January 9, 2025
A Mission for the Planet
Insights from the Desert: Reflections from our Founder
Philanthropy
January 15, 2025
Reaching Milestones: David’s Perspective from the Field
Having reached checkpoint 10, the team set up Camp 5 under the rising moon after covering over 135 kilometers of terrain. David’s field report details the challenges faced: "The sand is as fine as we have ever experienced and blows with every gust of wind." The journey has been both fast on flat terrain and grueling in dune-filled regions, where dunes rise over 1,000 feet from the valley floor. The physical toll has been significant, with the team managing sore joints, muscle cramps, and even unstable bowels. Despite these challenges, spirits remain high.
Navigating the Day-to-Day Challenges
The team’s daily routine is built around the extremes of desert life. To beat the intense heat, they begin trekking before dawn, using headlamps to navigate in darkness. By midday, with temperatures reaching 100°F, they pause under makeshift shelters to rest. Evenings are spent preparing for the next day, with an average of 15 kilometers left to cover in the afternoon.
David’s account highlights the taxing physical demands: "Marching across the soft desert sand makes for taxing work on often unused muscles. Our bodies are slowly adjusting to the 10 hours of hiking daily, and generally speaking, we are getting stronger."
Leadership and Support in Harsh Conditions
Expedition leader Alan Chambers keeps the team focused and motivated, regularly assessing their mental and physical well-being. His leadership has ensured the team’s ability to navigate unforeseen challenges while staying on track. Meanwhile, Billy Perham leads the scientific efforts, meticulously collecting sand samples and recording data. David adds a lighter touch to the journey: "I bring little comic relief if nothing else."
Integral to the mission’s success are Yusuf and Mohammad, expert desert survivalists from Oman. These brothers navigate the desert in a Toyota Land Cruiser, ensuring the team’s safety and logistical support. "We rarely see them, but we are sure they always know where we are," David observed. Their expertise in crossing the dunes is indispensable, adding a layer of security to the otherwise isolated expedition.
Scientific Achievements: Collecting Vital Data
The team’s scientific mission involves collecting 52 sand samples to advance research on micro and nanoplastics. In Phase 1, nine samples were collected, along with a core sample of the harder desert floor. The variation in sand, from reddish-brown originating in Muscat’s mountains to whiter sand from the Arabian Sea, provides valuable material for researchers at Columbia University’s Climate School, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
David’s journal notes: "We will use a spare sample jar to take a core sample of the harder desert floor, hoping that researchers can learn more about plastic deposits over time by studying nano plastics at various sand depths."
Encounters with Desert Life
Though the Empty Quarter seems barren, the team encountered glimpses of life, including rabbits, a crow, and lizards. David’s humorous account of trying to catch a rabbit for stew underscores the lighter moments in an otherwise demanding expedition. The presence of ravens, viewed ominously in Bedouin folklore, and camel spiders, which carry harmful bacteria, added an element of intrigue and caution.
David recounted an unsettling encounter: "This morning, I found a surprisingly large camel spider sitting atop my flip-flops. I carefully released him back to the sands."
Looking Ahead: Completing Phase One
Towards the end of Phase 1, the team was focused on reaching Muqshin. They’ve adjusted their schedule, starting treks earlier to take advantage of cooler temperatures and travel further before the heat intensifies. David reflects on the journey so far: "The desert is unbelievably beautiful and serene. It is also inhospitable."
The next steps involve a 130km journey from Muqshin to Sahmah, continuing their mission of advancing environmental research and testing human endurance in the vast desert.
Stay Updated on the Oman Expedition
This is the second blog in a series covering the Oman Expedition. Future updates will delve deeper into the team’s progress and discoveries. For real-time updates and insights, follow Mission Spiritus on Instagram and LinkedIn.
For those interested, David's full journals, word by word, are below!
January 9th Field Report
Having now reached checkpoint 10, the team is setting up Camp 5 for food and sleep under the rising moon. Over four days of trekking, we have successfully collected 9 sand samples, at evenly spaced intervals over 135 km of terrain. Going has been fast on the flats, but very challenging in areas of expansive dunes. The sand is as fine as we have ever experienced and blows with every gust of wind. Dunes can stretch for several miles across rise of over 1,000 feet from the valley floor and frequently we need to traverse saddles between dunes, scaling steep inclines that are unstable under foot. All three of us are feeling strong but fighting off old injury, sore joints and cramping muscles, and an occasional bout of unstable bowels! Our team leader Alan keeps the team focused and confident but also regularly checks on our mental and physical state, with an inclination to back off when any injury or fatigue risks compromising the long-term goal. Billy has taken responsibility for the scientific work and heads up sand collection and data gathering. I bring little comic relief if nothing else. In the midday heat it is unproductive to attempt to cover significant terrain, as desert temperatures are rising to 100 degrees F in the shade. So we leave camp in the cool of pre-dawn darkness, navigating by headlamp, and look to get 6 hours of progress before setting up some shade under a farm and resting for few hours. We look to have 15km or less to travel each afternoon to reach our agreed waypoint for establishing our next camp. The desert is unbelievably beautiful and serene. It is also unhospitable. In 5 days we have come across two desert rabbits, a crow and a lizard. No people anywhere. We made feeble attempts to catch one of the rabbits, entertaining a fanciful view that it would make for a nice stew cooked over the campfire, but that bunny was surprisingly quick! In the end, had we succeeded, I’m sure it would have been a “catch and release” exercise. But that was one decision we did not have to make. It is not entirely accurate to say that we have not engaged with any people, because we are fortunate to have the assistance of two remarkable men who support us on the journey. Yusuf and Mohammad are brothers of Omani descent, both raised outside of Salalah. Both men are expert in desert survival. We say good morning to them each pre-dawn morning in the dark while we put on our boots, packs, and head out of camp. Then they meet us each day at our designated rendezvous point. Yusuf and Mohammad cross the desert in a well-equipped Toyota Landcruiser, which we occasionally see perched atop a sand dune or at the end of tire tracks that lead through the sands. Usually, we do not know where they are but I am quite sure they are always aware of our location. That we can navigate this terrain on foot surprises me. It’s hard to imagine how they can navigate these obstacles by truck, but they never let us down. With three more days of trekking needed to complete the first of our four phases, we remain positive and determined to achieve our goals of 52 samples and successful transit of the Arabian Sands.
David Segel
Founder
MS Field Report, January 11th, 12.45pm, under temporary shade shelter
Six days of consecutive hiking is taking its toll. We left camp at 05.45 this morning to make miles under the cool of the pre-dawn moon. After 6 hours and 16 km, we have paused the march to get out of the sun and tend to needed repairs. Blister kits and gauze wraps were applied to bleeding feet and swollen joints. Marching across the soft desert sand makes for taxing work on often unused muscles. Our bodies are slowly adjusting to the 10 hours of hiking daily and generally speaking we are getting stronger and more adjusted to the physical demands of the route. Today we will collect two sand samples, plus one control sample. We seek to collect topsoil sand that has blown here in the wind. Sand varies from a dark reddish brown color which we learned comes from off the mountains of Muscat, 200km to the east, and lighter, whiter sand is also present but it blows up from the beaches of the Arabian Sea. In addition to our scheduled samples, we will use a spare sample jar to take a core sample of the harder desert floor, with the hope that the Columbia University Research team might be able to learn more about the development of plastic deposits on this soil over time by studying nano plastics are various sand depths. As we travel further to the northeast and closer to the Saudi Arabia border, we find that the large dunes are spaced further apart, creating larger, open plains of dry desert across which we can travel at a faster pace. We plan on moving our morning start times earlier, to 4am, as traveling in the dark is easier on the flats that in heavy dunes. We calculate this could enable us to travel as many as 25km each morning before the sun is fully overhead. For three days now we have been followed by two ravens. Our desert guides Yusuf and Mohammad view this as an ominous sign as per the tradition of Bedouin folklore. We try to keep any concerns at bay and stay focused on the mission. This morning as I opened my duffel to pack my overnight gear under the glow of headlamp, I found a surprisingly large creature sitting atop my flip flops: a camel spider found its way into my satchel! I carefully released him back to the sands. Shortly after, Billy and Alan saw another camel spider dart across the tarp by the campfire. Camel spiders are often called ‘scorpion camels’ in Omani Arabic, because they are known to give rides on their backs to scorpions. They carry a very unpleasant bacteria with flesh rotting characteristics. Not a good thing. Hopefully those sightings are unrelated to the presence of the ominous black ravens. Tonight we will establish Camp 7 at our designated rendezvous point and assess our plans for finishing Phase One and head to the desert village of Muqshin.
David Segel
Founder
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