Coming Up: The Wild Side of Jordan

Come along with GreatOutdoors.com as we embark on an amazing 50-mile trek from the Dana Nature Reserve to Petra

By GreatOutdoors.com Staff - April 26th, 2010

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Don’t miss the adventure of a lifetime as GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield takes an epic 50-mile backcountry journey through the mountains of Jordan. One of the most interesting routes in the Middle East, the hike starts from Jordan’s wild Dana Reserve and follows a rugged wilderness to the country's crown jewel—Petra. This is a journey made entirely on foot, day by day, hour by hour, staying in traditional Bedouin camps, savoring the Jordan countryside at a walking pace, having the time to appreciate this unique landscape.

There will be no busses, no crowds, and no distractions on this hike, just a trek through the wild deserts and mountains of Jordan. The journey starts from the Dana Nature Reserve and follows eons-old Bedouin trails through desert wadis (drainages), through 5,000-foot high mountains and through archeological sites among the oldest in the Middle East.

The first day is the eight mile hike from Dana down to the Feynan Eco Lodge, but from there it’s all camping for the next five days. The route on day two follows Wadi Araba past the unique Rift Valley mountains to the mouth of Wadi Barwas in 10 miles. Day three takes us high into the mountains but ends at a traditional oasis. Day four is the heart of the trek, a long walk through one of the most remote wilderness areas in Jordan, a 10-mile day that gives us our best chance at seeing a rare desert ibex.

Not until the sixth day will we reach the stunning ancient capital of the Nabateans: Petra. Arriving through the “back door,” we’ll trek by the beautiful Monastery, known more accurately as El Deir, one of the most dramatic of all the monuments at Petra. A day of exploration will follow before reaching the comforts of the city outside the archeological park.

Potterfield will make the trek with noted Jordanian backcountry traveler and guide Yamaan Safady of Adventure Jordan, and the pair will be accompanied by Jordan Tourism Board videographer Catherine Porterfield. The expedition, sponsored jointly by Ex Officio, the Jordan Tourism Board , Wildland Adventures, Adventure Jordan and GreatOutdoors.com, will take place in early May, The full story will appear by early summer.

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