lot of noise that will get their camouflage reviled, they avoid breaking more twigs or crashing more dry leaves on the ground, since shoes protects our feet, now we stop paying attention for what we step on, we become less carful in or way, not only that, but it will give you the feeling of the ground,  t same feeling that the animal get when it is walking, giving you a better imagination and understanding for where the animal next step will be.” He added again. We all then took off our shoes.

We went in a small walk around to see how this can affect the acceptance of our existence by the surrounding animals. The results was surprising how close we could get to different birds, and other ground animals without them to flee away, they were no more scared by our close presence, Like if we were accepted as part of the environment and not as a strange body from outside.

This experience left many questions in my mind of our connection to our surrounding environment.

One of these points was the effect of barefoot in hiking or outdoor walking in general, on the park, the beach or even deep in the forest. A small act that removes many barriers to the natural wildlife, I won’t say it in a loony hippie way spouting sounds about being one with mother earth (It is fine if you are one), but it is the innately human feeling of nature that have been forgotten with the rush of the modern life.

Interesting enough there have been many studies conducted on this subject, explaining many benefits giving us all the reason to forget our shoes home next time we go hiking!

Knowing that around 40% of the world population are not wearing shoes makes you feel you’re not odd by doing so, even that the reasons are different in both cases.