Yesterday marked the end of daylight savings time in Israel, and the first official day of summer. I asked my friends, “What about Spring??” and they informed me laughingly that Israel doesn’t have a spring. Well, in honor of the first day of summer and the new hiking season, I head out again on the Shvil and completed “Day 5” according to the guidebook…for those of us keeping track, that means I’m averaging about a day every month and a half (insert eye roll here!). Well, I’m hoping to do a longer trip over Pesach (Passover) break, so we’ll see if I can’t "up" that average. Anyway, I rented a car Thursday afternoon so I could get an earlier start than buses allow, and needed to return the car by 1:30pm so they could close at 2pm in preparation of Shabbat. I had planned a hike about 10 miles long (16 kms) – five out and five back. The rule of thumb is that hiking usually averages about 2 mph, so I gave myself 5 hours, meaning I needed to start at 7am in order to get to the car by noon so I could get back to Haifa by 1:30. Got there and began at just a few minutes before 7am.
I haven’t hiked in a while, but I’ve been walking around Haifa, which is basically a hike in itself, biking with my neighbor, and was taking only my daypack which feels tons lighter than my overnight pack, so I couldn’t predict how I’d do in balancing the "haven't been out in a while" with all the "yes, but"s. Well, turns out the latter was much more compelling than the former, and I made it to the bottom by just after 8am! I haven't been jogging in a while, but found myself taking advantage of the downhills and flat smooth parts of the trail to wake up my leg muscles along the way. :) I passed the little sites that the English guidebook had mentioned: a cave, a pillar thingy, and a Druze memorial site
I made it to the bottom quite a bit earlier than I had predicted, and figured it couldn’t take more than four hours to get back up the hill, so I went a little further on the trail to scout out where we will start the next stint on the Shvil Israel and where we will get off the bus. Looking at the map of the trail provided next to the road, I saw that it ran parallel for a little bit, and hoped it would run beside a bus stop. No such luck. But anyway, where did the trail go? I looked round and round for the next marker -- not along the road...not on this side...or that side...not up those stairs...and not across the road anywhere...I probably looked for a good ten minutes before starting to give up. Then I remembered a lesson I learned on my last hike: Always always check *under* the road! One of the most brilliant parts of Israeli trails is the safety of not crossing highways where cars are whizzing by at about a million kilometers per hour...and viola, there was the marker!
A few meters along the way I met two other hikers and walked with them a bit. We exchanged the conventional questions and to my surprise they were real-live Haifaians! Born and raised in Haifa!
Gosh, I’ve been here so many months and I think they’re the third and fourth I’ve met. ;-) Of course, most people I know are at the University, so that makes sense, or from suburbs around Haifa. Anyway, I couldn’t go far with them, as I was constantly in my head thinking about the trek back up the hill. So we said our farewells and yom tovs, and I turned back around…
Back under the road...
and…just about flew up the hill!
I’m so thrilled with myself, haha. :)
I had worn a tank top under my t-shirt, and while I was in the wilderness, was just wearing the tank. While it is far from immodest, it is a bit less covering and more form-fitting than my big sweaty t-shirt, so as I was approaching the farmland I’d seen on the way down, I was considering putting the t-shirt back on, but didn’t see any people ahead. A truck drove by at the top of the hill I was on, and I could see that the driver didn’t even give me a second glance, so I began to think maybe I would just leave it at my tank and let my shoulders soak up a little more of the new summer sun. But then I saw that he had pulled his truck over, so I thought better of it. And boy am I glad! I stepped off the trail for a few seconds to pull my T back over my tank and continued my stride up the hill.
As I reached the crest and came over the top I saw that he had stopped his truck to talk with two other hikers – who had just finished bathing in the flooded pond on his farm. One of them sat in his shorts on a rock beside the water, and the other was just exiting from his bath, with thankfully his back (that is, his fully exposed backside) to me. Haha. So much for my concerns about modesty! Suddenly my pace slowed to an amble, and I became enthralled with the rocks and grass on my left. A count to five and quick glance assured me they’d seen me, but he still had only one leg in his shorts. I inspected the hills and sky…and then saw that he was decent, so continued my hike along the trail just beside them. He gazed over the water and his friend and I exchanged grins and shaloms as I passed.
The final stretch of uphill loomed before me, and as I approached it, I could not help but notice all the flowers, insects, sunshine, and breeze.
Whatever anyone else says, the flora and fauna and I say there is can be no doubt that Israel, at least the Galil, does indeed have a wonderful spring!
I felt a little bit like a short-haired, sweaty Disney princess chatting and singing with the birds and bees as I walked and skipped (okay, there was no skipping involved, but there was quite some jogging and arm swinging) along with them.
When I had parked my car and head out way back at seven, I had seen a big group of teenagers out for some kind of field trip, and as I ascended the final hill three hours later, they were just heading down (I’m sure they hiked up to the viewpoint first, which I saw on my last time out the opposite way I went this weekend). One of the most fun parts of hiking on a beautiful day is the camaraderie with fellow hiking strangers. :) Well, I made it back to the car about two hours before planned; whatever could I do with myself??
I head over to Safad (Tsfat/צפת)! One of my labmates had told me it’s a must-see and I had thought it would have to be another day, but viola! I didn’t know what I’d be able to see in just an hour or so, but thought it was worth visiting. I followed the signs to the city, and on my way up the final hill, gave a ride to a couple of the folks waiting at a bus stop (love Israeli culture!), and they gave me some tips about what to see after I dropped them off at the central bus station in the city. By the time I found parking and whatnot, I only had about half an hour to wander around the old city and thoroughly enjoy the artists’ quarter, but it was well worth it. (And got to see a huge flock of storks fly overhead -- the city is on one of the higher hills around, so though they were soaring pretty high, they seemed so close to us!)
The problem being, of course, that every time I visit a new place in the country, I want to add it to the places I take friends and family to visit when they come! Ha, decisions, decisions.
Well, I made it back to my car without mishap, wound my way down the hill and back to Haifa, in time to drop my things at home and return the car just before they closed (Haifa traffic was horrendous – I forget that rush hour is just after noon rather than late afternoon/evening, and getting from my house to the rental return place took much longer than I anticipated). Then back to the joy of bus-riding.
I just got my iPod back from my friend – I left it at her house by mistake last time I visited her in Jerusalem, but saw her at a Fulbright function on Tuesday, so I have re-started listening to The Great Gatsby, again. One of my very favorite teachers in all my educational career recommended it to me in high school. She told me she thought I’d really like it, but might not be ready for it at that time. I read it at 17 years old and found it rather boring. So I waited a few years and read it again when I was halfway through college, and was at a loss as to why she’d recommended it. So, I’m trying it again (I’m more familiar with the genre, so perhaps I’m “ready” for it now? And perhaps the listening-to-it-on-tape will cast a new light, as well). If not, I’m going to find her next time I’m in California, and ask for some expansion on her comment! ;-)
It was a splendid hike, but I can hardly wait for the next stint. The next time out, I should be able to get down to Tiberias, which means I will climb Mt. Arbel again (I hiked it on another trail, and have driven up it twice, and it is by far my favorite place in Israel), so I am thrilled. And then hopefully I’ll do from Sea to Sea (Galilee to Mediterranean) in one trip. Nire (We’ll see). :)
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