Perfect Timing on the Israel Trail

Perfect Timing on the Israel Trail

12 March 2010
Segments 28 - 29 – Kibbutz Dvir to Pureh Nature Reserve *   This post is dedicated to my mother Bernice Meyer Saltzman, of blessed memory, who would have celebrated her 81st birthday on March 6th, the day of this hike. If it had been a week earlier, we would have been slopping around, cold and wet, in mud and rain (and our scheduled hike was indeed postponed). If it had been a week later, we would have been hiking in heat, and the wildflowers would be wilting. But on this first weekend in March, the forces of nature were with us, and our hike on the Israel National Trail in the northern Negev was picture perfect. We broke an unwritten (and non-enforced) rule: we hiked this segment from south to north. This was a decision I made to…
A Stroll in the Park on the Israel Trail

A Stroll in the Park on the Israel Trail

7 February 2010
Segment 19: Ganei Yehoshua (Park Hayarkon), from West End to East End * It had rained heavily throughout Israel in the preceeding week. Trails everywhere in Israel were too muddy to hike. Starting at the Tel Aviv Port, we would end our hike at the eastern end of Park Yehoshua, in the Ramat Hahayal high-tech business park. Our Israel Trail hike thus became a stroll in the park, on a cool but sunny winter day. For the most part we walked on asphalt and packed-dirt paths.
Winter Green on the Israel Trail

Winter Green on the Israel Trail

3 January 2010
Segment 27 – Moshav Ahuzam (Tel Keshet) to Pureh Nature Reserve *   After a hiatus of some ten weeks due to my recovery from retinal reattachment surgery, I was delighted to usher in New Year 2010 with a celebratory hike on the Israel National Trail. The hike today (2 January 2010), from Tel Keshet to the Pureh Nature Reserve, was originally scheduled for early December. In retrospect, we were fortunate that the hike on this segment was postponed a month. Although flowers are not yet in blossom, the landscape now glows brilliantly green. The meadows have begun sprouting new growth and the vast expanses of recently planted wheat fields have turned velvety green. With few significant highlights, this hiking segment can be easily summarized: Leave Moshav Ahuzam, hike across farmland, cross under Highway 40, pass the Tel Keshet mound.…
Exceeding Expectations on the Israel Trail

Exceeding Expectations on the Israel Trail

18 October 2009
Segment 15 – Meir Sh’feya Youth Village to Bet Hanania *   We had several notions of what today’s hike on the Israel National Trail would be like. Predictions of extremely hot weather caused several group members to back out, and made us concerned about coping with the heat. Certain Israel Trail reviewers have described the first four kilometers as a boring leg, so we had visions of a dull climb alongside high-tension power lines for the first hour or so. I know Ramat Hanadiv from orienteering and had recollections only of the thorny thickets across the reserve. So by the end of the day’s hike, we were all totally delighted to realize that are fears had not materialized, and our expectations had been far exceeded. 6:45: At Beit Hanania, Yuval, Varda and I join Ilan and his passengers…
Heat, Hills and a Hammock — and some great vistas

Heat, Hills and a Hammock — and some great vistas

20 September 2009
Segment 2: Kiryat Shemona to Mezudat Yesha *   In today’s hike, we will not be hiking the first part of the segment -- from Tel Hai to the Geological Park. I realized that the route would simply be too long, especially in the heat, and decided that it was better to cut out a few kilometers of ascent rather than skip the best part (Nachal Kedesh) at the very end of today’s route. I have promised the group we will return to complete this segment at another time, in another season. 9:25: Our hike begins at the Geological Park just above Kiryat Shemona. I am delighted that we are able to drive to the park on a paved road and park our car right near the trail; I had not realized there was vehicle access, and had thought we’d…
Sweet, Sweat and Wet on the Israel Trail

Sweet, Sweat and Wet on the Israel Trail

18 September 2009
Segment 1: Tel Dan to Tel Hai *   After a six-week hiatus, the Mishli hiking group is back on the Israel National Trail for two days (September 11 and 12). To begin our second season, we are starting at the northern trailhead at Tel Dan, and plan to hike the first two segments of the trail. The start is a long way from home, and most of us had gotten up before dawn to make our way to the meeting point at the Tel Hai cemetery next to Kfar Giladi, where our first hike will end. Earlier in the week, cooler weather had been predicted for the weekend, but by Friday the weather had plans to heat up again. So we were eagerly looking forward to the watery and wet portions of today’s hike. 9:25: After a few group…

Israel Trail Subtotals – Our First Season

5 August 2009
We have now completed our fourth hike, and first season, on the Israel Trail. I consider this our first season, or year (Hebrew or school calendar) of hiking, since this set of four hikes was my prototype. It was very much an experiment, in seeing whether I could assemble a group of like-minded friends from various walks of my life, physically fit and capable of hiking 15 kilometers in a single day. Now for some numbers - Subtotals, so far: We have hiked 61 kilometers, according to my GPS-recorded tracks. 34 people have hiked the trail with me and Yuval. An average of 16 hikers on each segment. Top honors go to partipants in all 4 hikes: Varda Ingels, Ruthy Alush, David Alush, Musa Yehoshua, Yuval Mishli, and me, of course. Honors go to participants in 3 hikes: Miri Berman,…
Beaches, Beaches and More Beaches on the Israel Trail

Beaches, Beaches and More Beaches on the Israel Trail

4 August 2009
Segment 18: Gaash to Tel Aviv * This hike is the second half of the route from Netanya to Tel Aviv. We started this hike in early morning sunlight at the point we finished our last hike in early evening darkness. This hike was a long, long walk on the beach, followed by a few final kilometers on city streets of Tel Aviv. We began on a nearly deserted stretch of shore; besides us there were just a few campers still asleep in their tents, and some fisherman tossing their lines out.
Hike 3 on the Israel Trail, Post-Mortem Redux

Hike 3 on the Israel Trail, Post-Mortem Redux

8 July 2009
Netanya to Gaash on the Israel Trail - July 3, 2009 *   We are still in a learning mode. Many of our hiking group members are orienteers and skilled at making "route choices" while on an orienteering race course. But the Israel Trail is another challenge. The concept here requires knowing where to look for trail markers (even, and especially, on city streets), keeping them in sight, and following them! I'm sure our Trail skills will improve the more we hike. On our last hike we had two instances of deviating from the trail. The images below show where we actually hiked in those two spots, as compared to where we should have hiked according to the Israel Trail markers. In Netanya we were simply careless about following the markers. When we didn't see the markers, we assumed they'd been removed or obstructed…