On Yom HaShleeshee we ate breakfast sheltered under at a bus stop, waiting out the rain. It wasn't coming down too hard, but we could see sun spots on the horizon, so we took our time eating the breakfast our angel had made for us. (She had invited and tried to persuade us to wait out the rain at her house and then just walk over to the trail where it ran nearby, but we really wanted to go back to where we'd left it, so she graciously gave us a ride back on her way to work.)
The rain let up pretty quickly, so we set out. I love it when we get to sites early on! This morning we had barely begun before arriving to the Mazor Mausoleum. This is apparently one of the best preserved ruins, um...in all the land? On our hike? I don't know, but it was neat. The sign says it was originally a landowner's family burial site and then has been used for other purposes through the years. One of the coolest things of all these ruins is how they're just hanging out in the middle of nowhere, or right in the middle of everything, standing as remnants and reminders of long ago -- or long long long ago. It always makes me reflect on how very young my country is, and how our historical sites in DC or Philly or wherever were made and revered just about a blink ago in terms of human (let alone earth's) history. It boggles the mind.
Right after the mausoleum we saw our first (that I had noticed) almond tree with last year's leftover almonds on it. Beautiful, and it's always cool to see where food comes from. :)
The rain visited off and on -- at one point it came pretty strong and long, so we holed up under a pine tree (nice idea, and somewhat effective, but of course they can't compare to PNW trees). Chatty chat chatting while the rain poured down, at some point we got into a conversation about camp songs, so that led to some delightful entertainment for us, and eventually the rain let up enough for us to continue on. We only had to stop under a tree one more time, and the rest of the day we continued just with some sprinkles and drizzles, for the most part.
One of the running themes of the hike is the passable-ness or lack thereof of each "Underpass" beneath roads and railroads. And another theme is the question of gear -- did we bring enough? The right kind? Too much or unnecessary weight? So it is always gratifying to use something you've been carrying along all this way. And on this day these two themes came together in a lovely way when one of the underpasses was very passable, tall enough to walk in and with only an inch or so of water running over solid concrete, but very long and very dark. So I got to use my headlamp!!
There was even a purty little waterfall halfway through (we were relieved to see that it was just this that was making that running water sound).
So, the rain had let up pretty consistently, and we had dried out quite nicely when we came to a crossing that typically would be maybe a few inches deep, but on our day was probably two or three feet deep. Wade-able, but definitely far above our boots. After a few tries downstream, walking on crushed-down reeds and sticks, we could only find places to cross that would require a jump a few feet across and up, and I wasn't sure I could make it, or that the reeds would enable me to push off for a high and long enough leap of faith -- not even sure that the landing side was actually solid. So. We head upstream to see if we could find a better option. K found a spot where mud and plants and trash made an island about halfway across, and there was a log spanning from the other bank about halfway out to her. I brought over another branch and a piece of plastic I'd found, and we built a little floating bridge. She did so well!! With poles to balance and take part of her weight, she made her slow way across...got one foot on land...and at the last moment, the log rolled, and her leg went in. Yes, there is a video. "So there's that."
I laughed, but knew it was unlikely I could do any better. And sure enough, not five minutes later, I stood, fully in the river, water up to my quads, as she held my arm, and a scrambled up the bank. Glad the rain let up so we wouldn't get any more wet. Amongst the top priorities for my hiking is internal hydration and externally staying dry: dry feet, dry clothes, dry head. Well, my head was still dry and warm. I took a few minutes to remedy the clothes and feet, but with my newly donned dry socks I looked sadly at my soggy shoes. Picked them up and poured out (that's right, there was enough to pour) the river water, and squeezed out as much as I could, I just could not bear to put my nicely warm and dry socks back in there. Plastic to the rescue! I dug out a couple of plastic bags, wrapped them around my socks, and slid my now protected feet back into the boots. K did the same with her left foot that had gone in. Our new footwear was quite fetching, we thought. (It took my boots three days to dry, so this was my new "look" for the next 72 hours or so.)
The enforced break had done us good, so we made good time to Tel Hadid, with a great overlook and some more ruins, and then down to highway 443, just a few kilometers shy of our final destination for the night (17 km for the day; not bad :)). We could have made it by dark, but our angel needed us there a bit earlier, so she could get us settled in before taking her son to his swim class. Rather than push it and possibly make her late (eek!), we gave her a ring, she came and picked us up, and we rode dry and warm back to Gimzo for the night.
I took a longer shower than normal, bringing my river-soaked pants and socks in for their own washing, and we ate the amazing dinner she'd laid out for us before heading out. An angel, to be sure! We each had time to catch up on Glides, FaceTime calls, emails, etc., and when our angel got back, we chatted a bit before bed. Turns out she'll be in Portland in a few months for a work training, so I'll get to go pick her up on weekends and show her around Oregon a bit!! I'm so thrilled to return some hospitality (not to mention how much I love to tour people around my state). :-D
Tomorrow to Latrun Monastery!
The rain let up pretty quickly, so we set out. I love it when we get to sites early on! This morning we had barely begun before arriving to the Mazor Mausoleum. This is apparently one of the best preserved ruins, um...in all the land? On our hike? I don't know, but it was neat. The sign says it was originally a landowner's family burial site and then has been used for other purposes through the years. One of the coolest things of all these ruins is how they're just hanging out in the middle of nowhere, or right in the middle of everything, standing as remnants and reminders of long ago -- or long long long ago. It always makes me reflect on how very young my country is, and how our historical sites in DC or Philly or wherever were made and revered just about a blink ago in terms of human (let alone earth's) history. It boggles the mind.
Right after the mausoleum we saw our first (that I had noticed) almond tree with last year's leftover almonds on it. Beautiful, and it's always cool to see where food comes from. :)
The rain visited off and on -- at one point it came pretty strong and long, so we holed up under a pine tree (nice idea, and somewhat effective, but of course they can't compare to PNW trees). Chatty chat chatting while the rain poured down, at some point we got into a conversation about camp songs, so that led to some delightful entertainment for us, and eventually the rain let up enough for us to continue on. We only had to stop under a tree one more time, and the rest of the day we continued just with some sprinkles and drizzles, for the most part.
One of the running themes of the hike is the passable-ness or lack thereof of each "Underpass" beneath roads and railroads. And another theme is the question of gear -- did we bring enough? The right kind? Too much or unnecessary weight? So it is always gratifying to use something you've been carrying along all this way. And on this day these two themes came together in a lovely way when one of the underpasses was very passable, tall enough to walk in and with only an inch or so of water running over solid concrete, but very long and very dark. So I got to use my headlamp!!
There was even a purty little waterfall halfway through (we were relieved to see that it was just this that was making that running water sound).
The enforced break had done us good, so we made good time to Tel Hadid, with a great overlook and some more ruins, and then down to highway 443, just a few kilometers shy of our final destination for the night (17 km for the day; not bad :)). We could have made it by dark, but our angel needed us there a bit earlier, so she could get us settled in before taking her son to his swim class. Rather than push it and possibly make her late (eek!), we gave her a ring, she came and picked us up, and we rode dry and warm back to Gimzo for the night.
Tomorrow to Latrun Monastery!
No comments:
Post a Comment