Last time we introduced you to Feature Editor Verne Simons’ lifelong pal, world explorer, adventurer, and geologist, Dr. Thomas Bown. We told you about and showed pictures of some of Tom’s US-based adventures from the ’60s and ’70s and hinted at his time spent in North Africa. Luckily for all of us Tom carried a camera on most of his adventures and frequently found himself bumping down a trail on the seat of a Jeep. In 1992 Dr. Bown led a small group to the Quatara Depression, a geological low area in northern Egypt west of Cairo in the Northeastern corner of the Sahara Desert. A depression sounds kind of sad, but really it’s scientifically interesting because it is an area of erosion of very old rocks important to understanding the history of one of the last explored areas of the earth. The Sahara stretches across northern Africa and is one of the world’s largest deserts at 3.6 million square miles. How about exploring a very small part of it in a long-wheelbase YJ Wrangler, the Egyptian military-spec YJ-L? Sounds good to us! Here is the story as told by Tom and a few pictures from his adventure.
“In the early ’80s, I got interested in studying the origin of the Qattara Depression in Northeast Africa. Around 1987, I worked on a grant asking for funding for exploration of the Qattara Depression and surrounding area, in which I could study how the depression was formed and collect data on any fossil mammals we found in the sedimentary rocks of the area. I submitted the grant proposal in 1988, hoping for funding for an expedition across the depression by camel caravan so we would go slowly enough to do some good prospecting for fossils and hoping the National Geographic Society would send along a camera crew because of the adventure of exploring the geology of the desert by camel like the first explorers to visit the area around the turn of the century. Unfortunately the idea was rejected because of the cost and logistics of using camels. I resubmitted the proposal in 1990—leaving out the camels—and I was awarded the grant in late 1991 and we went to the field in the fall of 1992.” (Simons: Lucky for us, I guess a Jeep will have to do!)
“The YJ-L was our lead of two vehicles on the Qattara trek. The other was a 3⁄4-ton GMC pickup. The Jeep was piloted by Kevin McKinney with me riding shotgun, navigating with the maps. The Jeep, less laden than the GMC, could move much faster and we commonly used it to go well ahead of the GMC to test the passage through difficult terrain. After reconnoitering the western end of our expedition at Qara Oasis in the western Qattara Depression, we set up camp 2-3 miles west of Minqar Abu Dweiss (south of El-Alemein, in the eastern part of the Depression), and searched for fossils around there for two days. Then we headed west, spending 4 days crossing the depression. At first, it was good driving on bedrock, but the driving surface soon changed to sabkha; a dangerous dry quicksand, and, after a few more miles, driving on the sabkha was unavoidable as the sabkha now pressed directly up against vertical rock outcrop. At first we found several fossil localities but, as we neared the midway of our trek across the depression at Ras al-Qattara, we began getting so seriously stuck in the sabkha that we became most intent on just getting out of the depression. The Jeep seemed to glide over the sabkha, but the GMC pickup (laden with gasoline, water, all our tents, luggage, and food—not to mention several people) got badly stuck four times. Each time it got stuck we had to unload it completely, dig out the tires, jack up the back tires to insert the sand ramps carried on the sides of the Jeep, and build rock tracks for several yards in front of the truck so it could gather speed as it got going. To obtain the loose rock for the tracks, we commonly had to drive the Jeep several trips of several miles each up into the escarpment to find loose rock to haul back down to the stuck vehicle. All in all, we drove for more than a week and almost 600 desert miles, zig-zagging around and through the sabka and during exploration on our Qattara trip. Among sights we saw were desert roses, camels, camel bones, graves, fossils, morning fogs, towering cliffs, and relics of WWII. Among the latter were discarded jerrycans, ammunition belts, land mines, helmets, and boots. All of these were of German origin and are testament to a reconnaissance by Rommel’s army to investigate the possibility of a southern end-run around Montgomery’s forces near El-Alemein. Rommel, the Desert Fox, of course, was too brilliant a tactician to send his armor, single-file, along a slow, sabkha bordered track with no air cover.”
The GMC sinks in soft sand...
The GMC sinks in soft sand where the YJ-L drove right over top.
Mud-brick “Old Town,” at the...
Mud-brick “Old Town,” at the Oasis of Qara, western Qattara Depression. The Germans took Qara Oasis during WWII and later turned it over to their Italian allies. Legend has it, after a few weeks, the citizens of Qara petitioned the Germans to retake control of the town because the Italian forces were looting their village.
Here’s the YJ-L negotiating...
Here’s the YJ-L negotiating some soft sand. The sands in the Sahara can change from firm pack to super soft without warning. The best thing is to carry some speed and be ready to downshift in a hurry if you hit soft sand. The adventurers raided the lone date palm in the foreground—you don’t pass up free supplies in the desert. Just watch out for scorpions, horned vipers, and Egyptian cobras that frequent food sources like this tree for insects and small mammals.
This is sabka, or dry quicksand....
This is sabka, or dry quicksand. The YJ-L was decent at covering this loosely compacted dirt and sand, but the heavy GMC with extra fuel, food, water and camping gear sunk like a rock.
When the GMC got stuck in...
When the GMC got stuck in the sand we would drive around in the Jeep collecting rocks to make runways so the larger heavier truck could build up some speed. The GMC would then be unloaded as shovels and jacks are used to put rocks or sand ramps under the tires of the stuck vehicle. When the truck got out you had to drive it to firmer ground and the YJ-L would be used to shuttle the supplies back to the truck to be reloaded. A winch would be nice—as long as you have something to winch to.
Camp number one in the bottom...
Camp number one in the bottom of Qattara Depression, near Minqar Abu Dweiss.
Kevin McKinney holding a Nazi...
Kevin McKinney holding a Nazi Wehrmacht jerrycan found east of Ras al-Qattara spring. Makes you wonder if there are any old abandoned SAS jeeps lost out in the desert.
A fossil tree trunk provides...
A fossil tree trunk provides evidence of the formation of the Depression. At some time in the past the Mediterranean Sea filled parts of the Depression and the local climate was much more humid.
This is the jaw of a fossil...
This is the jaw of a fossil Hyrax found on the expedition that would have been the size of a deer or elk. These fossils are important to understanding the prehistoric history of the area. Finding animals that show characteristics of a wet region means the area has seen significant climate change.
A pile of desert camel bones...
A pile of desert camel bones out in the Sahara. Old trade routes through the desert were marked by camel bones so traders would not get lost as they traveled between oases.
These are live WWII mines...
These are live WWII mines that were either planted by the British or their allies to prevent a German end-run (we saw no German WWII relics east of the mines), or by the Germans to prevent an allied end-run around their positions. Some of the mines are still live and very dangerous despite the age. Danger!
This WWII ammo was found in...
This WWII ammo was found in the desert near the land mines. Maybe an old ammo dump?
Camp number four in the bottom...
Camp number four in the bottom of the Qattara Depression, near Qaret Labban. Check out the morning fog descending the cliff in the back ground.
Stuck again!
Tom, the man himself, standing...
Tom, the man himself, standing next to the trusty Egyptian Jeep.