Israel Trail Archives - Page 4 of 6

When Old Friends Go Walking and Talking

3 December 2013

Segment 24 – Horvat Hanot to Azeka Junction * The feedback after our last hike on the Israel Trail a month ago encouraged me to organize another outing as soon as possible. The selected date, during the Hanukkah holiday, was problematic for some and convenient for others. I decided to go with the earlier date, and save the following one as a rain date. Turned out there was no need to postpone; the weather was ideal for hiking. But since we've not yet had any significant rainfall this year, the trail was dry, and I spent much of the day searching for some color to photograph. Our hiking group consisted of long-time friends, whose friendships go as far back as school days and army service (aside from Miri and Shlomo being siblings). A chatty bunch. Delightful company. Before starting the…

Good to Be Back on the Israel Trail

1 November 2013

Segment 24 – Even Sapir to Horvat Hanot * On just a week's notice, I gathered a small group of hiking friends, and took to the Israel Trail once again. We picked up the trail near Moshav Even Sapir, just outside Jerusalem, where we had finished a previous hike some two years ago. The autumn day was crisp and comfortable for hiking, and provided clear vistas as we traversed the hills and valleys. The first segment of our hike was along the Springs Trail in the Aminadav forest. We passed many springs and pools, some dry and others filled with water. Definitely a place to return to on a hot summer day for a refreshing dip. A view of Hadassah Hospital (Ein Kerem) from the trail. Playing peek-a-boo in the rock formations. Upon reaching Horvat Saadim, a small nature reserve noted for…

Welcoming Winter on the Israel Trail

4 January 2011

Segment 28 – Dvir(a) to Sansana * "The way you spend New Years is the way you'll spend the rest of the year." A friend of mine posted that message on Facebook on New Year's day. If that message is true, well then, I can expect to be doing a lot more hiking on the Israel Trail this year, and in the company of wonderful friends. Despite last minute cancellations from my regular hiking companions, and the threat of rain, I did not want to postpone this hike a second time. As long as we had two cars, to park one at each end of the segment, we were good to go. Unlike our previous outing on the trail with 19 hikers, this time we were just five, and that was just fine! Yuval and I were joined by…

Ups and Downs on the Israel Trail

23 November 2010

Segments 23 - Shoevah to Even Sapir * Although November is almost over, Israel has not yet received any significant rainfall this autumn. Our weather concern for this hiking day was not if it would be cold and wet, but rather how hot it might be. Faced with such conditions, I decided the best segment for today's hike on the Israel National Trail would be the ascent to Jerusalem. I hoped to enjoy the greenery and shade of the forests, and to find water in the spring-fed pools marked on the map. Since this segment is the closest the Israel Trail gets to Jerusalem, it was a natural decision to hike the trail in an "ascent to Jerusalem". But we had plenty of descents as well. We began our hike in Shoevah, the same place we began a hike…

Turn, Turn, Turn – A New Season on the Israel Trail

3 October 2010

Segment 19 - Tel Afek to Tel Aviv, along the Yarkon River * September 25, 2010. Officially it's now autumn. Our clocks have already been switched to winter (standard) time. But judging from the extreme and unbearable heat, it is still summer. That made it tough to be on the Israel Trail during the week of Succot, but we were eager to get back into the hiking mode. To begin our hiking season I selected a easy segment close to home, along the Yarkon river. I gave Yuval the choice of direction. He prefered to end the hike in Ramat Hahayal where ice-cream and frozen yoghurt shops would await us. Our group comprised just 10 hikers, mostly core members and a couple guests, after several last-minute cancellations. We began our hike just outside the Tel Afek National Park, at the Rosh HaAyin train station, shortly before 8 a.m. The sky was overcast and the air…

Israel Trail 2009-2010 Recap

4 July 2010

Despite a 2-month suspension of hiking due to my retinal detachment in November, we completed 10 hikes on the Israel National Trail this (academic) year for a total of about 140 kilometers. It's hard to be exact on the distance measurement. I activate the GPS recording when we commence walking, and stop it when we reach the end of the hike. Sometimes our hikes include a kilometer or more on a "connector" trail to the point where we pick up the Israel Trail. I've also accidentally paused recording a few times, and have had to estimate the length of the unrecorded segment. It's really not critical. Eventually we will have bragging rights to 940 kilometers - the official distance of the trail. So far, we've done about 200. Three of our regular hiker couples went off -- independently of…

Celebrations on the Israel Trail

2 May 2010

Segment 23 – Shaar Hagai to Sho’evah (Shoresh) * We should have celebrated an anniversary on the trail yesterday, but I didn't realize it until last night. Exactly one year ago (May 2, 2009) I began my journey on the Israel National Trail. Over the year, my hiking group has evolved and established a pace and rhythm that suits our personalities and physical abilities. It has been such a pleasure and a success! May our adventures continue! After checking the weather forecast and the route topography, Yuval and I planned a "standard" 15-kilometer route on the Israel Trail for our hiking group, from Sho'evah (Shoresh) to Shaar Hagai. We also decided to formally adopt the philosophy of hiking each segment in the direction that is easiest on the hikers, rather than conforming strictly to a north-to-south progression. That meant today's hike was mostly downhill, although it did include one long tough climb. Close…

Family History on the Israel Trail

10 April 2010

Segment 3 – Yesha Fortress to Nahal Dishon (Alma Bridge) * Our eleventh hike on the Israel National Trail began at the Yesha Fortress (also called Metzudat Ko'ah) overlooking the Hulah Valley. In the early days of Israel's War of Independence, April-May 1948, the Palmach 3rd Regiment waged three battles with the Arabs before gaining control of the fortress. The weather forecast predicted high temperatures, and indeed it was a hot day. But that did not stop 17 hikers from showing up for today's trail adventure. Our group this time included three couples of friends from Maccabim who had not yet hiked the trail with us. One of our newcomer friends was Alon Friedman, who was about to see something he was probably not expecting. Moments after starting the hike, we crossed Route 899 and entered the grounds of Nebi Yusha, a mosque…

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

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.