Chouf Cedar Reserve Getaway

We spent Saturday exploring Lebanon's Chouf Cedar Reserve and saw two things of note. One was unexpected and the other not so much: a wild mammal and a civil war-era trench.

The Chouf Cedar Reserve is just an hour or so outside of Beirut but over 6,000 feet above sea level, making up 7% of the total of Lebanon's land. The Reserve is one of the best places in the country to get away from most signs of civilization.

The only problem with the Reserve is that no camping is allowed and after packing up our tent and sleeping bags, we were dead-set on sleeping outside. Recognizing our disappointment, the guy at the entrance gate invited us to camp in his garden -- we respectfully declined the offer and chose an "ecovillage" down in the valley, instead.

Above the clouds in the Reserve.

Jodie, a serious outdoors-woman, was nice enough to join us for the day. Like Wade, Jodie is not fan of hiking back the same route that you come in. A loop, in other words, is better than a straight line (Megan, on the other hand, disagrees).

We were once again disappointment when our friend at the gate (the one with the garden) told us that the loop on the map was actually impossible. But he didn't explain why, so we held out hope.

After walking up the west side of the Lebanese Mountains you reach the summit to see a spectacular view of the Bekaa Valley, despite the brown haze.

About halfway up the mountain we saw something that we had never seen in Lebanon -- wild mammals. A whole bunch of wild boar were grabbing a drink in a watering hole and then sprinted off.

About five miles into our hike, we realized why the loop was not possible. Our trail suddenly turned into a series of trenches. It was a strategic spot with artillery positions pointing east, down into the Bekaa, and west, toward the Chouf. Wade enjoyed observing some leftover rations cans and even the remnants of a few mortar bases; Megan noticed Hebrew letters on the cans (yep, this was part of the Israeli invasion of 1982).

The point is that the trail that would have led us on a loop ended and turned into a collection of rocks and rusted barbed wire. So in the end, we had to walk back the way we came. It was a long, hot 6-hour hike, but it felt like we were in another world from bustling Beirut - the perfect way to recharge our batteries before the end of the school year.