How we did not summit Jabal Shams
Jabal Shams, the Sun mountain is the highest mountain in Oman and in the Middle East - the peak is at 3007m. You cannot actually summit it because the summit is a restricted area with the iconic radar station and therefore the climbable official peak is at 2997m above sea level. The trail is well marked for the most part and it offers absolutely stunning views. All sources we found said that the hike one direction is 9km - back and force it is 18km. So it is a long hike and supposedly can be done in 10-12 hours. Since not long ago we did a 14km hike with our daughter in 5 hours we thought it was time to give it a try - 4 extra km should be doable with additional 7 hours even if the terrain is more difficult. Well, in short we were wrong :). We did not make it to the summit, we were 2-2.5km too short - and we had to turn back if we wanted to make it back to the car before dark. We started the hike at 6.30 in the morning, walked close to 21km and we were back to our car at 6.30 in the evening - and I can proudly say that our teenage daughter was leading the way on the way back dictating the pace. She is in far better shape than any of us :).
Despite all the challenges and the fact that we did not summit, this hike was and is absolutely stunning - the views are out of this world. If you do not want to commit to the whole trek it is still worth to take the first 1-2 hours of the hike - you will get a good taste of what this hike is about and you will enjoy the stunning views! On the other hand we are sure if we had a guide or we knew what we know now, we could had done it. We will give it an other try for sure before we leave the country!
Location for parking: 23.2263,57.2046. The hike starts around here you will see the usual tricolor flags. The summit is at 23.2137,57.2755. As you need to start early you should either camp (there are good spots around the trail head) or you can stay in the Sama Heights hotel which is just next door - we recommend the Mountain View rooms they are super nice! Or any other nearby guesthouses, there are a few (eg Star Guesthouses).
This is a very challenging hike for casual weekend hikers but doable if you are prepared:
1. You need hiking boots. Proper ones - not trekking shoes or tennis shoes but sturdy boots with thick and hard sole. You will bounce on smaller boulders and rocks and if your sole is not good enough your feet will get tired. In general we do not like to hike in this climate in our leather boots but for this hike we should had taken them out instead of our trekking shoes.
2. It is longer than expected. The total length is out is NOT 9 km - it is more like 12km. We paced ourselves considering that we will reach summit after 9km and all the way we thought we were doing ok to finish the full hike in 12 hours. But at 9km we were not at the summit and around 10km we only reached the radar station (well, as close as you can get to it) - here we met the young Omanis who overtook us earlier coming back from the summit and they said it was an other 2-2.5km from where we were. At this point it was 12.30 so we had lunch and turned back.
3. The hike entails a LOT of up and downs, you will cross many wadis and lower peaks - it is not a straight ascending on the way out and descending on the way back type of hike. We knew this, but boy after the 5th peak you climb you kind of start loosing motivation :). Overall the altitude difference is 1000m which is of course substantial - but in reality you climb up much more due to the regular descends when you loose elevation.
4. If climbing up was a pain - descending is even more pain. Do not underestimate especially if you have knee problems. I do not officially, but as I "mature" I find my knees not always agreeing with the task on hand. And descending over many kms is something they do not agree with. We had knee support things packed and it helped.
5. Bring walking sticks if you have - very helpful especially on the way down!
6. Download maps.me - the trail is marked but there was one spot where we would had been lost without maps.me. They have the whole route marked and it is great to have a sense of direction where markers are not as frequent.
7. Pack enough food and drinks - not just snacks, but proper lunch. We little bit overdid the water, we had 2 bottles per person but since it was not that warm we did not drink that much.
8. Pack a dry shirt or a light pullover - on the way back as the sun sets it will be cooler.
9. Bring headlamps - in case you get late. The sun sets behind the mountain at 6pm and from there it was quickly dark.
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