Latrun to Shaar Hagai
with Al–Hashvil, guided by Avi Farjoun
Photo album: Israel Trail Hike 2024-10-10
I’ve been looking forward to this season on the Israel Trail. We will be hiking primarily in the foothills of Jerusalem. It is close to home and familiar. But it’s been 15 years since I hiked these segments with a group of friends. I know much has changed, and I’m eager to explore it once again.
We were disappointed that some of our hiking-mates would not be continuing with us this year. But we cheerfully welcomed four new members at the start of the day, outside the Latrun Monastery.
We started with a short climb to the ruins of a Crusader fortress. We had an expansive view of the Ayalon Valley and could clearly see the strategic importance of this area.
When I checked the map prior to the hike, I noticed that the Israel Trail route has shifted. Instead of following the top of the ridge, it was now marked along the edge of the forest, at the foot of the ridge below Neve Shalom. How strange, I thought, that it now bypasses the Burma Road and the serpentine pathway — the highlight of this segment. I even told Tia I was certain our guide Avi would lead us on the original trail. (I was right. And Avi later explained that the rerouting was due to the expansion of Neve Shalom.)
We hiked up to Neve Shalom village. This is a unique community of Arab and Jewish citizens dedicated to living harmoniously, and working to promote peace, equality and understanding between the two peoples through educational projects.
The trail was wide and easy. It was very much a walk-and-talk kind of day.
The Burma Road and its role in Israel’s War of Independence was the central theme of the hike. We heard about the challenges, dangers, and acts of heroism in 1948. But our thoughts and conversations throughout the day rarely strayed from the current events in Israel — family members serving in the IDF, the hostages still held in Gaza, the ongoing attacks from Hamas, Hezbollah, Houtis, and Iran. Although the members of our group span the spectrum of political ideologies and religious leanings, we all share a yearning for a safe, peaceful and prosperous Israel.
As if to illustrate the story of the Burma Road, a caravan of jeeps passed us by. They left clouds of dust in their wake as they drove on.
Where the forests end, vineyards cover the hills, their grapes already harvested.
Our final stop was at a picnic site next to the Burma Road stream. Normally fed by the Messila Spring (Ein Messila), which is now pumped for irrigation, the stream runs dry at this time of year.
A great group photo for the start of the season.
The complete set of my photos in a Flickr album: Israel Trail Hike 2024-10-10
Throwback to the blog I wrote about this trail segment 15 years ago: Latrun to Shaar Hagai (2009),
and the set of photos I took on that hike. Fascinating to see what has changed, and what remains the same — my sun hat, for example 😊
