The next morning our host's husband so graciously (remember, these weren't even Trail Angels; they own the guest house!) drove us about fifteen minutes out of his way on the drive to work back to our trailhead! So sweet!
He had to head to work, so we were on the trail by 7am. It was a lovely crisp morning, and after a very steep climb up just the first few meters, the trail evened out, and after passing by a ruins, and then by a Bedouin tent with their sheep and guard dogs (oh my, the guard dogs), the trail joined a road that was sometimes paved and sometimes dirt, and we meandered along enjoying the fields and the birds and all the fieldhands at their morning doings.
And then, BAM!!! We were at Tel Lakhish!!!!! At just after nine o'clock!
I had estimated we'd get to this landmark by probably 10:30; K had thought more like 11am. Never had we imagined it would take only two hours to travel that first nine kilometers. Never. As things often do, it set me singing. Unfortunately I only really know the one line from Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella, so it just had to be the same one, over and over, "Impossible -- things are happening everyyyyy daaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!"
We've gotten so used to sludging through mud or crawling up and down mountains that we couldn't even imagine walking at a leisurely pace and finding that, thirty pound packs or not, our leisurely pace on dry, flat ground is about 3mph. Chickchock, and there we were. Really, we couldn't stop marveling.
So anyway, a bit after the Tel, we plopped ourselves down on some rocks and enjoyed a long morning break. We had the time, afterall. ;)
We had 24 trail kilometers planned for the day. That morning I was pretty concerned about how long that might take us -- the longest days we were handling during the stint before Jerusalem was about 17 kms -- one day we did 21, and we were looking for rides to our Angel far into the darkness, totally exhausted. So at the thought of 24 kms? I made sure I knew where my headlamp was, and I set my mind to stay calm as we would find the highway in the dusk, hopefully. Then walk to the bus stop in the dark. And then drag ourselves from one bus to the next and then along the road to our Trail Angel's place, weary from the day. I was doing a lot of self-talk preparing for the long long day.
And then the terrain! So flat and smooth and dry...we were making such great time that we took a second lovely break under a eucalyptus grove. K thinks I was a little euphoric -- too much sun? (These days had pretty much no shade.) Too little oxygen getting in through my coughs and sniffles? Too much relief at the pace we were keeping? Well anyway, we were just sitting under the grove, and I was just so comfortable, I looked around and happily pointed out, "We could just stay here." (It doesn't read as very funny, but K thought it was hilarious. Come to think of it, maybe she was the delirious one! Anyway, it was a lovely break. Not that I meant I'd live under that grove. Just. It was so lovely. Maybe I could. :-})
Well, as all good things do, our time at the grove did need to come to an end, and we each hoisted first ourselves and then our packs back up on our feet, and carried on. Really much of my thoughts on this day were taken up at the miracle of walking atop the mud instead of through the midst of it. I noticed other victims of the mud, and other survivors of it, and basked at the solid ground beneath my feet.
And then voila, we arrived at our ending location for the day. At 1:30pm. Yes, 13:30. Midday. Lunch time. Hours from dusk. Hours from dark. And we were done for the day! What is anyone meant to make of that?!?
We took a last break under the underpass (the only shade for miles), and then made our way up the side of the highway to our bus stop about a kilometer north. Not bad 'tall!
We tried hitching to no avail, so when the bus came in about half an hour, we hopped on board and took it up to Kiriat Gat - a pretty big city as these things go. Our Angel wasn't expecting us still for several hours, so we found a cafe, got me a Hallumi Salad, Mmmmmmm, and took advantage of the WiFi for a while as we awaiting the sun's decent. I stopped by a pharmacy to refill on cold meds, and we ate our yummy food in the air conditioned comfort and marveled some more at how terrain and weather so dramatically dictates speed. Now I can better imagine how Israelis can do the whole trail in a couple months. (Not that *I* could, but I can imagine it being humanly possible. ;))
When the time came, we caught the bus from there to the little Moshav where our Angels for the night live. The wife had given us their address, so we knew how to get there, but called to let them know we were a little early in arriving. The husband wasn't familiar with the names of the streets, but when we described where we were, he knew and gave us such beautiful small town directions. We were to keep going on that street for maybe 100 meters and then turn right, then walk down that road for a while until you see the tree that is flowering pink. And then the tree that is flowering red. And then there will be people, and you ask them where is the house of "name&name." Ya can't miss it. Plus he stood outside and waved us down. You really couldn't miss it. :)
We slept in the basement with half a dozen antique cameras, lots of photography on the walls, and a somewhat odd mannequin gracing the room. And as we discovered late in the night, a house alarm. I was in a different room, and NyQuilled pretty well. I heard the alarm, couldn't really process it, and went back to sleep. K, who had set it off by, gasp, getting up to go to the bathroom and apparently walking past the motion sensor, continued her task, and then returned to her bed, watched some police lights go by outside, and then heard some footsteps upstairs, and when it turned off she shrugged (surely, she must have, right?), rolled over and went back to sleep. Oh the joys of a different house every night. :)
We had a short day planned for the next day, so I got to turn off my alarm and fall asleep relishing the idea of sleeping in. (They didn't have many blankets or a heater, so I was snuggled into my sleepsheet in my winter hat, scarf, and leggings under my PJs. I looked awesome, I assure you. :))
He had to head to work, so we were on the trail by 7am. It was a lovely crisp morning, and after a very steep climb up just the first few meters, the trail evened out, and after passing by a ruins, and then by a Bedouin tent with their sheep and guard dogs (oh my, the guard dogs), the trail joined a road that was sometimes paved and sometimes dirt, and we meandered along enjoying the fields and the birds and all the fieldhands at their morning doings.
And then, BAM!!! We were at Tel Lakhish!!!!! At just after nine o'clock!
I had estimated we'd get to this landmark by probably 10:30; K had thought more like 11am. Never had we imagined it would take only two hours to travel that first nine kilometers. Never. As things often do, it set me singing. Unfortunately I only really know the one line from Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella, so it just had to be the same one, over and over, "Impossible -- things are happening everyyyyy daaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!"
We've gotten so used to sludging through mud or crawling up and down mountains that we couldn't even imagine walking at a leisurely pace and finding that, thirty pound packs or not, our leisurely pace on dry, flat ground is about 3mph. Chickchock, and there we were. Really, we couldn't stop marveling.
So anyway, a bit after the Tel, we plopped ourselves down on some rocks and enjoyed a long morning break. We had the time, afterall. ;)
We had 24 trail kilometers planned for the day. That morning I was pretty concerned about how long that might take us -- the longest days we were handling during the stint before Jerusalem was about 17 kms -- one day we did 21, and we were looking for rides to our Angel far into the darkness, totally exhausted. So at the thought of 24 kms? I made sure I knew where my headlamp was, and I set my mind to stay calm as we would find the highway in the dusk, hopefully. Then walk to the bus stop in the dark. And then drag ourselves from one bus to the next and then along the road to our Trail Angel's place, weary from the day. I was doing a lot of self-talk preparing for the long long day.
And then the terrain! So flat and smooth and dry...we were making such great time that we took a second lovely break under a eucalyptus grove. K thinks I was a little euphoric -- too much sun? (These days had pretty much no shade.) Too little oxygen getting in through my coughs and sniffles? Too much relief at the pace we were keeping? Well anyway, we were just sitting under the grove, and I was just so comfortable, I looked around and happily pointed out, "We could just stay here." (It doesn't read as very funny, but K thought it was hilarious. Come to think of it, maybe she was the delirious one! Anyway, it was a lovely break. Not that I meant I'd live under that grove. Just. It was so lovely. Maybe I could. :-})
Well, as all good things do, our time at the grove did need to come to an end, and we each hoisted first ourselves and then our packs back up on our feet, and carried on. Really much of my thoughts on this day were taken up at the miracle of walking atop the mud instead of through the midst of it. I noticed other victims of the mud, and other survivors of it, and basked at the solid ground beneath my feet.
And then voila, we arrived at our ending location for the day. At 1:30pm. Yes, 13:30. Midday. Lunch time. Hours from dusk. Hours from dark. And we were done for the day! What is anyone meant to make of that?!?
We took a last break under the underpass (the only shade for miles), and then made our way up the side of the highway to our bus stop about a kilometer north. Not bad 'tall!
We tried hitching to no avail, so when the bus came in about half an hour, we hopped on board and took it up to Kiriat Gat - a pretty big city as these things go. Our Angel wasn't expecting us still for several hours, so we found a cafe, got me a Hallumi Salad, Mmmmmmm, and took advantage of the WiFi for a while as we awaiting the sun's decent. I stopped by a pharmacy to refill on cold meds, and we ate our yummy food in the air conditioned comfort and marveled some more at how terrain and weather so dramatically dictates speed. Now I can better imagine how Israelis can do the whole trail in a couple months. (Not that *I* could, but I can imagine it being humanly possible. ;))
When the time came, we caught the bus from there to the little Moshav where our Angels for the night live. The wife had given us their address, so we knew how to get there, but called to let them know we were a little early in arriving. The husband wasn't familiar with the names of the streets, but when we described where we were, he knew and gave us such beautiful small town directions. We were to keep going on that street for maybe 100 meters and then turn right, then walk down that road for a while until you see the tree that is flowering pink. And then the tree that is flowering red. And then there will be people, and you ask them where is the house of "name&name." Ya can't miss it. Plus he stood outside and waved us down. You really couldn't miss it. :)
We slept in the basement with half a dozen antique cameras, lots of photography on the walls, and a somewhat odd mannequin gracing the room. And as we discovered late in the night, a house alarm. I was in a different room, and NyQuilled pretty well. I heard the alarm, couldn't really process it, and went back to sleep. K, who had set it off by, gasp, getting up to go to the bathroom and apparently walking past the motion sensor, continued her task, and then returned to her bed, watched some police lights go by outside, and then heard some footsteps upstairs, and when it turned off she shrugged (surely, she must have, right?), rolled over and went back to sleep. Oh the joys of a different house every night. :)
We had a short day planned for the next day, so I got to turn off my alarm and fall asleep relishing the idea of sleeping in. (They didn't have many blankets or a heater, so I was snuggled into my sleepsheet in my winter hat, scarf, and leggings under my PJs. I looked awesome, I assure you. :))
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