The not so official Jordan Trail from Dana to Petra day 2: Feynach - Al Manşūrah

If you have a look at the statistics this day doesn't seem to be difficult, but let those numbers don't fool you. This is probably the hardest stage I have ever did in my life. This stage follows goat paths over mountainous terrain and every minute or so you encounter a boulder or giant rock you need to pass. Add some very steep climbs and very hot weather and you have the ideal recipe for a very challenging and straneous hike day. Even if the time of movement is barely over four hours, it'll take you plenty more time to finish this route.

The day starts however easy and comes along the Feynan Heritage Trail. In these planes near copper mines there are a number of tombes that contain human bones of slaves. Where the official Jordan Trail follows the gravel roads we make a deviation to the mountains. This is quite rough terrain and can easily be compared with the more difficult stages of the GR20 in Corsica. Be sure to bring plenty of water and a camelback because you will need it. Our trail guide calls these small paths "goat paths" and with the dozens of goats following us it's easy to see why.

Climbs can become pretty steep, especially after kilometer 5 and this is probably the hardest part of this stage. The sandstone rocks in the mountains are the biggest compagnon during this day, but at the end there's a bit more diversity with a green hill, a small but nice canyon and rock terraces from limestone. This stage doesn't offer the great panoramas as the first day, but is nonetheless foreseen with some very nice landscapes.

The end brings me back to the gravel road from the offical Jordan Trail, but here a SUV is waiting for us in order to pick us up and bring us to the Bedouin camp where we stay for the night. Even with that short ride included my average walking speed is only 2,8 km/h. It says a lot about the hardness of this stage.