2021-07-10 Chouwen River to the Caves
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 9.11 mi
- Elevation gain
- 4,747 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Very difficult
- Elevation loss
- 4,747 ft
- Max elevation
- 2,432 ft
- TrailRank
-
69
3.7
- Min elevation
- 876 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 7 hours 56 minutes
- Coordinates
- 3209
- Uploaded
- July 10, 2021
- Recorded
- July 2021
near Chouâne, Mont-Liban (Lebanon)
Viewed 1889 times, downloaded 34 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
This is a very challenging hike.
The trail's idea was born during the "ain Jrain" hike (see June 12 2021 trail) where Chris (see trail buddies) informed the group that foohat Dakhoon is part of the Chouwen river.
The trail started from the Chouwen village down to lake Chouwen (easy section back and forth); the fun started after the lake where for the next 4+ km the trail took a zigzag form hopping from one river bank to the other down running water that reached, in some places, to your neck and other times you had to swim which posed a challenge to me as a non-swimmer. But thanks to the group (three guys that you can trust your life to), they made me pass the deep sections of the river.
Walking in a river is the most challenging task you could encounter: slippery rocks, large rocks, small rocks, strong currents, etc. You have to have stamina to endure all of this. The scenery makes it all worth it; and I tell you: I would do this trail again in a heart's beat.
The trail was about 400+ ASL but thanks to the cold water it was doable during the summer months.
Most of the waypoints are added so that I can post as much pics as possible.
The trail's idea was born during the "ain Jrain" hike (see June 12 2021 trail) where Chris (see trail buddies) informed the group that foohat Dakhoon is part of the Chouwen river.
The trail started from the Chouwen village down to lake Chouwen (easy section back and forth); the fun started after the lake where for the next 4+ km the trail took a zigzag form hopping from one river bank to the other down running water that reached, in some places, to your neck and other times you had to swim which posed a challenge to me as a non-swimmer. But thanks to the group (three guys that you can trust your life to), they made me pass the deep sections of the river.
Walking in a river is the most challenging task you could encounter: slippery rocks, large rocks, small rocks, strong currents, etc. You have to have stamina to endure all of this. The scenery makes it all worth it; and I tell you: I would do this trail again in a heart's beat.
The trail was about 400+ ASL but thanks to the cold water it was doable during the summer months.
Most of the waypoints are added so that I can post as much pics as possible.
Waypoints
Waypoint
1,377 ft
Lake Chouwen
Waypoint
1,672 ft
The Caves
This is the end of the trail where the Foohat Dakhoon is. A beautiful site (see pictures).
Waypoint
1,669 ft
Chouwen Lake Balcony
A little balcony overlooking the Chouwen lake. A nice panoramic view of the lake and the mountains.
Comments (8)
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Hey there Zahi. Extremely interesting trail you got there!! I have a quick question for you, once the challenging part begins did you guys follow the river and remain in water till you reached the caves or did you have to venture through bushes at any point? Thank you so much!
Hi Jason,
No bushes but we sometimes ventured into dry land. The difficulty was in slippery underwater rocks!
Brilliant!! Thank you so much for the prompt response. I'll be following your lead in the next few days hehe wish me luck
Luck favors those who are always prepared. Luck needs you.
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Very difficult
Jason,
I did this trail with Zahi. It's extraordinary. Nevertheless there are certain dangers you should take into account.
We did this trail in July and the water flow was already strong and cold. In October, is probably colder and stronger.
Check the weather forecasts, there may be a risk of flooding in case of strong rain, even a few km uphill.
There is no way to get you out of this canyon beside the way you took to get in!
So don't go alone and be very cautious.
Enjoy! :-)
Oh wow, sounds super exciting yet scary!! Reading this made me take 2 steps back about venturing into this trail next weekend! I have been keeping a close eye on weather forecasts and all seems okay except for the lake water temperature. Thank you soooo much for the input and I'll surely let you guys know how this goes.
Mountaineering has always to be done with caution. But as my wise mother said, people who don't take risks end up dying in their bed. Which is not a great perspective.
So go ahead with adventure and just stay wise! We're looking forward to reading your comments!
And in case you don't manage it during this season, we'll go back around June-July 2022, and you're most welcome to join!
Keep in touch
Thank you so much for the encouragement!! Can't wait to come back and write all about it.