Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Day 17: Kibbutz Tzova to Even Sapir
Short day, about eight kilometers. Made it back to the big city and immediately wanted to leave due to the massive overcrowding of tourists. It felt good to get a sense of normalcy back in my life again, but by now I have serious trail lust. These first weeks have been beautiful and awe-inspiring, packed with encounters with amazingly warm and friendly people. We hope this acclimatization up north will have been enough for the exciting and potentially dangerous challenge coming up next: the Negev. Till next time.
P.S. Video coming tomorrow hopefully.
-Jeremy
Day 16: Latrun to Kibbutz Tzova
Dave is cruel to animals. He brought his dog and our favorite mascot Mooky on the trail with him. By the end of yesterday Mooky was staggering around and trying to stop in every shady area he could find. I’ve never seen a dog be so knocked out at the end of a day. The walk today was pretty easy though, mostly downhill through the Burma Road to Jerusalem.
The Burma Road was a makeshift track built by Israeli forces headed by general Mickey Marcus during the 1948 Siege of Jerusalem, inspired by the WWII route into China. In the opening phases of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Jordanians surrounded and besieged Jerusalem by closing off the main road with artillery fire.
The citizens of Jerusalem were suffering with attempts to resupply and attempts to provide weapons led to failure. The "Burma Road" was a goat trail quickly widened by bulldozer. This unpaved road provided a new way into Jerusalem that was not blocked by the Jordanians. It was completed on the 10th of June 1948 and broke the siege on Jewish military forces and civil population in Jerusalem.
Kibbutz Tzova was a hiker’s dream. The founder of the Kibbutz was an avid hiker and after his death his son dedicated two new sleeping areas solely for hikers doing the Israel Trail. They had a fantastic supermarket and were unbelievably generous. Someone brought us milk, fresh vegetables, and lemon meringue pie in the evening, making my gluttonous food purchasing spree completely unnecessary. The six of us fell asleep that night within about ten seconds of our heads hitting the pillow, very satisfied and ready to hit Jerusalem for Passover.
-Jeremy
Day 15: Mitzpe Modi'in to Latrun
Following the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the British authorities built a number of police forts of similar design (named Tegart forts after their designer in various locations; Latrun was chosen as such a site due to its strategic significance, particularly its dominant position above the old Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem highway passing immediately below the hill-line. That police fort had an enormous impact on the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. As the last British troops departed from Palestine Mandate on May 14, 1948, the fort was occupied by the Transjordanian Arab Legion.
The Legionnaires used the fort to shell Israeli traffic on the highway and thus effectively imposed the Siege of Jerusalem. During early June, a rough alternative route was developed to its south that was nicknamed "Burma Road" after the American and British route into Nationalist China during World War II.
Just 10 days after the declaration of Israel, on May 24, 1948, the fort was assaulted by combined forces of Israel's newly-created 7th Brigade, and a battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade (where Ariel Sharon served as a platoon commander; he was wounded with most of his platoon and later recalled the decision to retreat to a nearby vale as the most crucial tactical decision of his life). The attack (codenamed "Bin-Nun A") failed, with heavy casualties. A week later, on June 1st, the fort withstood yet another attack ("Bin-Nun B"), even though its outer defences were breached.
Many of the Israeli conscripts were recent survivors of the Holocaust and were new immigrants; most were poorly trained. The equipment was also very poor, and artillery support was lacking. The results of the battle were mixed. The official combined number of casualties for both the battles was 139 (an extremely high figure for an assault conducted mainly by two battalions). While the Tel-Aviv Jerusalem highway was not secured, the two Battles of Latrun can be seen as a limited strategic success, since they contained the Arab Legion and allowed the opening of the bypass road, which lifted the siege from Jerusalem.
In the 1949 cease-fire agreement, the fort remained a salient under Jordanian control, which was in turn surrounded by a perimeter of no man's land. Under the cease-fire agreement, Jordan was not to disrupt Israeli travelers using this road; in practice, constant sniper attacks led Israel to build a bypass road around the bulge.
In 1967's Six-Day War, Latrun was captured by Israeli forces, and the main-road to Jerusalem was reopened. The Tegart fort became a museum and a memorial site known as Yad La-Shiryon, which includes a display of over 110 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles (including the Merkava and T-72 tanks), an amphitheatre, an auditorium, a synagogue and a war memorial for fallen soldiers of Israeli Armored corps.
In 1970, an intentional community known as Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace) was jointly founded by Israeli Arabs and Jews on a hilltop south of the Latrun ridge with the stated goal of engaging in educational work for peace and justice. In 1977, the Israeli settlement of Mevo Horon was built between Latrun and the West Bank proper to secure the Israeli claim to the region. Because of Latrun's strategic location above the most traveled highway in Israel, there is overwhelming consensus in Israel that the Latrun Salient won't be relinquished as part of any settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Today's hike was nice because we got some fresh blood on the trail with us in Ari and Dave, two guys who study at Yeshiva Aish HaTorah. Conversation can get a bit stale with the same people for days on end, so I think their presence really invigorated all of us. You may remember Dave as “The Tour Guide”, but unfortunately this internet is really really slow and we’ve only been able to get the video of Tel Dan up on the site. The best thing about him joining the crew was the delicious
cardamom coffee blend he brought with him. Hits the spot.
-Jeremy
Day 14: Kfar Serkin to Mitzpe Modi'in
Not much of note today, aside from Neot Kedumim. We had a trail angel there but it was about 3k off of the trail so we didn’t much feel like making the trek. Our trail angel, however, wouldn’t take no for an answer, exclaiming “But, but we have showers! You must come!”
So yeah, he picked us up and took us to a totally hidden but inspiring camping area. Neot Kedumim is a man-made nature reserve that showcases the environments that existed in biblical times. They have themed walking paths that highlight passages from the Torah, Mishna, and Gemara alongside diverse plant and animal life. They run lots of sleep-away camps and survival courses for children, and we were able to have some great conversations and guitar fire-circle jam sessions with the counsellors after the kids went to sleep. Several of them are getting a break from the army soon and might be joining us for part of the Negev Desert.
-Jeremy
So yeah, he picked us up and took us to a totally hidden but inspiring camping area. Neot Kedumim is a man-made nature reserve that showcases the environments that existed in biblical times. They have themed walking paths that highlight passages from the Torah, Mishna, and Gemara alongside diverse plant and animal life. They run lots of sleep-away camps and survival courses for children, and we were able to have some great conversations and guitar fire-circle jam sessions with the counsellors after the kids went to sleep. Several of them are getting a break from the army soon and might be joining us for part of the Negev Desert.
-Jeremy
Day 13: Herziliya to Kfar Serkin
We bussed it ahead to Herziliya (after having already done the Netanya section with the Forgotten People Fund) and slept on the beach, which was refreshing and beautiful (save the sand lice that made my forehead look diseased). There’s nothing like a morning dip in the Mediterrean Sea to make someone not want to have to walk 25kilometers that day.
And well, we didn’t.
Brandon had a terrible case of nausea and had to drop out almost immediately and Bradley had a nasty case of food poisoning, even collapsing on the beach as he tried to make it to the water. He took some medicine and had a nap for about two hours before declaring himself ready and able to go. We got about 6k in when he casually exclaimed “One second, guys” and proceeded to throw up all over himself and the road. Food poisoning and dehydration are a pretty bad combination, so we had to throw in the towel and get a ride to our next destination and best trail angel yet in Kfar Serkin near Petah Tikva. The grandfather of the man we stayed with founded the town in 1934, and his grandson had the best hospitality of anyone we’ve met thus far. They had warm showers, drove us to the store, and even cooked us dinner and breakfast.
I took a few chocolate chip cookies for the road as we headed for Mitzpe Modi’in and our next camping spot.
-Jeremy
And well, we didn’t.
Brandon had a terrible case of nausea and had to drop out almost immediately and Bradley had a nasty case of food poisoning, even collapsing on the beach as he tried to make it to the water. He took some medicine and had a nap for about two hours before declaring himself ready and able to go. We got about 6k in when he casually exclaimed “One second, guys” and proceeded to throw up all over himself and the road. Food poisoning and dehydration are a pretty bad combination, so we had to throw in the towel and get a ride to our next destination and best trail angel yet in Kfar Serkin near Petah Tikva. The grandfather of the man we stayed with founded the town in 1934, and his grandson had the best hospitality of anyone we’ve met thus far. They had warm showers, drove us to the store, and even cooked us dinner and breakfast.
I took a few chocolate chip cookies for the road as we headed for Mitzpe Modi’in and our next camping spot.
-Jeremy
Day 12: Givat Olga to Zichron Yaakov
I have never seen Bradley so happy in my entire nine months as his roommate. And that’s really saying something, because this man has more energy and passion than anyone I’ve met. Yesterday we finished at Zichron Yaakov junction, racing against the clock to catch a bus down the coast to Givat Olga for Shabbat. Much to our delight and surprise, the very first bus that passed us went directly there.
The Shabbat we had was truly something special, and was a testament to the generosity and kindness of Torah-observant Judaism. Bradley phoned his Rabbi in Tzvat to try and secure a spot for us at a Shabbat table, but on such short notice it proved difficult. This Rabbi in Givat Olga had six children and two friends already at his table and accepted without hesitation and with open arms four sweaty, tired hikers wearing mismatched clothing. He found us a few beds at a nearby yeshiva that was on break and gave us wonderful food and conversation. Bradley was absolutely beside himself with joy the entire time, singing songs and playing with the children the whole evening. It was a very small community of mostly Chabadniks, and Bradley found a way to almost immediately integrate himself with all the lively characters.
After a relaxing Shabbat and a nice dip in the Mediterranean Sea we decided for logistical reasons to hike backwards up the coast from Givat Olga through Caesarea to the junction we finished at the previous day.
We were running a bit low on water and worried we wouldn’t find any later on in the day, so Yonatan and I stopped in a tent of Thai migrant workers taking a break from picking bananas.
But we were a bit confused. Why were they drinking vodka and singing karaoke at one in the afternoon? Why were they watching porn broadcast simultaneously on two screens with surround sound? AHA! It must be Songkran, the massive three-day party celebrating the Thai new year!
Thai workers in Israel are not treated all that well, with middle-men extorting a lot of money that should be going into their pockets. These people come to Israel thinking they will make it rich and not have to work when they go home. It’s incredibly sad that many of these guys have a wife and family back home that they won’t see for 3-5 years. Thankfully new legislation was just passed that will attempt to correct some of these injustices.
Surprisingly enough, Bradley actually speaks fluent Thai, and was able to translate the dialogue for us. They put baby powder on our faces and splashed water around while we sang traditional Thai pop hits. And of course there’s nothing like taking vodka shots at 1 PM on a hot day to get the ol’ legs-a-pumpin’. They gave us gifts of bananas and beer and we left satisfied with the celebration and comfort we could give to these guys on what should be the happiest few days of their year.
-Jeremy
The Shabbat we had was truly something special, and was a testament to the generosity and kindness of Torah-observant Judaism. Bradley phoned his Rabbi in Tzvat to try and secure a spot for us at a Shabbat table, but on such short notice it proved difficult. This Rabbi in Givat Olga had six children and two friends already at his table and accepted without hesitation and with open arms four sweaty, tired hikers wearing mismatched clothing. He found us a few beds at a nearby yeshiva that was on break and gave us wonderful food and conversation. Bradley was absolutely beside himself with joy the entire time, singing songs and playing with the children the whole evening. It was a very small community of mostly Chabadniks, and Bradley found a way to almost immediately integrate himself with all the lively characters.
After a relaxing Shabbat and a nice dip in the Mediterranean Sea we decided for logistical reasons to hike backwards up the coast from Givat Olga through Caesarea to the junction we finished at the previous day.
We were running a bit low on water and worried we wouldn’t find any later on in the day, so Yonatan and I stopped in a tent of Thai migrant workers taking a break from picking bananas.
But we were a bit confused. Why were they drinking vodka and singing karaoke at one in the afternoon? Why were they watching porn broadcast simultaneously on two screens with surround sound? AHA! It must be Songkran, the massive three-day party celebrating the Thai new year!
Thai workers in Israel are not treated all that well, with middle-men extorting a lot of money that should be going into their pockets. These people come to Israel thinking they will make it rich and not have to work when they go home. It’s incredibly sad that many of these guys have a wife and family back home that they won’t see for 3-5 years. Thankfully new legislation was just passed that will attempt to correct some of these injustices.
Surprisingly enough, Bradley actually speaks fluent Thai, and was able to translate the dialogue for us. They put baby powder on our faces and splashed water around while we sang traditional Thai pop hits. And of course there’s nothing like taking vodka shots at 1 PM on a hot day to get the ol’ legs-a-pumpin’. They gave us gifts of bananas and beer and we left satisfied with the celebration and comfort we could give to these guys on what should be the happiest few days of their year.
-Jeremy
Day 11: Ein Hod to Zichron Yaakov
I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post about Ein Hod that the neighbouring village of Ein Khud is home to pretty much the most amazing restaurant I’ve ever eaten in. My Israeli cousins had heard about this place via word of mouth. The town itself was hard enough to find because there weren’t any signs leading to it and the road had never been paved. Apparently the family that owns the restaurant does no advertising at all and the mother simply cooks whenever and whatever she feels like that day. My family and I were treated to a staggering array of 20 dishes consisting of numerous salads, stews, dips, chicken, lamb, beef, baklava, tamarind drink, and Turkish coffee. All this was only 90 shekels per person, which is about 25 dollars American.
What’s most incredible about this town is that the entire populace is descended from one man (and I assume several women) who refused to relocate to Haifa after the 1948 War of Independence. The Israeli government has been trying to get the people to leave the town since then, and only in the last few years have they even been put on the electrical grid. Anyway, just another amazing story in a country filled with them.
Today’s hike took us past the sculpture of a naked woman and man in a sardine can, out of Ein Hod (thank God), and through the Carmel Forest to Zichron Yaakov. The Carmel range is approximately 6.5 to 8 km (4 to 5 miles) wide, sloping gradually towards the southwest, but forming a steep ridge on the northeastern face 525.4 meters high. The Jezreel Valley lies to the immediate northeast. The range forms a natural barrier in the landscape, just as the Jezreel Valley forms a natural passageway, and consequently the mountain range and the valley has had a large impact on migration and invasions through the Levant over time.
In mainstream Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought, it is Elijah that is indelibly associated with Mt. Carmel, and he is regarded as having sometimes resided in a grotto on the mountain. In the Books of Kings, Elijah is described as challenging 450prophets of a particular Baal to a contest at the altar on Mount Carmel to determine whose deity was genuinely in control of the Kingdom of Israel. According to the biblical account, the challenge was to persuade a deity to light a sacrifice by fire, and after the others had failed to achieve this, Elijah poured water on his sacrifice, prostrated himself in prayer, and the fire fell from the sky, consuming the sacrifice; shortly afterwards, in the account, clouds gather, the sky turns black, and it rains heavily.
Finally, in this hike Yonatan proved himself to be a beast.
He’s been traveling the world for the last five years and sleeping outside for the majority of the last three years. He’s what we might call a minimalist, taking care to shed any excess weight in his pack that carries all of his possessions. While I’m generally a fan of moderation when it comes to material goods, Yonatan has really showed me how much I actually don’t need to survive and generally be happy. All I need is some brown organic tahini with garlic and ginger. It’s a valuable lesson.
-Jeremy
What’s most incredible about this town is that the entire populace is descended from one man (and I assume several women) who refused to relocate to Haifa after the 1948 War of Independence. The Israeli government has been trying to get the people to leave the town since then, and only in the last few years have they even been put on the electrical grid. Anyway, just another amazing story in a country filled with them.
Today’s hike took us past the sculpture of a naked woman and man in a sardine can, out of Ein Hod (thank God), and through the Carmel Forest to Zichron Yaakov. The Carmel range is approximately 6.5 to 8 km (4 to 5 miles) wide, sloping gradually towards the southwest, but forming a steep ridge on the northeastern face 525.4 meters high. The Jezreel Valley lies to the immediate northeast. The range forms a natural barrier in the landscape, just as the Jezreel Valley forms a natural passageway, and consequently the mountain range and the valley has had a large impact on migration and invasions through the Levant over time.
In mainstream Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought, it is Elijah that is indelibly associated with Mt. Carmel, and he is regarded as having sometimes resided in a grotto on the mountain. In the Books of Kings, Elijah is described as challenging 450prophets of a particular Baal to a contest at the altar on Mount Carmel to determine whose deity was genuinely in control of the Kingdom of Israel. According to the biblical account, the challenge was to persuade a deity to light a sacrifice by fire, and after the others had failed to achieve this, Elijah poured water on his sacrifice, prostrated himself in prayer, and the fire fell from the sky, consuming the sacrifice; shortly afterwards, in the account, clouds gather, the sky turns black, and it rains heavily.
Finally, in this hike Yonatan proved himself to be a beast.
He’s been traveling the world for the last five years and sleeping outside for the majority of the last three years. He’s what we might call a minimalist, taking care to shed any excess weight in his pack that carries all of his possessions. While I’m generally a fan of moderation when it comes to material goods, Yonatan has really showed me how much I actually don’t need to survive and generally be happy. All I need is some brown organic tahini with garlic and ginger. It’s a valuable lesson.
-Jeremy
Day 10: Kibbutz Yagur to Ein Hod
Mount Carmel is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel and the West Bank, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Its name literally means plantation of high quality trees, roughly equivalent to the garden, in reference to the richly fertile character of the hillside. The range was traditionally known as the vineyards of God, and archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations within it. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and a number of towns are located upon it, most notably is the city of Haifa which is Israel's third largest city and is located on the northern slopes.
After passing a few memorials and monuments for Israel's War of Attrition of the late 60s and early 70s, found our way to the artist's colony of Ein Hod and the inviting cabin of Shmueli Hed, our next trail angel. It turned out we got there on the right night because there was a huge party going on at the Dada museum.
Plenty of wine was flowing as Israel's biggest collection of total freaks were on display wearing jester outfits, purple face paint, mullets, cross-dressing, and everything else. Bradley was shocked and horrified but I was just relieved to have a bit of libation to make the pain of the day dissipate. Today was also memorable because we picked up Yonatan, our resident expert hiker.
Ein Hod is a village south of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa in northern Israel. It is situated on a hillside amidst olive groves, with a view of the Mediterranean Sea and a twelfth-century Crusader fortress.
Before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Ein Hod was the site of the Arab village of Ein Hawd. Most of the Arab inhabitants were displaced as a result of the war but some remained in the area and settled nearby. In 1953, Ein Hod became an artists' colony that has remained active until today.
The 700-900 Arab residents of Ein Hawd fled the village before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, many of them settling in the Jenin refugee camp. A group of 35, members of the Abu al-Hija family, refused to leave. They established a new village, also called Ein Hawd, a little way up the hill. Attempts to dislodge them did not succeed, and they were eventually granted Israeli citizenship. Initially, the new village was not recognized, but in 1988 it joined the Association of Unrecognized Arab Villages in Israel and was recognized by the state in 1992. In 2005, Ein Hawd achieved full recognition, including connection to the Israeli electric grid.
Ein Hod became an artists' colony in 1953. The driving spirit behind the project was Marcel Janco, an acclaimed Dada artist, who kept the village from being demolished by the security forces and convinced the government to let him build an artists' colony there. Janco, born in Bucharest, Romania, was one of the founders of the Dada movement, established in 1916 at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Switzerland, by a group of exiled poets, painters and philosophers who were opposed to war, aggression and the changing world culture. In 1922, Janco returned to Romania, where he gained fame as a painter and architect. In 1941, fleeing the Nazis, he moved to Palestine, and was one of the founders of the New Horizons Group (1948). He was awarded the Israel Prize in 1967. The Janco-Dada Museum, which opened in 1983, features Janco's work and explores the history of the Dada movement.
Ein Hod is now a communal settlement of 150 residents run by an elected administrative committee. Many Israeli painters, sculptors and musicians live there, and maintain studios and galleries that are open to the public.
-Jeremy
After passing a few memorials and monuments for Israel's War of Attrition of the late 60s and early 70s, found our way to the artist's colony of Ein Hod and the inviting cabin of Shmueli Hed, our next trail angel. It turned out we got there on the right night because there was a huge party going on at the Dada museum.
Plenty of wine was flowing as Israel's biggest collection of total freaks were on display wearing jester outfits, purple face paint, mullets, cross-dressing, and everything else. Bradley was shocked and horrified but I was just relieved to have a bit of libation to make the pain of the day dissipate. Today was also memorable because we picked up Yonatan, our resident expert hiker.
Ein Hod is a village south of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa in northern Israel. It is situated on a hillside amidst olive groves, with a view of the Mediterranean Sea and a twelfth-century Crusader fortress.
Before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Ein Hod was the site of the Arab village of Ein Hawd. Most of the Arab inhabitants were displaced as a result of the war but some remained in the area and settled nearby. In 1953, Ein Hod became an artists' colony that has remained active until today.
The 700-900 Arab residents of Ein Hawd fled the village before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, many of them settling in the Jenin refugee camp. A group of 35, members of the Abu al-Hija family, refused to leave. They established a new village, also called Ein Hawd, a little way up the hill. Attempts to dislodge them did not succeed, and they were eventually granted Israeli citizenship. Initially, the new village was not recognized, but in 1988 it joined the Association of Unrecognized Arab Villages in Israel and was recognized by the state in 1992. In 2005, Ein Hawd achieved full recognition, including connection to the Israeli electric grid.
Ein Hod became an artists' colony in 1953. The driving spirit behind the project was Marcel Janco, an acclaimed Dada artist, who kept the village from being demolished by the security forces and convinced the government to let him build an artists' colony there. Janco, born in Bucharest, Romania, was one of the founders of the Dada movement, established in 1916 at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Switzerland, by a group of exiled poets, painters and philosophers who were opposed to war, aggression and the changing world culture. In 1922, Janco returned to Romania, where he gained fame as a painter and architect. In 1941, fleeing the Nazis, he moved to Palestine, and was one of the founders of the New Horizons Group (1948). He was awarded the Israel Prize in 1967. The Janco-Dada Museum, which opened in 1983, features Janco's work and explores the history of the Dada movement.
Ein Hod is now a communal settlement of 150 residents run by an elected administrative committee. Many Israeli painters, sculptors and musicians live there, and maintain studios and galleries that are open to the public.
-Jeremy
Day 9: Yehuda HaNasi's Grave to Kibbutz Yagur
So I haven't quite written about the Trail Angels yet. Which is too bad, because these people are the most incredible part of doing the Israel National Trail. On the website of the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel is a list of 100-odd people who volunteer their services to hikers along the way. They offer accomodations (which varies from a spot of grass in their backyard to an entire guest house) including food, water, showers, and anything else we might need to refuel for the next day.
Too often you hear of Israelis that are fed up with the country for various reasons and question why someone with an American passport would willingly want to stay in Israel. Last year someone said to me "You know, the clubs and beaches are much better in South America, you should go there instead." Israel to me is about identity, about history, and about the proud Jewish people that have rebuilt this land about 2000 years of exile. That's why it's so great when these trail angels say how happy they are that foreigners are doing the Shvil. They love this country, despite it's difficulties, and would never dream of living elsewhere.
After the army many soldiers will head to southeast asia to go hiking and backpacking, while virtually none of them will explore the beauty right in their own backyard. It's a shame.
Tonight we stayed with our three Israeli friends that we met at the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai at Kibbutz Yagur, directly underneath Mount Carmel near Haifa. A girl was working in Tel Aviv and gave up her empty apartment to anyone that's walking the trail. We had some delicious pizza and conked out early, eager to scale the mountain in the morning.
Yagur (יגור) is a kibbutz located on the slopes of Mount Carmel, about 9 km southeast of Haifa. It is one of the two largest kibbutzim (plural for kibbutz) in Israel. Its name is derived from a Palestinian village called "Yajur" nearby. There is a site with a similar name (Jagur) mentioned in the Book of Joshua 15:21, however that ancient town was located in territory belonging to the Tribe of Judah, far to the south.
Yagur was founded in 1922 by a settlement group called Achva. At first, the members worked drying up the swamps surrounding the Kishon River and preparing the land for permanent settlement.There were already some Palestinian villages in the area, one,called "Karaman", is still there today . They then established the various agricultural divisions, and the kibbutz began to grow. The economy is now based on diversified agriculture and industry.
During the British Mandate of Palestine, Yagur was an important center for the Haganah. On "Black Saturday" (29 June 1946), after receiving a tip from informants, the British army conducted a major raid on the kibbutz and located a major arms depot that was hidden there. The weapons were confiscated, and many members of the kibbutz were arrested.
-Jeremy
Too often you hear of Israelis that are fed up with the country for various reasons and question why someone with an American passport would willingly want to stay in Israel. Last year someone said to me "You know, the clubs and beaches are much better in South America, you should go there instead." Israel to me is about identity, about history, and about the proud Jewish people that have rebuilt this land about 2000 years of exile. That's why it's so great when these trail angels say how happy they are that foreigners are doing the Shvil. They love this country, despite it's difficulties, and would never dream of living elsewhere.
After the army many soldiers will head to southeast asia to go hiking and backpacking, while virtually none of them will explore the beauty right in their own backyard. It's a shame.
Tonight we stayed with our three Israeli friends that we met at the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai at Kibbutz Yagur, directly underneath Mount Carmel near Haifa. A girl was working in Tel Aviv and gave up her empty apartment to anyone that's walking the trail. We had some delicious pizza and conked out early, eager to scale the mountain in the morning.
Yagur (יגור) is a kibbutz located on the slopes of Mount Carmel, about 9 km southeast of Haifa. It is one of the two largest kibbutzim (plural for kibbutz) in Israel. Its name is derived from a Palestinian village called "Yajur" nearby. There is a site with a similar name (Jagur) mentioned in the Book of Joshua 15:21, however that ancient town was located in territory belonging to the Tribe of Judah, far to the south.
Yagur was founded in 1922 by a settlement group called Achva. At first, the members worked drying up the swamps surrounding the Kishon River and preparing the land for permanent settlement.There were already some Palestinian villages in the area, one,called "Karaman", is still there today . They then established the various agricultural divisions, and the kibbutz began to grow. The economy is now based on diversified agriculture and industry.
During the British Mandate of Palestine, Yagur was an important center for the Haganah. On "Black Saturday" (29 June 1946), after receiving a tip from informants, the British army conducted a major raid on the kibbutz and located a major arms depot that was hidden there. The weapons were confiscated, and many members of the kibbutz were arrested.
-Jeremy
Day 8: Har Tabor to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi's Grave or Yes We're Still Alive
Hello avid blog readers (my mom and Bradley's mom),
We're quite sorry about the dry spot in blogging lately. It turns out that it's really hard to find internet access in the middle of the forest. Fortunately I have a few hours here in Jerusalem for Pesach to get the ball rolling again.
Day 8 consisted of three mountains in a row: Tabor, Yehuda, and Yonah. The good/bad thing about the Israel Trail is that often there are extensive detours off of main paths/roads that show you beautiful sights of interest. Har Tabor could've been a nice short switchbacked climb up for around two hours. Instead, they took us literally straight up and down the mountain in an hour and fifteen minutes. I was really really hurting by the end of this climb, which was made worse by the fact that it was right at the beginning of the day.
The good news was it was absolutely stunning once we finished.
The mountain is mentioned for the first time in the Bible, in Joshua 19:22, as border of three tribes: Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali. The mountain's importance stems from its strategic control of the junction of the Galilee's north-south route with the east-west highway of the Jezreel Valley. Deborah the prophetess summoned Barak of the tribe of Naphtali. "Go and to mountain of Tabor and take with you ten thousand men of the Naphtali and Zebulun tribes". From the peaks of the mountain, the Israelites attacked and vanquished Sisera and the Canaanites.
In the days of Second Temple, Mount Tabor was one of the mountain peaks on which it was the customed to light beacons in order to inform the northern villages of holidays and of beginnings of new months. In 66 AD during the First Jewish-Roman War, the Galilean Jews retrenched on the mountain under the command of Josephus Flavius, whence they defended against the Roman assault.
According to Christian tradition, Mount Tabor is the site of the Transfiguration of Christ, during which Jesus began to radiate light and was seen conversing with Moses and Elijah. The scene is in the Synoptic Gospels, as well as alluded to in 2 Peter, but neither account identifies the "high mountain" of the scene by name. The earliest identification of the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by Origen in the 3rd century. It is also mentioned by St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Jerome in the 4th century.[1] It is later mentioned in the in the 5th century Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis.
In 1101, when Crusaders controlled the area, the Benedictine monks rebuilt a ruined basilica and erected a fortified abbey.[2]
Currently, on the mountaintop there are two Christian monasteries. In 1924, an impressive Roman Catholic church of the Franciscan order was built on the peak of Mount Tabor, Church of the Transfiguration. The church was built upon the ruins of a Byzantine church from the fifth or sixth century and a Crusader church from the 12th century. The monastery's friars have lived near the church since the Ottoman control in 1873.
We ended up sleeping just outside of the modern city of Tzippori, at the grave of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who redacted and compiled the Mishna over 1500 years ago.
-Jeremy
We're quite sorry about the dry spot in blogging lately. It turns out that it's really hard to find internet access in the middle of the forest. Fortunately I have a few hours here in Jerusalem for Pesach to get the ball rolling again.
Day 8 consisted of three mountains in a row: Tabor, Yehuda, and Yonah. The good/bad thing about the Israel Trail is that often there are extensive detours off of main paths/roads that show you beautiful sights of interest. Har Tabor could've been a nice short switchbacked climb up for around two hours. Instead, they took us literally straight up and down the mountain in an hour and fifteen minutes. I was really really hurting by the end of this climb, which was made worse by the fact that it was right at the beginning of the day.
The good news was it was absolutely stunning once we finished.
The mountain is mentioned for the first time in the Bible, in Joshua 19:22, as border of three tribes: Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali. The mountain's importance stems from its strategic control of the junction of the Galilee's north-south route with the east-west highway of the Jezreel Valley. Deborah the prophetess summoned Barak of the tribe of Naphtali. "Go and to mountain of Tabor and take with you ten thousand men of the Naphtali and Zebulun tribes". From the peaks of the mountain, the Israelites attacked and vanquished Sisera and the Canaanites.
In the days of Second Temple, Mount Tabor was one of the mountain peaks on which it was the customed to light beacons in order to inform the northern villages of holidays and of beginnings of new months. In 66 AD during the First Jewish-Roman War, the Galilean Jews retrenched on the mountain under the command of Josephus Flavius, whence they defended against the Roman assault.
According to Christian tradition, Mount Tabor is the site of the Transfiguration of Christ, during which Jesus began to radiate light and was seen conversing with Moses and Elijah. The scene is in the Synoptic Gospels, as well as alluded to in 2 Peter, but neither account identifies the "high mountain" of the scene by name. The earliest identification of the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by Origen in the 3rd century. It is also mentioned by St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Jerome in the 4th century.[1] It is later mentioned in the in the 5th century Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis.
In 1101, when Crusaders controlled the area, the Benedictine monks rebuilt a ruined basilica and erected a fortified abbey.[2]
Currently, on the mountaintop there are two Christian monasteries. In 1924, an impressive Roman Catholic church of the Franciscan order was built on the peak of Mount Tabor, Church of the Transfiguration. The church was built upon the ruins of a Byzantine church from the fifth or sixth century and a Crusader church from the 12th century. The monastery's friars have lived near the church since the Ottoman control in 1873.
We ended up sleeping just outside of the modern city of Tzippori, at the grave of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who redacted and compiled the Mishna over 1500 years ago.
-Jeremy
Monday, April 7, 2008
Day 7: Netanya and the Forgotten People Fund
Today we met Anne Silverman, chairman of Forgotten People Fund in Netanya, dedicated to helping the Ethiopian Jewish community meet their basic needs.
FPF provides food vouchers for use at their local supermarket to insure that there is enough food in the house for the children to eat. FPF pays utility bills (water, gas, electricity) and city taxes to help the families through their difficult times. FPF pays school fees and provides scholarships for middle and high school students and college and university students, and sends technicians to repair electrical, plumbing and appliance breakdowns as the Ethiopian families’ budgets don’t allow for such emergencies.
FPF is an organization of volunteers. They have no office, no paid workers and no overhead! They operate out of their own apartments and thus are able to keep expenses to 1.5% of income from contributions. This means that 98.5% of the proceeds from donations go directly to their needy families. More important – FPF is a friend that the Ethiopian families can depend on. Having been disappointed so often by the bureaucracy of the social welfare system, they find FPF is a beacon of light in their darkest moments.
To help them with their absorption, FPF has launched a series of Nutrition Courses where the women are taught how to prepare healthy yet economical meals for their families, how to shop at the supermarket and downtown open market for the best value, and how important the combination of the food groups is for the nutrition of their children. FPF also distributes children’s multiple vitamins (kosher) which we receive from the USA and vitamin drops for babies (6 mos. – 3 years) to help ensure healthy teeth and bones during growth spurts.
We temporarily fast forwarded our walk today from Mt. Tabor and met them on the beach this morning, along with about 30 volunteers, to walk 10 km of the Shvil Yisrael as a fundraiser. I'm happy to report it was a smashing success! Many of the volunteers were American, British, and Canadian immigrants to Israel looking to help the poorest members of their community.
Anne made a good point today about the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, or "healing the world". Frequently we hear about the overwhelming number of Christian and secular NGOs that help the poorest of Third World countries, but rarely if ever do we hear about Jewish charities helping poor Jews. The world seems to assume that the poor Jew these days is a myth, when in reality even in Israel there is crushing poverty many places in the country.
The Jewish approach to charity is always to act locally first. Thus, a Jew is supposed to take care of his immediate family, then his village, his city, and so on in degrees of closeness. The best way for the Jewish nation to fulfill its goal of healing the world is to be unified as a people, and that means taking care of those Jews who are suffering right in front of us.
The world taking notice of how much we care for our own will do more to further this cause than any amount of propaganda could ever do, and only then can we truly be a light unto the nations.
-Jeremy
FPF provides food vouchers for use at their local supermarket to insure that there is enough food in the house for the children to eat. FPF pays utility bills (water, gas, electricity) and city taxes to help the families through their difficult times. FPF pays school fees and provides scholarships for middle and high school students and college and university students, and sends technicians to repair electrical, plumbing and appliance breakdowns as the Ethiopian families’ budgets don’t allow for such emergencies.
FPF is an organization of volunteers. They have no office, no paid workers and no overhead! They operate out of their own apartments and thus are able to keep expenses to 1.5% of income from contributions. This means that 98.5% of the proceeds from donations go directly to their needy families. More important – FPF is a friend that the Ethiopian families can depend on. Having been disappointed so often by the bureaucracy of the social welfare system, they find FPF is a beacon of light in their darkest moments.
To help them with their absorption, FPF has launched a series of Nutrition Courses where the women are taught how to prepare healthy yet economical meals for their families, how to shop at the supermarket and downtown open market for the best value, and how important the combination of the food groups is for the nutrition of their children. FPF also distributes children’s multiple vitamins (kosher) which we receive from the USA and vitamin drops for babies (6 mos. – 3 years) to help ensure healthy teeth and bones during growth spurts.
We temporarily fast forwarded our walk today from Mt. Tabor and met them on the beach this morning, along with about 30 volunteers, to walk 10 km of the Shvil Yisrael as a fundraiser. I'm happy to report it was a smashing success! Many of the volunteers were American, British, and Canadian immigrants to Israel looking to help the poorest members of their community.
Anne made a good point today about the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, or "healing the world". Frequently we hear about the overwhelming number of Christian and secular NGOs that help the poorest of Third World countries, but rarely if ever do we hear about Jewish charities helping poor Jews. The world seems to assume that the poor Jew these days is a myth, when in reality even in Israel there is crushing poverty many places in the country.
The Jewish approach to charity is always to act locally first. Thus, a Jew is supposed to take care of his immediate family, then his village, his city, and so on in degrees of closeness. The best way for the Jewish nation to fulfill its goal of healing the world is to be unified as a people, and that means taking care of those Jews who are suffering right in front of us.
The world taking notice of how much we care for our own will do more to further this cause than any amount of propaganda could ever do, and only then can we truly be a light unto the nations.
-Jeremy
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Day 5: Ginosar to Ein Porea
As many of you know, I've been studying at Yeshivat Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem for the past 10 months along with Bradley. One of the classes I have during the day is called Intro to Gemara. The Gemara is the explanation, argumentation, and elucidation of the Mishna, which is the Oral Torah derived from the written text of what many (non-Jews) would call the Old Testament. The first books of the Gemara deals with blessings, or brachot.
In one of the Mishnas it says that the only blessing that takes precedence over the blessing for bread when having a meal is for something really really salty. When, the Gemara asks, would someone eat something so unbelievably salty? Only when eating something so sweet that one would have to heavily counterbalance the flavors. The Gemara then goes on to explain how the only thing that could be that sweet is the fruit of Ginosar, telling of Rabbis who would eat 10,000 fruits without gaining an ounce, or of flies dripping off of the sweet oil on their foreheads.
Anyway, that's where we started.
After the rough day we had yesterday, the walk today was the perfect recipe. We walked all the way to the top of Tiberias from sea level and through the Swiss Forest.
Just an unbelievably quiet, peaceful, and beautiful walk winding down to the beach resort of Ein Porea where we headed back by bus to Tzfat to celebrate Shabbat.
Shavua Tov to all of you and here's hoping that the next week is as exciting as the first one.
-Jeremy
In one of the Mishnas it says that the only blessing that takes precedence over the blessing for bread when having a meal is for something really really salty. When, the Gemara asks, would someone eat something so unbelievably salty? Only when eating something so sweet that one would have to heavily counterbalance the flavors. The Gemara then goes on to explain how the only thing that could be that sweet is the fruit of Ginosar, telling of Rabbis who would eat 10,000 fruits without gaining an ounce, or of flies dripping off of the sweet oil on their foreheads.
Anyway, that's where we started.
After the rough day we had yesterday, the walk today was the perfect recipe. We walked all the way to the top of Tiberias from sea level and through the Swiss Forest.
Just an unbelievably quiet, peaceful, and beautiful walk winding down to the beach resort of Ein Porea where we headed back by bus to Tzfat to celebrate Shabbat.
Shavua Tov to all of you and here's hoping that the next week is as exciting as the first one.
-Jeremy
Day 4: Shimon bar Yochai to Ginosar and the Sea!
It feels so good to say that after four days we made it to the shores of the Kinneret. Today was an absolute scorcher that saw Brandon succumb halfway to dehydration and head back to Jerusalem at the first road crossing. We basically sprinted the first two hours of the trail today to get ahead of the schoolchildren going in the same direction. The terrain became very difficult as we had to scramble up from the bottom of the riverbed of Wadi Amud to the ridge above. Bradley made the trip easier by telling me harrowing adventures of people nearly dying on cliffs such as these.
We met a beast of a Dutchman named Metzger around halfway through who "grew up on the Bible" and was very fascinated with the State of Israel's redemption after the Holocaust. He told us he was hiking 40 km a day on the Shvil and this was his 11th time visiting Israel after working on a kibbutz in 1974. He also has the quote of the trip so far. When asked whether he had been on adventures such as this one before he replied: "I like walking. I do it often."
The rock formations and cliffs were amazing though, with the sign telling us that this wadi was home to prehistoric man and structures and strata all the way up to present times.
Today was incredibly hot though. In what was surely a preview of the Negev, we had to stop for an hour in the shade to escape the heat due to general woozyness.
But oh my how the payoff was worth it. We broke off from the main trail to wind to the Sea of Galilee at Ginosar, through banana plantations and wheat fields.
And finally, success!
-Jeremy
P.S. All pictures should be up on my facebook account soon but I think I'll open a flickr one as well for those who don't like creepy social networking sites.
We met a beast of a Dutchman named Metzger around halfway through who "grew up on the Bible" and was very fascinated with the State of Israel's redemption after the Holocaust. He told us he was hiking 40 km a day on the Shvil and this was his 11th time visiting Israel after working on a kibbutz in 1974. He also has the quote of the trip so far. When asked whether he had been on adventures such as this one before he replied: "I like walking. I do it often."
The rock formations and cliffs were amazing though, with the sign telling us that this wadi was home to prehistoric man and structures and strata all the way up to present times.
Today was incredibly hot though. In what was surely a preview of the Negev, we had to stop for an hour in the shade to escape the heat due to general woozyness.
But oh my how the payoff was worth it. We broke off from the main trail to wind to the Sea of Galilee at Ginosar, through banana plantations and wheat fields.
And finally, success!
-Jeremy
P.S. All pictures should be up on my facebook account soon but I think I'll open a flickr one as well for those who don't like creepy social networking sites.
Day 3: Bar-Am Forest to the Grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai lived in the era of the Tannaim (scholars of the Mishnah) in the area of what is today Israel during the Roman period, after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. He was one of the most eminent disciples of Rabbi Akiva (spiritual leader of the Bar Kochba revolt), and is mainly associated with the authorship of the Zohar, the principal text of Jewish mysticism. Legend has it that when he died his soul ascended to heaven in a great pillar of fire. On the anniversary of his death, hundreds of thousands of Jews ascend upon his gravesite in Mt. Meron and light massive bonfires to commemorate this experience. It is also a custom dating from the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria for Jewish parents to bring their three-year-old sons here for their first haircuts.
And so this was our destination for the day, giving us our first major landmark to look forward to. We had the most amount of traffic today, running into school group after school group doing field trips and day hikes.
Bradley loves to entertain kids by singing crazy Chassidic songs and dancing in the middle of the trail. It was very hilly today, but seeing Shimon bar Yochai’s grave in the distance gave us a new breath of fresh air.
Finally we made it to the grave, grabbing some ice cream and davening mincha. Matthew bade us farewell and we staked out a prime camping spot. There were hundreds of teenagers camping in the same area, while they were on a three month jewish history tour of Israel from the D.C and Atlanta areas of the US. Thankfully they had some food left over for us, and after a hilarious miscommunication of intentions where the staff thought Bradley (a 30 year old man with a beard) was really trying to pose as an American teenager, we settled in for the night, singing songs and lighting a decent fire.
-Jeremy
And so this was our destination for the day, giving us our first major landmark to look forward to. We had the most amount of traffic today, running into school group after school group doing field trips and day hikes.
Bradley loves to entertain kids by singing crazy Chassidic songs and dancing in the middle of the trail. It was very hilly today, but seeing Shimon bar Yochai’s grave in the distance gave us a new breath of fresh air.
Finally we made it to the grave, grabbing some ice cream and davening mincha. Matthew bade us farewell and we staked out a prime camping spot. There were hundreds of teenagers camping in the same area, while they were on a three month jewish history tour of Israel from the D.C and Atlanta areas of the US. Thankfully they had some food left over for us, and after a hilarious miscommunication of intentions where the staff thought Bradley (a 30 year old man with a beard) was really trying to pose as an American teenager, we settled in for the night, singing songs and lighting a decent fire.
-Jeremy
Day 2: Moshav Yiftach to Bar-Am Forest
After a much needed night of sleep and a morning of heavily taped feet, we set off for our next destination, the Bar-Am Forest.
Today was absolutely stunning, as the trail wound through forests and bunkers left over from the 1948 War of Independence.
We hit the Naftali Ridge today, south of Kiryat Shmona, and the Metzudat Coach memorial at the UN compound in the Upper Galilee.
Bradley managed once again to find us a place to stay as we found a kibbutz worker who secured us (what looked like) a transient crack den to sleep for the evening. Promises of an open pub night proved to be unfounded because kibbutz outsiders were not allowed. Kibbutz Bar-Am is one of the few remaining "old school" kibbutzim around Israel. How? Nobody actually has any money of their own here. Socialism, it's fantastic!
-Jeremy
Today was absolutely stunning, as the trail wound through forests and bunkers left over from the 1948 War of Independence.
We hit the Naftali Ridge today, south of Kiryat Shmona, and the Metzudat Coach memorial at the UN compound in the Upper Galilee.
Bradley managed once again to find us a place to stay as we found a kibbutz worker who secured us (what looked like) a transient crack den to sleep for the evening. Promises of an open pub night proved to be unfounded because kibbutz outsiders were not allowed. Kibbutz Bar-Am is one of the few remaining "old school" kibbutzim around Israel. How? Nobody actually has any money of their own here. Socialism, it's fantastic!
-Jeremy
Interview with Matthew
Matthew had pretty much every gadget and food item known to man. He gave us some great advice for the days ahead.
-Jeremy
Day 1: Tel Dan to Moshav Yiftach
Our 1000 km journey started off in Tel Dan. We agreed to do the walk from north to south for several reasons:
1: Elevation. The overall elevation from Tel Dan to Eilat would drop off considerably. Staring up from Eilat into the Negev Desert on Day 1 was not such an appealing prospect.
2: Acclimitization. Mistakes are much easier to correct up north where there is a much higher concentration of kibbutzim, moshavim, scattered cities, and places to buy food and get water. If we miscalculated distance or places to stay we could adjust on the fly, whereas in the Negev there are many spots where there is simply no way to get water in or out from the trail.
And screw up we did.
The day started innocently enough with Brandon being interviewed live for Channel 2 News.
We met a fellow Shvil hiker named Matthew (from Lynwood, Washington, about 30 minutes from my hometown) and managed to get a short interview with him at the start. He proved to be quite an amazing addition to our team for the first two days as Brandon was struggling a bit to keep up with the group. He regaled us with great stories of his hiking adventures around the world.
In the first two hours we seemingly came up against every obstacle all at once. First, we had to navigate through a herd of bulls scattered across our path.
Next we hit a rainstorm and a large stream with hidden barbed wire across the path that almost ended our trip before it started.
Soon we hit our first moshav along the way as for the first we could see the city of Kiryat Shmona in the distance. The trail markings were a bit spotty and we ended up on the wrong side of a rather large security fence. Matthew, being eagle-eyed, spotted a way under the fence.
The next few hours were fantastic as we ascended the hills overlooking Kiryat Shmona and had lunch at the Kfar Giladi memorial cemetary.
We had planned on stopping at Mishkenot HaRoim for the night to camp, but we completely miscalculated how much time we had left, along with the mistake of leaving our camping gear in the support car. By this time we had hit a massive driving rainstorm and doubts were creeping into our head about whether we'd be able to make it to a road crossing before nightfall.
Thankfully though, we managed to hit a road crossing just after nightfall and we made our way up the road another kilometer to Moshav Yiftach where we were invited to stay in the gym and use their locker room showers. In the morning we were treated to cake and tea by the staff. Relieved to have survived Day 1, we knew the planning could only get better from here.
-Jeremy
1: Elevation. The overall elevation from Tel Dan to Eilat would drop off considerably. Staring up from Eilat into the Negev Desert on Day 1 was not such an appealing prospect.
2: Acclimitization. Mistakes are much easier to correct up north where there is a much higher concentration of kibbutzim, moshavim, scattered cities, and places to buy food and get water. If we miscalculated distance or places to stay we could adjust on the fly, whereas in the Negev there are many spots where there is simply no way to get water in or out from the trail.
And screw up we did.
The day started innocently enough with Brandon being interviewed live for Channel 2 News.
We met a fellow Shvil hiker named Matthew (from Lynwood, Washington, about 30 minutes from my hometown) and managed to get a short interview with him at the start. He proved to be quite an amazing addition to our team for the first two days as Brandon was struggling a bit to keep up with the group. He regaled us with great stories of his hiking adventures around the world.
In the first two hours we seemingly came up against every obstacle all at once. First, we had to navigate through a herd of bulls scattered across our path.
Next we hit a rainstorm and a large stream with hidden barbed wire across the path that almost ended our trip before it started.
Soon we hit our first moshav along the way as for the first we could see the city of Kiryat Shmona in the distance. The trail markings were a bit spotty and we ended up on the wrong side of a rather large security fence. Matthew, being eagle-eyed, spotted a way under the fence.
The next few hours were fantastic as we ascended the hills overlooking Kiryat Shmona and had lunch at the Kfar Giladi memorial cemetary.
We had planned on stopping at Mishkenot HaRoim for the night to camp, but we completely miscalculated how much time we had left, along with the mistake of leaving our camping gear in the support car. By this time we had hit a massive driving rainstorm and doubts were creeping into our head about whether we'd be able to make it to a road crossing before nightfall.
Thankfully though, we managed to hit a road crossing just after nightfall and we made our way up the road another kilometer to Moshav Yiftach where we were invited to stay in the gym and use their locker room showers. In the morning we were treated to cake and tea by the staff. Relieved to have survived Day 1, we knew the planning could only get better from here.
-Jeremy
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