January 5th, 2012
Well, quite a lot happened since I published my last post. Its not that I stopped hiking, just that I ran out of time….. lame excuse, I know.
Right now, We’re in New Hampshire, U.S.A. Since this post is not at all about my personal life, I will not bother you with the details of how & why did we get here in the WRONG time of the year – but here we are, so we might as well use it to explore our surrounding – and there is definitely a lot to see around here.
We were not yet equipped for the winter. This comes to say that we did bought a geed, warm, hiking boots – BUT did not buy crampons… which turned this hike into an amusing experience – since this trail was covered in ice, and quite slippery.
During the Summer time, this is a short hike to a nice (but not that impressive) waterfall. They actually charge you for doing it. But right now, the waterfall had frozen – which turned it into a different spectacle altogether.
I almost have nothing to say about the trail itself. It’s a short one (about 1-2 km long), circular, well paved and maintained during the summer days. When we hiked it, it was covered by a 5 cm of snow – which really is not much, except for the parts where the snow turned to ice. For us, Coming from Israel - hiking on a snow covered trail, watching a frozen waterfall and the many icicles that formed around it was a very special sight indeed. You are welcome to read a bit more about it here.
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March 19th, 2011
The winter in Israel is definitely too short. So, once we finally have a few drops – one absolutely must set out and view the transformation of the land… it’s magnificent.
This Saturday, we did a fairly easy walk – from the village of Alma (through Katzyon wadi) to Dishon stream. This trail is a linear, ~7 km long and quite easy – with two remarks:
a. Katzyon wadi is quite a steep one. Should you loose the marks (not too hard a thing to do, given the new vegetation in the area) you might find yourself dozens of meters above the trail before you’ll notice you mistake… so just stay at the bottom at all times!
b. Dishon stream is full of water, after the rains. The water covers the trail at some parts, and you need to walk in a knee deep stream. quite fun, actually.
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November 16th, 2010
In Rila park we hiked for 3.5 days. The hike started from the tiny village of maliovitsa, to hiza (hut) maliovitsa – an easy two hour walk. We stayed the night in this Hiza (if you ever go there, whatever you do DO NOT EAT THEIR SOUP!….. 
) and the day after we climbed the mountain and closed the circle – back to Maliovitsa (a full day hike, even though it was only 10 Km long…. but the height gained and lost was close to 1000 meters. This was one of the best hikes we did in Bulgaria, and it was definitely one of the most varied – from the alpine bushes and lakes to the forest.
On the second day we traveled from Maliovitsa to Rilski Ezera. Although Rilski Ezera is about 1000 meters higher – there’s a cable cart which goes up.
To be perfectly honest – I did not plan to go up by the cable cart – I just took the wrong turn and got there. But that was one fortunate getting lost…..
We planned to go for the seven lakes trail on the third day, and then to climb down the other side of the range all the way to Rila monastary – but the day was foggy and rainy and not that nice – so we decided to shorten this trip, and did just the small (about four hours long) trip of the 5 out of 7 lakes, came back to the Rilski Ezera hut, then hitch a ride all the way to the monastary – and from the monastary (which was a bit dissapointing, compared to the praises the lonely planet guide gave it) we carried on to Bansko – on the base of Pirin national park.
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October 26th, 2010
Originally, I planned some hikes on the Pyrenees, but after a long and tiresome debate, we decided to try Bulgaria as our destination. To be honest, I’m quite glad that this was the destination.
We’ve been to three mountain chains : Rila region, Pirin region and the Rodophe mountains. Geologically speaking, Rila and Pirin are the same chain – and it shows. The height is the same, the soil is the same (mostly lime stone) and the vegetation – the same. We came about a month too late, for the temperature on the mountains drops below zero during the night – and it kills the grass. And so, while walking above the tree line (around 2000 meters) – we found ourself surrounded by yellowish scenery. Fauna wise – in the nature reserve we found some Ibex, and in the Rodophe there were many salamanders – but other than that, we seldom saw any animal (which was a bit disappointing).
As a general rule of thumb, the trails are very well marked, and quite easy to follow even without the marks. There are many huts (hiza in Bulgarian) which provides shelter for the night – but not all of them serve food or offer the luxury of a hot shower. Their prices were about 30 levas (~15 euros) for a couple per night.
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August 8th, 2010
Those of you who have read this blog, know that I ended the INT at Nimrod’s fortress (see pic above) and the deep canyon around it (the Hazuri stream). About a month later, I continued the trip (in a trip which turned out to be one of the highest difficulty level I hiked in Israel) - starting from the parking lot of the ski resort. In this hike I completed the trail – for we started in Neve Ativ (which is ~3 km from the fortress) and climbed to the parking lot. Actually – it gets better : this parking lot is the starting point of the Golan Heights trail, and originally I planned on starting that trail from there, but was unable to (there were military exercises on that day, and the ascending was closed to civilians) . And so this hike – Neve Ativ to the parking lot of the ski resort then down through Gubta stream back to Neve Ativ – was my missing piece.
The trail is an easy to moderate difficulty level, circular, about 10 km long with elevation gained of 500 m.
As mentioned, it begins in Neve Ativ (near gate 5). Note that the red marked trail starts at gate 4, which is always closed – but through gate five you walk along the plantations to the cemetery (about 5 minutes of easy walk), then head down the wadi – until you reach the red marked, 4X4, trail. This is also the connection point of the black marked trail, which could lead you to Kal’at Namrud.
From That point you have about 5 km of easy ascend – never leaving the 4X4 road. On some point the red marked trail goes leftwards towards Kachal mount. – but we didn’t follow it, for it’s path looks really steep. Just before you reach the parking lot, there’s a little natural pool – which is dry in the summer (was dry when we got there – and full of grazing cows). Crossing the parking lot to the other side, you connect to the GHT (it starts with the green marked trail – same one which goes upward and was described earlier) and then turn south – along the beginning of Gubta stream – towards the road which connects Neve Ativ and Magdal Shams. This is a 4 km long descend, in which only the fist 3.5 km are quite easy – but the last 500 meters are steep (and they are quite steep – you go down about 150 m’ ). The hike is completed by an easy walk along the paved road – back to Neve Ativ.
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July 25th, 2010
Mine is a long and a sad tale… (– Lewis Carroll , Alice in wonderland)
In April 20th we did a beautiful day hike in Dolev stream, which is located near Beit Shemesh. About two month later (29/6 to be exact), a great wildfire – the largest we had since one of the rockets that Hezbollah shot at us during the second Lebanon war ignited the most of the Hula valley – c0nsumed this region. And so,this trail is unlike the rest of the trails described in this blog – for you cannot follow it (well, technically you can, but all you’re gonna see in the next couple of years is nothing but charred ground.
And it’s a real pity, because it was a very nice walk : a not to difficult circle, 9 km long, following the path of a beautiful stream It’s starting point is a picnic area, located on the road between Beit Shemesh and Nes Harim – right by the turn which leads to the stalactite cave. you go along a red marked, 4X4 road for 1 km until you reach the loop – marked black. You turn left for the stream (still a 4X4 road) and it enters the wadi.
The trail goes for 2.5 km inside the wadi – and then meets the original road (the red marked one) – and then you climb up that road all the way back to your car.
Along the way we came across an Ibex and many wild flowers.
Trail summery : total length : 9 km,out of which: up hill ~4, down hill ~5. Elevation gained : 400 meters. Best time to hike it : in a few years… 
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June 27th, 2010
Along the dead sea there are several beautiful hikes. This one is definitely one of the best ones, offering both cool water in the desert (you have to swim in them, so come prepared!), a fantastic lime-stone canyon and – for those who seek the more challenging trails – many steep slopes, which must be climbed down with a rope. To be perfectly honest, the first time we hiked it we didn’t bring any rope (we didn’t know we needed too) – and we still managed to get along – but a rope will definitely make your life easier.
The trail is not too difficult – I rank it of a moderate difficult level – but it is very long (at least eight hours). It is in one of the hottest places in Israel, so bring at least 1.5 litters more than you’d normally bring (and that means – no less than 4.5 litters per person! )
I should note that these pictures were taken on January 23rd (the first time we hiked it). On the second time (in May) the water level was much lower… and so I’d recommend hiking it in February (as long as you come early and fully prepared for it
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May 13th, 2010
Woke up at Meitzar stream, it took me about three hours to reach EinTaufik, where the trail ends. The route goes from the stream to Mevo Hama, and then turns south and goes along the cliff overlooking the Kinneret – and again, unfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy it too much because the visibility was poor.
Reaching the end of the trail, I carried on all the way to the hot springs of Hammat Gader – for a bath after a full week without a shower….
Thus I finished the Golan Heights Trail. I must admit that it didn’t meet my expectations – for the Israel National Trail was so much better:
a. The markings – The GHT is poorly marked at certain areas, to the point where many hikers get lost
(as an anecdote it occurred to me that when someone says ‘I’m lost’ he means ‘I’m not where I wanted to be – I don’t know where am I’. The Golan Heights translation to the previous sentence is – ‘I’m in the middle of a MINE FIELD and I don’t know WHICH ONE’… … true, there are many mine fields in the Golan Heights, but they are all clearly marked and fenced.
b. There are way too many passages – you walk on a boring 4×4 road, o n your way to an interesting site. Obviously you had some of those on the INT, but the ratio was much better. If I had to estimate, I’d say between 40 and 60 percent (!!!) of the GHT is expandable.
c. As along the INT, there are many historical sites along the GHT – but unfortunately these sites lack even the simple road sign to explain the name of the site or what exactly is it you’re looking at.
Hiking the GHT, you can feel the military presence in the area. There are many military bases, many mine fields. Tanks could be found along the way (probably old ones – but I don’t really know all that much about ‘em to know. I can hardly tell the Syrian Tanks from our own…). The Hermon is the meeting place of Syria, Lebanon and Israel – and Both Syria and Lebanon are hostile countries. The southern end of the heights meet Jordan. And so I believe that hiking the trail is important to every Israeli – but if I had to rank it as nothing more than a hiking trail (and I do try to keep this blog focused on nothing more than the trails, and not go into politics or personal encounters) I would rank it as an “ok” one – say 5or 6 out of 10 (the INT I would rank about 9.5, more than any other trail I ever hiked)
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May 11th, 2010
Woke up in the middle of the wadi, I was faced by what could have been the most beautiful day of the hike, if the visibility wasn’t bad. As it were, I immensely enjoyed the first part – climbing out of Semech wadi.
After getting out of the wadi of Semech stream, the trail does a tiny loop, descending an unnamed wadi and climbing into the ruins of Uvenish, which was pretty much a waste of time – I didn’t see any special flowers (though the entire loop is supposed to be due to some flower which blossoms there).
The trail continues on a fairly easy route, overlooking the Kinneret lake. unfortunately for me, the visibility was poor, so I didn’t enjoy it all that much. I did, however, saw a hawk hunting. The trail reaches and enters Meitzar stream, and I took the time to go to the waterfall (not really worth it – there were hardly any water n the stream) and camped for the night in the parking lot of the waterfall.
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May 10th, 2010
I started the day with a side trail : from Daliyot camping site to the ancient city of Gamla – about 3 km, fairly easy walk along the cliffs of Daliyot stream. Looking at the sky along the way, one is able to see the famous eagles of Gamla soaring. I was even more fortunate – I had the chance to see another wild boar on the way.
The ancient city of Gamla was fortified by Josephus Flavious in 66, during the great revolt and was captured by Vespasian in 67, after a several weeks long siege.
Being there, I found that quite surprising. True – there’s only a single path leading to the city (quite like in Masada), but the city is surrounded by higher hills, which are quite flat (the entire region has many cliffs in it – see pic below), and so the Romans could have places artillery (ballistrae and catapults) and bombard the city, as I’m sure they did on their second attempt. On the first, much like in Masada, They attempted to build a ramp and took heavy casualties, which explains their ruthlessness when they did capture the city (pretty much everyone was slaughtered or jumped to his death).
From the ruins I hitched back to Daliyot camp site, and at about noon I started hiking the GHT again.
The trail goes southward to Semech reservoir and from the reservoir – into Semech stream. It wasn’t easy finding the trail in the thick growth, but later it connects to an easy to walk, 4×4 trail.
Semech stream is, to my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful places along the GHT, outranked only by the trail from Bental to Ein Zivan (see Day 2 of the GHT ).
I spend the night inside the wadi, at the lowest point of the trail (sea level. The altitude I started from was approx. 1 km above the sea level)
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