Days 27-29

Day 27 – Ein Yorkeam to Nahal Mador

Having had a refreshing Shabbat in Jerusalem, we set off early on Sunday morning, and after 2 buses and 2 hitchhikes we arrived back where we left off. What we had facing us was the Carbolet – a knife edged ridge around the Maktesh HaGadol. We had been warned since the beginning by everyone we met that it was the most difficult part of the hike, so we expected the worst.

After a steep climb onto the ridge we walked along it for a few hours without any real difficulty, and after what was admittedly the steepest and most dangerous climb down of the trip, we came out the other side, wondering what all the fuss was about.



We made it to the campsite at Nahal Mador and were overjoyed to find many litres of water, keft especially for hikers. It is amazing to think just how valuable water is in the desert and the joy of discovery was greater than had we found lost treasure. We found so much that we even used a bottle each to have a much needed shower.
We made a camp fire and were soon joined by the group of Israelis we met on the way. They had far too much food and we were more than happy to help them consume it.



Day 28 – Nahal mador to Mitzepe Ramon

Up early and we were off again, but were soon hit by some of the hottest weather on the trip. It turned out to be a blessing as we arrived at Ein Aqev, a proper oasis in the desert.



We spent 3 hours there, swimming, eating and sleeping. Jeremy by this point was well used to washing his clothes in any body of water we could find, so he joined Yonatan and i in a laundry session and with all our clothes washed and hanging up to dry we had a good mid-afternoon schloff.

We woke up to walk another 10kms to road at Avdat, an archaeological area with ruins from the incense route times.
We finally reached the road just before sunset, filled up on food and water and decided that to make up some of the time we lost going to Sderot we would hitchhike the last 12 kms, which would have been horrible to walk along the road anyway, and arrived in Mitzepe Ramon where Brandon was waiting for us.

Day 29: Mitzepe Ramon to Har Sachronim




After a fantastic sunrise we set off into Maktesh ramon, Israel’s biggest and most famous crater.



After a long walk across the crater and a really tough climb out we were met with fantastic views from the top.

Brandon decided to sing for us and his beautiful chazan’s voice was heard for miles around across the crater.

As the heat of the day began to get stifling we found shade in a small cave and sat down for our usual lunch and midday schloff break.

Soon after lunch we hit a main road and decided to try to stop cars for water, rather than relying on finding some at the campsite. As we stood by the side of the road holding our empty bottles upside-down, we were all blown away by the kindness of the people here. Almost no-one drove past without giving us water, and on several occasions people drove past and actually took the time and effort to turn around to come back and give us water. All loaded up we carried onto our next campsite under a tree and soon how our fire for the night going with a pot of tasty vegetable soup on the boil.




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Day 35: Shacharut Ascent Camp ground to Timna Lake

The tough climb up to the plateau was made bearable by listening to Jeremy’s stories from school and college days – which really kept me entertained. It can be tough spending a long time with someone, especially in these circumstances and being at such different stages in your life, but I think Jeremy and i have done really well. We have intelligent chats about life and Judaism, fun chats, stories and singing, serious ones when we need to clear issues and overall have got on well. Coming to the end of the trip we started reflecting back and looking forward



As it got hot we found a tree giving minimal shade and managed to create our own extra shade for a well earned schloff.



We arrived at the gate of Timna Park, where we were soon picked up by a kind worker and taken to the lake on the other side of the park. The lake is a touristy camping area with showers, large Bedouin tents, camels, donkeys and some people making pitot with humous, labana and sweet Bedouin tea. We were fed along with a group of German tourists, and once every thing hd been cleared away we had the place to ourselves – once again unexpectedly provided for in everyway.
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Day 36 - Timna to camp ground 15kms from Eilat.

We woke up early, left most of our stuff at the campsite and walked back over Timna Mountain to the entrance of the park. It was a steep climb but the varied coloured rock formations made it quite spectacular.

We got a lift back to the camp ground and rested there until after 3pm before setting off again to find somewhere to sleep on our final night.



After a long walk through a wadi and up onto a plateau, we found a great place under a tree.



We all went to sleep not expecting what was about to happen. It started slowly and we thought it may pass, but soon the rain was falling heavily. Our final night in the desert was proving to be a test in itself, especially as Jeremy was sleeping outside and my tent isn’t waterproof.

Day 37 - Random Campground – Eilat

We survived the night and set off for the final leg into Eilat. As the actual trail goes to Tabba, there are many different routes to take off the trail into Eilat, and we each decided on a different one, and agreed to meet in Eilat and walk to the beach together.
My route took me on what was possibly the hardest climb of the trip – up to a viewpoint where I got my first real glimpse of Eilat. It was a euphoric feeling which was short lived as I had to then descend the steep and treacherous route down the mountain and into Eilat. The 3kms up and down the mountain, which would normally take about 45 minutes, took me over 2 hours and then I still had another 5 kms to actually get to Eilat.
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I final arrived and met Jeremy who had already consumed 2 litres of chocolate milk and read half the paper by the time I got there. We met up with Yonatan and all walked triumphantly to the beach. WE certainly did not expect what was coming next. We had managed to arrival in the middle of a Gay Pride techno party on the beach, a little shocking after the peace and spiritual highs of the desert but most amusing none the less.



We moved down the beach a little and wasted little time in jumping into the sea at the end of an epic journey which saw us traverse the whole land, from the mountains in the north and ending up in the sea in the south.





We had a great Shabbat with the Hecht family, chief rabbi of Eilat and found free accommodation outside in the succah of a Christian youth hostel.

The fun was not over as Jeremy and I hilled out together in Eilat on Sunday. After relaxing by the pool in the Hilton hotel
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And being asked to refrain from playing the piano in the lobby
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We made our way to dolphin reef, for which we got free entry thanks to someone we met on the trail the week before in timna. A beer on the beach, a swim in the sea, a moving movie about releasing a dolphin in to the wild and a kosher chinese meal - before we finally parted and I went back to Jerusalem leaving Jeremy to relax in Eilat for a few days.
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WE MADE IT

-Jeremy

More to come

Independence Day!

A great performance titled "Made in Israel".



Another fun video from Yotvata about Theodor Herzl pondering the decision to make the Jewish State in Uganda. I personally would have named it "Jewganda".



-Jeremy

Day 27: Ein Yorkeam through the Karbolet

Today was Makhtesh HaGadol. It is a geological erosional landform of Israel's Negev desert. One of five makhteshim in Israel, and seven in the world, it is the second largest, being exceptional in that it is drained by two rivers, the Nahal Ramon and Nahal Ardon. At the time of naming, Makhtesh Ramon (the largest makhtesh) was unchartered and so this was thought to be the largest.



Almost everyone we spoke to about the hardest day on the trail mentioned today instantly. This is known in Hebrew as the "karbolet", literally "cock's comb" but probably better translated as a knife's edge. For an hour or two we walked on a fairly sharp slant on the edge of the crater.



However, for all the hype that had been building for it, the actually walk was quite pleasant and not all that hard. It was incredibly beautiful though. We managed to run into a group of Israelis along the way who had just finished the army, and slept alongside them at a wonderful campsite in the middle of the desert, where we shared food and stories until the wee hours.

-Jeremy