Madinat Zayed was our starting point and after deflating 12 tires we were ready for the trail to Arrada. The sand was hard and soft and being continuously alert was a must.
After following the track for 25km we had to fix a double pop out. The pop out fax popped in quickly and we continued our journey.
We stopped for a well deserved break and replenished some energy and confidence to continue on our trail.

After 94km on the trail we called it for the day, stopped and started relaxing. Our youngster/scout was our “fire master” and did a great job. A good fire and a starry sky were the right atmosphere for a chit chat until it was time for the “bag”.

The rising sun was responsible for the wake up and after a good breakfast we were ready for day two. Some challenges were on our way to Arrada but they were all mastered well.
Finally we reached the road after following the trail for another 31km.
The last fun was the “boring” drive back to Abu Dhabi and Dubai and not to fall asleep. I hope all made it home safely.

It was great to be on the trail we you. I enjoyed a wonderful weekend with great people.

See you soon somewhere in the sand.

This was yet another memorable trip in the Liwa desert under leadership of Urs. The Liwa desert proved to be reliably tricky as always with loooong climbs and looong descents. Some spots were extremely soft, but overall it was quite doable, possibly because it was still early in the season.

The new booklet has tick marks for stucks and pop-outs, so in order to get promoted, i humbly obliged with a double pop-out, and 1 stuck The overall speed of the convoy was quite high, with only three cars we didn't have many stucks and recoveries. This also meant that the drive was intense, normally if someone else gets stuck, it gives you the chance to chill a bit, but we hardly had the chance for that.

The first day i was second lead, and that gave a great opportunity to try to anticipate what route Urs would take. It was amazing to see how he could find ways where none seemed available. Quite a few times it looked as if we had nowhere to go but back, but sure enough, the marshal found a way out.

The bbq was nice, with a pyromaniac little boy doing an excellent job of providing the campfire for us A mild night without much wind...which was excellent because some member of the group who shall not be named brought his tent without the sticks in it Luckily, Ferran and Urs were able to help out with creative use of ropes and flag poles, so the member who shall not be named had a good night sleep after all.

Next day was a relaxed morning drive to the exit point. Urs taught a valuable lesson of what to do when the marshal becomes incapacitated to continue: how to call for help, and most importantly, which way is out of the desert. Good food for thought.

Urs, thank you for an excellent trip in the most beautiful part of Abu Dhabi, hope to do it again next year...or sooner!

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aubDPdPDjWc for a short video, and check my channel for other clips from the same trip.

The legends talk about long caravan journeys through the dessert dunes to finally reach the price of the green palm trees oasis. What story never told is that those caravans had a swiss guide!

What an adventure!