Sixty percent of Israel is desert. There are two deserts, the Judian desert (which is named after the Judians who lived and fought there), and the Negev desert. There are many cities and towns in the Negev desert (Beer sheva, Eilat, Yerucham, Arad), but most of the land is either nature reserves or firing zones for the army to practice in. Before the State of Israel the Negev wasn’t very developed, however after Ben Gurian declared a state, he made a goal to “make the desert bloom”, which is exactly what happened.
For the past one and a half weeks I have been hiking on the Shvil Yisrael (Israel National Trail), with around ten other Year Course kids (number fluctuating depending on injuries), our incredible guide Yoav, and another logistics guy named Tom. “The Shvil” is a famous trail, which starts in the greenery of the North, comes down to the coast, cuts right to Jerusalem, and then finishes straight through the deserts of Israel, and down to the party town of Eilat at the Red Sea. The Shvil takes about three months for a normal seasoned hiker to complete.
Because this semester is centralized in the desert, we hiked the lower half of the Shvil.
Week two (or one for me because I was in Poland), was a big circle around Sde Boker, the Kibutz that Ben Gurian lived at. A normal day of hiking started at 6 A.M. We would pack up camp, make breakfast, and then hit the trail by around 8. We would hike for eight hours, covering different terrain each day. It was very challenging and hot. Our guide Yoav was an amazing leader and kept things lively. He taught us different Hebrew words for farting, and taught us about nature.
Finally at around four o’clock we would see Tom’s truck in the distance, with a hot pot of soup waiting for us. We would then put up tents, make dinner, hang out by the bonfire, and then go off to bed. But the day didn’t end there. Just when we thought we could sleep, we had to wake in the middle of the night for Shmira (guard duty), which lasted about one hour each night.
Trekking through the desert was an incredible and life altering experience. The long hours of walking gives you time to reevaluate and think about anything. The terrain itself challenged me both physically and mentally, but each time I was able to achieve whichever goal set forth, whether it was putting up a tent or climbing a gigantic mountain. At a glance there is no life in the desert, but after spending some time there one will find much beauty in the simplicity of things. And of course you go to the bathroom, eat, sleep, don’t take showers, and live all in the wilderness.
For the last week of Shvil we hiked from our Kibbutz through the Eilat mountains, all the way to Eilat. The views were incredible! We also hiked along a fault line, and saw many different kinds of rock.
On the last day we woke up 3:30 AM, and followed Yoav through the darkness up a mountain. From the top we watched the sunrise over four countries (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Israel), as well as the scenic Red sea. What an amazing way to end the three-week journey. It was also very ironic to be walking basically through Egypt and then to the Red Sea (which is the sea that Moses parted), with the Passover story just a few days away. After breakfast we made the descent down to Eilat, and spent the rest of the day snorkeling.
I’m off to Tel-Aviv for sports day, and then with Boston families for Passover. Over vacation I will be testing out my new hiking skills with my three best friends Jacob, Hershel, and Danny, as we journey from the Mediterranean sea to the sea of Galilee. And then to top it all off, a three day cruise to Cyprus! Happy Passover,
Alex
Yoav peeing
Timna National Park.
Shmira Sunrise.
The Shvil symbol.
Canyoneering
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