תיקון: זה לא האתר של מעוז. אגב: הפרויקט של מעוז שביל ישו, נפלא, רק הפרויקט הזה לבדו יביא המוני עולי רגל לארץ, ואני לא מתכוון באוטובוסים אלא כמו על שביל הצליינים ויותר מכך. 

האתר בלינק הוא של שביל ישראל באנגלית. הדטה בוק שמופיע באתר אין לו שום קשר לפרויקט שביל ישו. אלה הדטה מדן ועד טבריה. הדטה האלה משנת 2004 הרבה זמן לפני ששביל ישו בכלל עלה כרעיון. 

 על מנת שהלינק יעבוד צריך ככל הנראה להרשם או לעשות לוגין. הנה הפוסט שמופיע שם. צר לי על המיספור שמופיע מימין זה בגלל השפה....:

Have you found 'trailjournals.com' yet? There are the journals from three hikers over the last four years. 

20 miles a day is extreme.  I under estimated the trail.  It is nothing like a polished trail such as the PCT or the AT.  It a hob-gob of many different trails strung together without much upkeep or trail building. This makes the trail much more of a challenge and therefore more fun!

Here are my hints:

First: For heaven sakes buy a guidebook for the trail. This is one in Hebrew and one in English. I hiked the first two weeks with a joke of a non-topo map and it was the pits. Jacob Saar’s ‘Hike the Land of Israel’ is now available. The difference between my experiences with and without a guide were nothing less than profound. You need a guide book!!!!

1.        Always wear a hat. My hat was a ‘Sunday Afternoons’ Sport/Adventure model. The hats’ brim with the ear and neck protection generated a lot of comment from other hikers. It was also a tough hat. I used it as a seat to protect my fanny from thorns.
2.        Avoid thorns. Every plant in the Middle East has thorns. The worst are the inch long Acacia thorn. It punctured everything from water bottles to Thermarests.
3.        Do not carry a Thermarest mattress. See #2.
4.        Forget the water filter. The open water in the Negev is so green that I think the filter would clog in a matter of liters.
5.        Carry water, lots of water. Do not see a stream on a map and expect to find water in the streambed.    Water is available only in areas of civilization. I was lucky twice. I do not know if I would have been lucky three times.
6.        Bring your own TP.
7.        Hiking poles were a life saver for rocky descents. For flat terrain or climbing I was unimpressed with their usefulness.
8.        Forget the bug dope. The flies disappeared at dusk…every day like clockwork.
9.        Long sleeve shirts are best. I used a Sunday Afternoons product and found it to be cool and came with a high SPF factor. Wear it loose.
10.        Bring a stocking cap for the night damps. Unlike the west coast of the US it is hottest at noon. It got chilly about 2am.
11.        Wear long legged pants. When the Israelis start showing up in shorts (due to the heat) you can too.
12.         Talk with the locals. Israelis are generous and helpful to hikers. Plus, they are fun to party with.
13.        I would make a nylon banner with the initials of the INT in Hebrew and in English. Making yourself known as a hiker to motorists will get you more rides than being just another hitch hiker with a back pack.
14.        Carry shade in the Negev. Acacia trees are few and far between as are shady walls in a wadi. To paraphrase R. Kipling: “Only mad dogs and hikers go out in the noon day sun.” Or as one Israeli put it: “Even the Arabs don’t fight the heat.”
My Gossamer ‘The One’ single wall tent was light and set up in two minutes. Being able to crawl into a patch of shade during siesta (noon -2pm) was vital to enjoying this part of the hike.

Have fun and enjoy one of the great trails of the world!

Acorn