Perfect Timing on the Israel Trail

Perfect Timing on the Israel Trail

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…
Winter Green on the Israel Trail

Winter Green on the Israel Trail

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.…