A few weeks after we opened the 6th tributary of Wadi Qasheh, five of us were ready to explore the 7th and final uncharted path.
We planned to meet at our regular coffee shop on the way to Tanuf at 8:30 am. Kevin, my son, spent the previous night at our place, and Marco, a mutual friend, arrived at 6:30 am to pick us up. Together, we headed to Hay Al Turath to meet Rami and Hamood for breakfast.
After enjoying some tea and parathas, we made our way to Al Faraa.
There, we parked our cars and packed our bags with all the necessary equipment for this last canyon adventure, including a drill, anchors, harnesses, and other climbing tools.
I also brought along my laser range finder to measure the height of any drops we encountered.
We started our journey walking in the wadi bed, staying clear of the mountain trail exposed to the sun. As we proceeded, we passed the points where the previous six tributaries we had explored joined Wadi Qasheh.
At the spot where we would leave the wadi bed to climb the old mountain trail leading to our exploration starting point, we took a refreshing break beneath a spring about 100 metres higher in the mountain. The wet clothes provided some relief from the sun until we reached the shaded entrance of our canyon.
Arriving at our starting point around 11:30 am, we secured our rope around a tree and descended a first drop of about 10 metres. This was followed by a stunning 30-metre natural 'toboggan' carved in the white limestone over time. We named it 'Marco's Drop' since Marco was the first to abseil.
Once all five of us were at the wadi bed, we continued by descending two smaller drops of 7 and 10 metres each until we could see the pools of Wadi Qasheh below. My range finder indicated a drop of 108 metres!
We secured two more anchors for two upcoming abseils of 10 and 25 metres. At this point, we found ourselves in a shallow but smelly pool and had to climb over a massive boulder blocking our path.
I was the first to reach the top of this huge rock where I discovered an adorable tiny baby bird in its nest. My friends soon joined me, and together, we set a metal anchor for the final magnificent drop of 60 metres that landed us about 20 metres above the pools of Wadi Qasheh.
From there, we managed to get back to the wadi bed without needing ropes and returned to our vehicle parked in Al Faraa.
I felt incredibly happy that day as we celebrated completing the exploration of the 7th and final tributary of Wadi Qasheh.
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