We met in Craig's parking lot, where we divided into cars and drove to Shmurat Pura.
Shmurat Pura is just of route 40, just south of where it merges with route 6, and north of the Kama Junction.
Once we all got to the parking lot, we joined the hikers for Tsaad Kadima, and started walking.
The first section of the walk took us over a small hill. We saw many Anemones (כלניות), the first of the red flowers to bloom in the winter. There were also many other beautiful flowers.
We continued our walk on the Israel Trail passing a seasonal lake, a damn, and a small stream.
Our next attraction was the remains of a Turkish railway bridge from the first world war. The bridge washed away during the seventies, but some of it is still visible.
Next we climbed up to Tell Nagilla, the site of a settlement that existed from the Chalcolithic period to the Byzantine Period. The Tell was also important during the War of Independence because it served as a well known aerial landmark.
This the farthest point of our walk, and we started walking back to our cars on a parallel path.
Thanks to Asher, the guide, and added many stories and explanations to out walk.
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
Craig's Pictures
Monday, February 17, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Eilat - January 16th - January 18th, 2014
On the way to Eilat a group of us met at the hotel area near the Dead Sea.
Our first hike was in Nachal Bokek. This stream runs all year round, so we had to walk through water. At the end of the trail, we climbed up towards Maale Bokek (Bokek Ascent), and then down to the road.
After this hike we sat on the beach at the Dead Sea for some refreshments.
We met some more members of the group, parked our cars at the gas station near the Arava Junction, and walked on the road towards Nachal Tzafit. We Started at the lower end of Nachal Tzafit, and climbed up, some times using handholds. At the first intersection we took the Tzafit Tamar connecting trail towards Nachal Tamar where we climbed down Nachal Tamar using more handholds and ladders. We were promised a rope, but it had been replaced by metal handholds. We were all very disappointed. After a short walk back to the cars, we continued our drive to Eilat.
After checking in, we went to dinner at Il Pentolino in down town Eilat. It was OK.
On Friday morning we took a bus towards the beginning of the hike. After picking up our guide, we were delayed at the exit from Eilat by the Israman bicyclers.
The bus dropped us of near the Eilat seismological station. We started walking up, stopping at various places to look at the rocks, plants and views. Our route took us from Igneous rock formations, to land sedimentary formations (sand stone) to sea sedimentary formations (lime stone). The colors were lovely, going from black to read, pink and purple, with a bit of yellow and white thrown in.
We had some steep ascents, but at the highest peek we reached we had a great view of the Edom mountains, the golf of Eilat and probably even Sinai. If the visibility had been better we could have probably seen Saudi Arabia.
Since if you go up, you must come down, we walked down towards the Amram Pillars. It was steep at times, a very narrow path at others, but we all made it down in one piece. After visiting the Amram Pillars we got on the bus and drove back to the field school.
Shabbat was spent relaxing, some at the beach, and some at the field school.
Many thanks to Havi for organizing the weekend, and to Ron, our guide for a great hike.
Pictures:
Gadi's picture from Nachal Bokek, Nachal Tzafit, Friday Hike
Our first hike was in Nachal Bokek. This stream runs all year round, so we had to walk through water. At the end of the trail, we climbed up towards Maale Bokek (Bokek Ascent), and then down to the road.
After this hike we sat on the beach at the Dead Sea for some refreshments.
We met some more members of the group, parked our cars at the gas station near the Arava Junction, and walked on the road towards Nachal Tzafit. We Started at the lower end of Nachal Tzafit, and climbed up, some times using handholds. At the first intersection we took the Tzafit Tamar connecting trail towards Nachal Tamar where we climbed down Nachal Tamar using more handholds and ladders. We were promised a rope, but it had been replaced by metal handholds. We were all very disappointed. After a short walk back to the cars, we continued our drive to Eilat.
After checking in, we went to dinner at Il Pentolino in down town Eilat. It was OK.
On Friday morning we took a bus towards the beginning of the hike. After picking up our guide, we were delayed at the exit from Eilat by the Israman bicyclers.
The bus dropped us of near the Eilat seismological station. We started walking up, stopping at various places to look at the rocks, plants and views. Our route took us from Igneous rock formations, to land sedimentary formations (sand stone) to sea sedimentary formations (lime stone). The colors were lovely, going from black to read, pink and purple, with a bit of yellow and white thrown in.
We had some steep ascents, but at the highest peek we reached we had a great view of the Edom mountains, the golf of Eilat and probably even Sinai. If the visibility had been better we could have probably seen Saudi Arabia.
Since if you go up, you must come down, we walked down towards the Amram Pillars. It was steep at times, a very narrow path at others, but we all made it down in one piece. After visiting the Amram Pillars we got on the bus and drove back to the field school.
Shabbat was spent relaxing, some at the beach, and some at the field school.
Many thanks to Havi for organizing the weekend, and to Ron, our guide for a great hike.
Pictures:
Gadi's picture from Nachal Bokek, Nachal Tzafit, Friday Hike
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Nachal Arugot - Novener 15th, 2013
We met on Friday morning at the Nachal Arugot parking lot.
Those of us who arrived early enough got to see the Ibex Cleaning Crew doing their thing.
Our first leg, took us along the northern bank of Nachal Arugot, to the upper pools. Along the way we saw Hryax at various points.
We sat at the pools for about an hour, it was nice and cool, but the water was warm.
We returned the same way we came, but went down the the Hidden Waterfall. We spent some time there, and the brave souls took a shower in the waterfall.
We too the wet way back, taking the trail that goes through the stream bed, and had to get our feet wet once in a while.
We got back to our cars at about 1, and made our way back home.
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
Those of us who arrived early enough got to see the Ibex Cleaning Crew doing their thing.
Our first leg, took us along the northern bank of Nachal Arugot, to the upper pools. Along the way we saw Hryax at various points.
We sat at the pools for about an hour, it was nice and cool, but the water was warm.
We returned the same way we came, but went down the the Hidden Waterfall. We spent some time there, and the brave souls took a shower in the waterfall.
We too the wet way back, taking the trail that goes through the stream bed, and had to get our feet wet once in a while.
We got back to our cars at about 1, and made our way back home.
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Ups and downs near the Dead Sea - October 18th 2013
On Friday morning, we met at Ein Feshcha, Einot Tzukim, the lowest nature reserve in the world.
After crossing route 90, we started our climb on the black trail towards Rosh Tzukim. The climb was long and quite steep. The trail started at an altitude of 340 meters below sea level, and ended at an altitude of 80 meters below sea level and was about 1.6 kilometers long. One of us did not feel well and returned to the starting point. This is the first trail that was marked in Israel. It was marked by the Palmach in 1947, just weeks before the start of the War of Independence.
The climb ended at Rosh Tzukim, where we had a great view of the northern part of the Dead Sea, and the nature reserve below us.
We rested for quite a long time, and then continued for a short while along the black trail and the turned left to the blue trail towards Nachal Samara. This part of the trail was rolling hills.We went up and down for a few kilometers, until the trail ended at the green trail. We walked a short distance to a beautiful lookout.
At this point we started our descent on Ma'ale Mezin. This would take us back to route 90, and our cars.
When most of us were at the end of the trail, we got the news that one of us was having cramps and could not continue the descent, even though he had help.
We decided to call for help, and after a while a team form the Megilot Rescue Team came to help.
While some of us waited for everyone to come down, the rest went back to Ein Feshcha.
The team climbed up and evaluated the situation. Our group member was given an infusion, which helped him walk down the descent.
Our route can be reviewed here:
Thanks to Elana and Deborah for planning the hike, and to everyone who helped others along the hike.
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
After crossing route 90, we started our climb on the black trail towards Rosh Tzukim. The climb was long and quite steep. The trail started at an altitude of 340 meters below sea level, and ended at an altitude of 80 meters below sea level and was about 1.6 kilometers long. One of us did not feel well and returned to the starting point. This is the first trail that was marked in Israel. It was marked by the Palmach in 1947, just weeks before the start of the War of Independence.
The climb ended at Rosh Tzukim, where we had a great view of the northern part of the Dead Sea, and the nature reserve below us.
We rested for quite a long time, and then continued for a short while along the black trail and the turned left to the blue trail towards Nachal Samara. This part of the trail was rolling hills.We went up and down for a few kilometers, until the trail ended at the green trail. We walked a short distance to a beautiful lookout.
At this point we started our descent on Ma'ale Mezin. This would take us back to route 90, and our cars.
When most of us were at the end of the trail, we got the news that one of us was having cramps and could not continue the descent, even though he had help.
We decided to call for help, and after a while a team form the Megilot Rescue Team came to help.
While some of us waited for everyone to come down, the rest went back to Ein Feshcha.
The team climbed up and evaluated the situation. Our group member was given an infusion, which helped him walk down the descent.
Our route can be reviewed here:
Thanks to Elana and Deborah for planning the hike, and to everyone who helped others along the hike.
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Gilboa - March 7th 2013- March 9th 2013
We met at the Maayan Charod Youth hostel on Thursday night.
After breakfast on Friday morning, we drove to the end of our route, neat the remains of Old Tel Yosef, where we left some of our cars. We squeezed into the remaining cars, and drove to the beginning of our route at the Iris Trail. It was the beginning of the blooming season for the Gilboa Iris (Iris haynei), and we saw several flowers.
We walked along the Iris trail, up to Mount Barkan, where we had a nice view of the Northern Shomron to the south, and the Charod Valley to the north. From there we started our descent, towards the valley.
The descent was long steep, and at some point we had to use handholds.
Along the way we stopped at Ein HaSamal (The sergeant's spring). and heard the story of sergeant Moshe Rosenfeld, A sergeant in the British mandatory police, who was killed at that point in 1935 by Arab terrorists. He was the first casualty of the 1936 Arab riots.
Our next stop was a lookout point, looking over the Charod Valley. Unfortunately, visibility was very bad, and we couldn't see very far.
We heard the stories of two biblical battles that took place in the valley.
The battle of Gideon and the Mideanites, and the battle of Saul and the Philistines.
Another battle that took place in the valley, was the battle of Ein Jalut (Maayan Charod) between the Mamlukes and the Mongols This was the first time that the Mongols were defeated in combat.
We continued down the steepest part of the descent to the base of the mountain were are cars were waiting. Most of the group waited, while the drivers went to get the cars.
In the evening we had a lovely dinner, and a nice game were we learned about the Kakamega forest, the Snook fish, and many other unusual things.
After breakfast on Shabbat, some people rested, while other took walks around the youth hostel. Some even snuck into the Maayan Charod National Park, which was officially closed.
Many thanks to Simcha and Craig for doing a great job of organizing the weekend, and to Michael Even-Esh, our guide.
A map of the route can be found here
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
Machteld's Pictures
After breakfast on Friday morning, we drove to the end of our route, neat the remains of Old Tel Yosef, where we left some of our cars. We squeezed into the remaining cars, and drove to the beginning of our route at the Iris Trail. It was the beginning of the blooming season for the Gilboa Iris (Iris haynei), and we saw several flowers.
We walked along the Iris trail, up to Mount Barkan, where we had a nice view of the Northern Shomron to the south, and the Charod Valley to the north. From there we started our descent, towards the valley.
The descent was long steep, and at some point we had to use handholds.
Along the way we stopped at Ein HaSamal (The sergeant's spring). and heard the story of sergeant Moshe Rosenfeld, A sergeant in the British mandatory police, who was killed at that point in 1935 by Arab terrorists. He was the first casualty of the 1936 Arab riots.
Our next stop was a lookout point, looking over the Charod Valley. Unfortunately, visibility was very bad, and we couldn't see very far.
We heard the stories of two biblical battles that took place in the valley.
The battle of Gideon and the Mideanites, and the battle of Saul and the Philistines.
Another battle that took place in the valley, was the battle of Ein Jalut (Maayan Charod) between the Mamlukes and the Mongols This was the first time that the Mongols were defeated in combat.
We continued down the steepest part of the descent to the base of the mountain were are cars were waiting. Most of the group waited, while the drivers went to get the cars.
In the evening we had a lovely dinner, and a nice game were we learned about the Kakamega forest, the Snook fish, and many other unusual things.
After breakfast on Shabbat, some people rested, while other took walks around the youth hostel. Some even snuck into the Maayan Charod National Park, which was officially closed.
Many thanks to Simcha and Craig for doing a great job of organizing the weekend, and to Michael Even-Esh, our guide.
A map of the route can be found here
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
Machteld's Pictures
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Har Grizzim and Dier Kal'a - February 15th, 2013
We met the bus near the Hartman Institute, and started driving north towards Har Grizzim.
After picking our guide, Kuti, up at Ofra, we continued north and arrived at the Har Grizzim National Park.
The site is a the very top of the mountain, and it was very windy, so we moved the bus so it formed a wind brake, and the guide gave us a brief history of the site, and what we were about to see.
We toured the site, stopping at the remains of an olive press, and then went on to the Sacred Precinct where there have been various temples and churches over the last 2500 years.
Our next stop was the Samaritan neighborhood, where we saw the Samaritan Passover Sacrifice site, and a Tchina factory.
We also met a group of christian volunteers from an organization called HaYovel, whos mission is to help small farmers. Their leader, Tommy, explained who they were, and what their mission was.
We also had an overlook of the eastern parts of Shchem, including the Balata refuge camp, and Joesph's tomb.
We returned to the bus and drove back down the mountain, past Ariel to Pedu'el. We went out the back gate of Pedu'el towards Deir Qal'a, which is the remains of a byzantine fortified farm. It is a very impressive site.
After returning to the bus, we drove back to Jerusalem.
Thanks to Elana for organizing the tour, and to Kuti, our guide, for doing a great job.
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
After picking our guide, Kuti, up at Ofra, we continued north and arrived at the Har Grizzim National Park.
The site is a the very top of the mountain, and it was very windy, so we moved the bus so it formed a wind brake, and the guide gave us a brief history of the site, and what we were about to see.
We toured the site, stopping at the remains of an olive press, and then went on to the Sacred Precinct where there have been various temples and churches over the last 2500 years.
Our next stop was the Samaritan neighborhood, where we saw the Samaritan Passover Sacrifice site, and a Tchina factory.
We also met a group of christian volunteers from an organization called HaYovel, whos mission is to help small farmers. Their leader, Tommy, explained who they were, and what their mission was.
We also had an overlook of the eastern parts of Shchem, including the Balata refuge camp, and Joesph's tomb.
We returned to the bus and drove back down the mountain, past Ariel to Pedu'el. We went out the back gate of Pedu'el towards Deir Qal'a, which is the remains of a byzantine fortified farm. It is a very impressive site.
After returning to the bus, we drove back to Jerusalem.
Thanks to Elana for organizing the tour, and to Kuti, our guide, for doing a great job.
Pictures:
Gadi's Pictures
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