Jordan trail section 7, northbound
Ending in Petra was surreal.
Very hard day
—so much sand in many parts made it hard to run
—the sun was intense
—so little water out there (I think feb or march would be a much better idea). Didn’t find the first water until about mile 34. And it was very dirty/concentrated but I did my best to treat it
This all said, it’s an absolutely magical place.
Didn’t see any hikers. Only saw a couple of locals herding sheep from their camels. And only one road crossing at mile 41. Bliss and serenity in the desert.
Lots of wild camels too.
Logistics:
I share some details here but if you're actually keen to do this, shoot me a note and I'd love to help. In particular, I think you could crush this FKT if you did it in Jan/Feb/March when the temps are cooler and there is more reliable water.
Logistically, I stayed the night before at a Bedouin tent in Wadi Rum. At 1 am, I had the tent owner drive my over the sand dunes to my rental car which was parked at a gas station. I then drove ~45 mins to Humayma Visitor Center (https://maps.app.goo.gl/pof7u4rXUFqtyduF8) which is where I parked my car. There was a loud barking dog there, so I was a bit worried to leave my car, but it worked out fine. I then started northbound under a mostly full moon at ~230 am. The first 20 miles were fast-ish; mostly stable footing and mostly downhill. Then, from mile ~20 until maybe mile ~45, the footing became extremely sandy which slowed down progress substantially. The first rays of sun hit me at roughly mile 30 or so, at which point it got really hot (I think high 80s/lower 90s which was a bit unseasonably warm for late Oct).
Water was the main issue. I started with 5.5 liters. Then, I saw one puddle at around mile 8 but passed it (I probably should have filled up a bit). I didn't see water again until mile ~34. I found the descriptions on the Jordan Trail website to be somewhat accurate of where to expect water, except that in October, it's exceptionally dry and there is not much to be found. Thankfully, I was able to fill up at mile ~34 and then again at mile ~45. The water was so dirty that it eventually broke my Sawyer Squeeze device; luckily, I also had some Potable Aqua pills as a backup and used them.
Sometimes the trail was marked well or obvious. Other times, it was not marked at all. And other times, it was easy to get off trail and into sketchy terrain (especially during the last 10 miles).
I didn't see one hiker or runner the entire time. I didn't see a human until mile ~36 or so (a sheep herder) and then again at the road crossing I saw ~2 or 3 locals (sheep herder and one person in a pickup truck). Given how few humans there are, and given that there is only one road crossing at mile 41, this makes this run extremely remote with a somewhat low margin of error if something goes wrong.
I highly recommend doing this northbound rather than southbound so that you end it in Petra which is just magical.
Overall, an absolutely magical run and experience. Highly recommend it.