The hike itself should be easy enough for any moderately fit individual, but navigation poses something of a challenge. It is advised to thoroughly review online maps, all materials at one's disposal, and the most recent political movements before departing. Moreover, no water is available after departing the town of Ariz, at the base of the Cedar's resort, so pack plenty for the hike out and back. Know Before You Go Helpful advice from ericharrisbernstein's firsthand experience: "Good trail maps for As'Sawda are hard to come by. Available online topos are practically useless due to a complete lack of landmarks, trails, and roads. Having scoured the web, I think it best to eschew proper maps and do your research online. The trail that I followed on my ascent in the summer of 2010, and which is shown in some of the posted pictures, is obscured on google earth but was very easy to follow. The longitude/latitude of the summit, according to, is 34 18'; 36 7' E, which places it about 3. 5 miles Northwest of the peak of the northern-most chair lift of the Cedar's Ski Resort, which I have pointed out in a ski are map.
It revealed a dense spattering of objects within 300 feet of the ground and then a more diffuse but still present assortment of creatures through about 6, 000 feet of elevation. That 300-foot mark more likely represents the upper cutoff of where the seemingly endless cicadas are swarming. They are probably responsible for the near-radar signals below that, with other insects contributing to what's being seen upward of a mile aloft. Upon learning that radar can detect insects as low as the tops of trees, Gruner came around to the idea that radar was indeed showing the cicadas. "If the radar can pick up the returns essentially at canopy level, then that changes the whole equation, " he wrote in a follow-up email. In the image below, notice how the green and yellow shades are visible only near the radar, where the beam is low and within a few hundred feet of the surface. That's probably the result of cicadas. A radar map showing concentrations of insects near ground level on Monday. (RadarScope) We also noticed that the densest low-level signal roughly corresponded with where cicadas have been sighted.
As of 6:14 pm EEST Tue 08 | Night A clear sky. Low 62F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Humidity 78% UV Index 0 of 10 Moonset 6:06 pm Wed 09 | Day Mainly sunny. High 79F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Humidity 65% UV Index 10 of 10 Sunrise 5:21 am Sunset 7:49 pm Wed 09 | Night A mostly clear sky. Low 63F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Humidity 82% UV Index 0 of 10 Moonset 7:03 pm Thu 10 | Day Abundant sunshine. High 78F. Humidity 65% UV Index 10 of 10 Sunrise 5:21 am Sunset 7:49 pm Thu 10 | Night Mostly clear skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of light rain later at night. Low 66F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Humidity 81% UV Index 0 of 10 Moonset 8:00 pm Fri 11 | Day Cloudy with light rain in the becoming mostly sunny by afternoon. High 77F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Humidity 68% UV Index 10 of 10 Sunrise 5:21 am Sunset 7:50 pm Fri 11 | Night Mostly clear skies. Low near 65F. Humidity 81% UV Index 0 of 10 Moonset 8:55 pm Sat 12 | Day Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon.
I soon boarded a flight to Cairo for my next highpoint of the trip Gebel Katherina, the highpoint of Egypt. Video from the summit: More pictures from the trip:
Many mountains dwarf Qurnat as Sawda in size, but few can offer the experience of ascending such beautiful, untrodden terrain. Summiting this peak carries the added satisfaction of seeing a place few visitors to Lebanon ever experience themselves. Hiding in plain sight, shrouded by political unrest and pushed aside by cultural preference, hiking to the top of Lebanon's highest point, one is more likely to pass a Bedouin camp with grazing ponies and sheep than a fellow outdoor enthusiast. The scenery along the way is spectacular. Expansive desert stretching to all sides is something to behold, especially the sharp juxtaposition of dry rocky soil and permanent snow fields classified as "alpine tundra. " Then, just nine miles east of Qurnat as Sawda's summit, Mount Lebanon (the common term for the entire range), drops off more than 8, 000 vertical feet, revealing breathtaking views and impressive cloudscapes. Hikers making the trek in early fall, summer, or late spring will encounter a significant bonus in the seasonally abandoned Cedar's Ski Resort, whose empty chairlifts to nowhere look post-apocalyptic amidst their Martian surroundings.
At Descending back down to The Cedars ski resort one point two snowmobilers caught up to us and offered us a ride, but we opted to keep hiking to enjoy the alpine scenery a bit longer. A few hours later we reached the edge of the ski resort, and glissaded back down to the base. We made it back to the resort by 5pm, before dark and in time for another good dinner of pita bread, hummus, and meat. Anthony took a taxi ride back to Beirut that evening, while I stayed around another day to enjoy the area. I took a taxi back to Beirut Sunday morning, and the driver was a character. There were no Route map seatbelts in the car, and he said "I'm a safe driver, so you don't need a seatbelt. " I'd heard this before from taxi drivers, but this guy was a bit different. Before we started he made the sign of the cross and said a short prayer. Then, before every blind turn he would make another sign of the cross. I would personally have preferred the safety of a seatbelt, but he indeed made it to Beirut with no incidents.