In Dahab, we saw excursion packages for St. Catherine's Monastery. The excursion was less than $20, but it didn't do much for me- until I realized this was a NIGHT HIKE up MOSES MOUNTAIN. When I got that bit of information, I was totally sold. We paid in advance and got excited about the candle-light mountain hike and sunrise. We were stoked... until the sun set and we started getting sleepy-eyed. By 10pm, we were nearly ready to call it off and crawl in bed, but the shuttle finally pulled in. We sipped tea and told ourselves that we could power through once we started walking.
Our heads bobbed as the shuttle sped along to the base base of the mountain. I was wearing long sleeves and a light fleece, but I was chilly when we stumbled out of the van. I may or may not have moaned quietly and complained that I was cold... I don't remember... it was cold. I discovered a scarf salesman hanging out at the bathrooms and quickly grabbed two. He helped Mark and I tie the traditional black and white checkered towels around our head. I thought briefly about mummifying myself in more scarves, but decided against it. It was dark, but my fashion-less-ness has limits.
Mark wanted to take off on our own, but I insisted that I would be sticking with our guide. After all, it was a night hike, on a desert mountain, in a foreign country. At about 12:30 at night, we switched on our head-lamps and started the gradual ascent. I had heard stories about people carrying candles up the mountain but I quickly dismissed them as the wind caused me to shiver. We passed sauntering camels, empty cafes, and rocky outcroppings. Occasionally, Mark and I would pause at the back of the group, switch off our headlamps, and marvel at the star-filled sky and breath-taking mountain silouettes. Looking behind us, the dark starlit valley was spectacular. We were immediately glad we hadn't gone back to sleep. It was an incredible night hike.
By about 4:00am, we neared the top of the mountain and stopped at a small wooden cafe for tea, chocolate bars, and blankets. After a brief warming, we pulled the wool blankets tighter around our shoulders and headed up the final ascent, 750 stairs... oof dah. When we got to the summit, we elbowed our way to the edge so that we could watch the sun rise over the rugged, purple mountain-filled panorama. Words and pictures can't express how beautiful it was. We huddled together in our blankets and drank in the sunlight the spilled over the mountains. I smiled at Mark when I realized that we had stayed up all night. I was so glad that we did.
After an hour or so of the sunrise, we trekked back down the stone steps to return our rental blankets (money well spent). Our guide asked if we would prefer to take camels back down the regular path or if we would rather take the 3,750 steps of penitence. One sounded expensive and the other sounded grueling... frankly, the way he put it out there sounded like going down 3,750 steps was not humanly possible. Still, we chose the free route... 3,750 steep steps of penitence. It was steep... the whole way down. The rocky orange views were gorgeous, but by 2/3 of the way down, my thighs were involuntarily beginning to shake (I thought they were strong after all of the squatty potties we had encountered, but 3,750 steps is a lot of squats, especially after hiking all night). Eventually, we ended up back at St. Catherine's Monastery where I had time to take a nap on a sunny boulder (they don't open till 8am). It was like a Black Friday sale at the entrance where hikers anxiously awaited a view of the burning bush. I had no illusions that this was the original bush that Moses saw, but I liked the humor of a fire extinguisher sitting beneath it.
Our heads bobbed as the shuttle sped along to the base base of the mountain. I was wearing long sleeves and a light fleece, but I was chilly when we stumbled out of the van. I may or may not have moaned quietly and complained that I was cold... I don't remember... it was cold. I discovered a scarf salesman hanging out at the bathrooms and quickly grabbed two. He helped Mark and I tie the traditional black and white checkered towels around our head. I thought briefly about mummifying myself in more scarves, but decided against it. It was dark, but my fashion-less-ness has limits.
Mark wanted to take off on our own, but I insisted that I would be sticking with our guide. After all, it was a night hike, on a desert mountain, in a foreign country. At about 12:30 at night, we switched on our head-lamps and started the gradual ascent. I had heard stories about people carrying candles up the mountain but I quickly dismissed them as the wind caused me to shiver. We passed sauntering camels, empty cafes, and rocky outcroppings. Occasionally, Mark and I would pause at the back of the group, switch off our headlamps, and marvel at the star-filled sky and breath-taking mountain silouettes. Looking behind us, the dark starlit valley was spectacular. We were immediately glad we hadn't gone back to sleep. It was an incredible night hike.
By about 4:00am, we neared the top of the mountain and stopped at a small wooden cafe for tea, chocolate bars, and blankets. After a brief warming, we pulled the wool blankets tighter around our shoulders and headed up the final ascent, 750 stairs... oof dah. When we got to the summit, we elbowed our way to the edge so that we could watch the sun rise over the rugged, purple mountain-filled panorama. Words and pictures can't express how beautiful it was. We huddled together in our blankets and drank in the sunlight the spilled over the mountains. I smiled at Mark when I realized that we had stayed up all night. I was so glad that we did.
After an hour or so of the sunrise, we trekked back down the stone steps to return our rental blankets (money well spent). Our guide asked if we would prefer to take camels back down the regular path or if we would rather take the 3,750 steps of penitence. One sounded expensive and the other sounded grueling... frankly, the way he put it out there sounded like going down 3,750 steps was not humanly possible. Still, we chose the free route... 3,750 steep steps of penitence. It was steep... the whole way down. The rocky orange views were gorgeous, but by 2/3 of the way down, my thighs were involuntarily beginning to shake (I thought they were strong after all of the squatty potties we had encountered, but 3,750 steps is a lot of squats, especially after hiking all night). Eventually, we ended up back at St. Catherine's Monastery where I had time to take a nap on a sunny boulder (they don't open till 8am). It was like a Black Friday sale at the entrance where hikers anxiously awaited a view of the burning bush. I had no illusions that this was the original bush that Moses saw, but I liked the humor of a fire extinguisher sitting beneath it.
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