Shvilist

Naftali heights were created by the great rift valley, and so many geological phenomena which were plainly visible in the desert are visible here, too. In fact, there’s a geological park right next to Kiriat Shmona, where there are written explanations  as to the different layers formation and dating, and it’s really quite nice.

The trail reaches Tel Hai and Kfar Giladi, passing through a memorial trail for the settlers who built Tel Hai in 1918, and tells their story of struggle against the arabs – who attacked the place in 1920. The bravery of the defenders inspired the Jews in Palestine, and are a symbol for self sacrifice to this very day – when Josef  Trumpeldor, one of the defenders of Tel Hai, felt his death nearing, he said the sentence that would cause him to be remembered and revered for generations to come: it’s a good thing, to die for our land.

The trail goes to the prehistoric man museum , but it was closed when I arrived (it’s between 9:00 and 12:00 only….)

Then you reach the first of the three streams which will combine to form the Jordan river : Snir. A beautiful, though small, nature reserve (and they charge you upon getting out of it) takes you along the non disturbed parts of the stream (hence the size, i’m afraid) – which are very beautiful.

The trail encircle (but does not enter) another reservation – Dan reservation (Dan is the second stream) ,which is even smaller than Snir reservation, and contains both the stream and the ancient city of Laish, which the Hebrew tribe of Dan conquered about 3000 years ago.

Again, i arrived too late: they wouldn’t let me in – so I went to Osishkin’s  house – a local nature museum – where the trail ends.

As I was getting up, a shining new jeep pulled over. In it sat a brigadier general, and as I was fighting the urge to salute him (I’ve been too many years in the I.D.F. …. civilians don’t salute, not even a brigadier general) he asked me weather or not I  met another hiker, who walks alone and lost his cell phone. I did meet this guy later this day, and made him phone (using my cell) his family to say that he’s ok.

The trail climbs the bank of the river, onto mount. Yahmur (=fallow deer). Here you enter Naftali heights – the western side of Hachula valley, which is part of the great rift valley – and so many of the geological phenomena which were visible in the desert are also visible here.

The trail climbs to Keren Naftali , where an Hellenistic-period temple once stood, then a Maccabean fort. You have quite a view over Hachula valley from there.

The trail then continues to Koach fort – another Tegart Fort, which protected the road north, which passed nearby. In 1948, it was handed over to the Arab troops. During our war of independence, three different attempts to conquer it were made by the Palmach, only the last one succeeded. The battles there hosted one of the tragic heroism stories of that time : the force commander, David shwartz  (“Dudu”)  was carrying explosives, and upon reaching the outer wall (the one he was supposed to blow up) was hit. seeing the heavy fire that started, he called out to his troopers to blow him up – but they refused. One after the other they tried to rescue him from where he’d been, and finally succeeded, but most of them got hit and died after that night (22 total). In the three attempt, a total of 28 Palmach warriors were killed, and the fort was renamed after them (Koach – כח is 28 in gematria). This site has a recorded explenation the visitor can (and should) hear, making it one of the better preserved memorial sites.

From the fort the trail follows the path from which the warriors came : the very steep (and beautiful) Kadesh stream. This is definitely the most beautiful place I visited this day….. so even though it is a bit strenuous, and you can easily skip it – don’t.

The trail continues along Naftali heights, making a very slow descend towards Kfar Giladi – and the hikers can enjoy the sights of Hachula valley and on it’s other side – the Golan heights and the Hermon mountain. Somewhere along the way, near mount Nezer, the sun decided to rest for the day, and so I camped on the road.

The Meron mountain is the highest point in the trail – reaching 1208 meters above the sea level (the top is obviously a military base… but the trail does reach 1100 meters at least). For some reason, there are signs on top of this mountain which state that it is much higher.

We started the final stage of the climb along Sod (=secret) stream. Along the way you can see a Tznir (the same half tube you can find on the Carmel – I described it on day 32) and some deep holes (Hutas)  – which suppose to contain stalagmites and stalactites but since I did not carry and rappelling gear, I did not enter these holes.

From the top, you have magnificent view  over the surrounding valleys, and to make sure you’ll enjoy it from each direction, the trail encircle the mountain top….

There is a steep climb on your way down, and then the trail enters Tzivon stream – the first part of this stream, which is a wide, 4×4 track, is not so interesting, but as you continue it narrows down and becomes covered with trees – and you find yourself walking in a magical forest, a true gem of a place.

From Tzivon the trail enters Baram forest which is nice (been there too many times to get excited….) and from that forest you walk along Dishon (=Addax) river. In this river there were many frogs which just grew their rear legs – so I got to hold a less-than-a-centimeter long frog. Really cool.

There’s a road which crosses the Dishon, deviding it into lower and upper part. by this road (outside the reservation) i camped for the night.

From Nun fountain a short walk would take you to Amud (=pillar) stream. This stream cut a deep canyon in Meron mountain, and so by walking along the stream we climb the mountain – which would be the highest point of the INT.

The day was one of the hottest throughout my hike, and luckily the lower part of the stream has a nice flow in it – and so we were able to cool ourselves from time to time (and have a bath )

The upper part is covered by a forest (we spotted an entire family of wild boars) – with some impressive gigantic trees (well, gigantic in Israeli terms…. )

Going upward, you reach Meron stream – which is actually the very same stream as the Amud, only different part of it – and upon reaching the beginning of this stream, you get to a night camp, where we stopped for the night. The grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is nearby, and it act as a religious center.

We started the day with a visit to the village of Kinneret, which was formed in 1908 by pioneers which came to Palestine during the second immigration wave (1904-1914). It was the birth place of the Kibbutz as an idea: the philosopher Aharon David Gordon worked there (then moved to Dgania A) . Hana Meisel-shohat, a feminist who founded the Canadian branch of  Hadassah as well as the founder and the first principal of the high school in Nahalal – which used to be my school. Other famous characters where the song writers : Rachel, and Naomi Shemer – which was born here. Now their graves are standing in Kinneret graveyard – to which other leaders of the zionist movement where brought to their final resting place : Berl Katznelson, Nachman Syrkin, Moshe Hess, and Dov Borochov, to name the ones that I saw in this graveyard.  I usually claim that each rock & tree in Israel has a story to tell. Well, in this particular graveyard there are so many stories, that recounting them is way out of the scope of this humble blog…. and so I would settle with the links  I planted here to give those who takes interest in recent history, in philosophy and\or in the question : Why are we in this hot country and what are we doing here a first glimpse into Palestine as it was 100 years ago….

From the graveyard, we went to the old part of the village, where the houses of the first pioneers are located. Here, again, you can see for your eyes the story of the resettlement of Palestine.

The trail then climbs Poriyah heights, and goes northward towards Tiberias. From Tiberias the INT climbs mount Arbel – where you have spectacular view over the surrounding valleys. This is the best spot to see the Valley of Arbel (between the villages of Kfar Hittim, Arbel and Kfar Zeitim ) – where a very important battle took place in July 4th, 1187 : the battle of Hattin, in which Saladin defeated the crusaders. The crusaders, accustomed to European weather, came fully armored on heavy war-horses. We are talking about July here : the temperatures could very well have been above 35 degrees Celsius, not ideal condition for a man with a full body armor-plates.  Saladin, with light cavalry lit the fields in which the crusaders were, and let them burn – thus breaking the main force of the kingdom of Jerusalem, which was formed in 1099, by the crusaders in the first crusade.

Curved into the cliffs of the Arbel are several caves, which where used during the rebellion in 67 A.D. (the first rebellion against the roman empire).  During the 17th century, a fort was built into the mountain side, and is visible to this very day. for more information , see (in Hebrew)

The trail climbs down the cliffs of the Arbel, to Arbel fountain, passes near the village of Migdal and reaches Nun fountain – where we camped for the night.

In the morning, right after i started walking, I met a nice guy, and togather we read the fourth and the  fifth chapter of the book of judges, and we analyzed the battle which took place so long ago. Sisera had iron chariots, so he must have traveled on paved road – and the most logical path would be Via Maris – which passed through Hazor. Sisera traveled from Hazor to Megiddo, while the Israelites gathered on the Tavor (and maybe also on the nearby hills of Hamore and Nazereth). Then Sisera makes the mistake which will cost him the battle : he leaves the paved way of via maris, and try to storm the Tavor – thus entering the agricultural land, which is dominated by the Kishon river – which overflowed and turned the fields into mud, and the chariots got stuck. The Israelites charged down the hills to the field where the Cna’anite army was, and so victory was achieved. Sisera himself fled the scene, and fled west (to Elon Betza’ananim), and was killed by Yael.

Having analyzed the battle (and read out loud the appropriate chapters) I climbed down the mountain and carried on west – maybe on the same path on which the ancient general attempted to flee his destiny.

The INT here streches alongside wheat fields, ready to be harvested (and as I walked the trail, they were indeed harvested in front of me ). Along the way I a friend joined me – and she accompanied me for the next four days. We reached Eilot observatory – a small detour to a pre 67 military post, looking over the southern part of the Kinneret and the Jordan river. We then climbed down Yavniel cliff, into Yavniel streamand followed it till the Jordan river. We found a nice familly camping which offered us dinner – and then carried on till we reached the lake itself – and (after a night sweem) camped for the night on the beach.

The day started in Hamovil junction, the entrance to Hasolelim grove (the Hebrew name is forest, but it is way too small to be a called a forest…) on the way you pass ancient olive trees and a stone wine press.

The trail reaches the grave of  Rabbi Judah Nasiah, the first Amorai which worked in Israel, and grandson to Rabbi Judah Hanasi – the editor and the redactor of the Mishna. Rabbi Judah Nasiah was also the leader of the Sanhedrin which was in Tzippori.

The trail does not enter the ancient tzippori, and since i’ve recently visited this impressive  place, I chose not to do so this time, and instead I carried on hiking – Into the village of Mashhad, and then to the city of Nazeret (Jonah mount.)

Down on the other side of the mountain, you hike Barak Ben Avinoam stream. Barak was the biblical general who fought Siserah (book of judges, fourth chapter) , obeying the commands of Dvorah the prophetess – and so it makes great sense that the trail climbs from the stream to mount. Dvorah, and from there (through the beautiful Beit Keshet forest) to mount Tavor, where Barak gathered his army, and the place from which Dvorah observed the battle.

On top of the Tavor there are two abbeys, and an impressive fort-like grave. I do not know many details about it, except the fact that it lies in a very nice grove – in which I camped for the night.

The day started in Isfia, with a steep slop down towards Kibbutz Yagur. Along the way you  pass a through Ma’apilim stream (ma’apilim were the illega immigrants which came to Palestine during the British Mandate period). This name was given recently, in the memory of those immigrants which were captured and arrested in Atlit, and which the Hagana freed and smuggled through the Carmel forest to Yagur. The trail was created by the British people, who also planted this part of the forest, and was originally named Nahash (=snake) stream, because of the many twists and turns it makes in order  to descend the steep slop more easily. I saw there a family of wild boars.

From Yagur the INT passes underneath the highway to Kfar Hasidim (and by that the brief visit to Zvulun valley ends) and then climbs the low hills of Alonim.

In between the hills flows Tzippori river, and the INT goes along this river from Nofit to Ka’abiyye.  There’s an old mill (which was bought by the Camelites sometimes in the 19th century). The trail continues till Hamovil Junction, where I stopped for the night.

The night camp in Ofer forest in the front yard of the ranger’s house. As I was getting ready for breakfast the rangers came (three of them), and we had breakfast together.
The INT goes through a JNF-planted forest , to Ofer observatory (the rangers use it to spot fires. unfortunately, it was locked when I was there).

stepping out of the forest, the trail takes you to a Mearot (literal translation : caves) stream national park (official site – in hebrew. see also in hebrew – wikipedia). They found evidence for neanderthals who lived in the caves in this park, and so here you have evidence for 1,000,000 years of mankind living in this area.

The trail continues to Ein Hod ,which is an artist’s colony, and  then goes up a part which is called Etzba Hacarmel – the Carmel’s finger.

Down on the other side, and then you have a very steep climb (though a short one) back into the forest – this part is called, unofficially “little switzerland” – and it is one of the few places in Israel which is evergreen.

Another interesting geological phenomena which is easily seen in the Carmel is the stone tube (in hebrew it is called צניר. I’m not familliar with the English term) – but this tube was created due to strong flow of the river which used to run in the wadi – and so each of the wadi’s walls have half a tube curved into it.

The trail climbs all the way up mount. Shokef, then goes down to Oren stream – but climbs up again (along Hik stream) all the way up to Rom Carmel – which lies in Isfia.

The Roman aqueduct which brought water to Caesarea took the water from Hanania fountain, and the INT followed it. I woke up at about 1.5 Km from the fountain, in a field near the village of Beit Hanania. This region is entirely cultivated, and the rivers which used to run here and now channeled to narrow tunnels along the fields – or, sometime flow in their original path, curving and twisting their way through the plowed land. Near the fountain is a vertex of the triangle-shaped mountain of the Carmel, and by climbing it you enter one of the most beautiful nature reserves in the north of Israel.

People lived here since the Neolithic era, and evidence for them you see in ancient graves for the gatherers who lived here (I don’t remember how old they are right now, but they could easily be 100  thousand years old).

From the top of the Carmel you have fantastic sights : the coastline on your west, then the fields -a mosaic of yellow, green and brown. This region is called Hotem Hacarmel – the Carmel’s nose (speaking of funny names – the Carmel also has a finger, and a horn )

The trail enters Ramat Hanadiv -  about 20,000 acres (~5000 Dunam) of forest, and in it – some of the most impressive reconstructions of archeological sites: The first and most impressive is the Akav ruins – which is a reconstruction of a mansion dating back to the 1st century A.D.

The highlight of Ramat Hanadiv is the memorial gardens – which surrounds the Baron and Baroness Rothschild’s crypt. (The Baron was named Hanadiv – the generous – for he donated a lot of money and helped build many places in Israel – places like the city of Rishon Lezion, which is the third or fourth in population today, and like Zichron Yaakov – which lies right by these gardens.

It is very uncommon for a Jew to have such a memorial site. You have to achieve true greatness for that – in modern times, only three people received a private  place from the state : the first was Theodor (Binyamin Ze’ev) Herzl, now buried in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, and the second was David Ben-Gurion, which was buried in Sde Boker, as he requested.

The memorial gardens themselves are a beautiful place, giving a strong fight to the Bahai Gardens in Haifa as for which is the most beautiful garden in Israel. (To be honest – I’ve never been the their center in Akko. So maybe there is another place to claim that title). For some reason the planners of the INT decided that the trail should not visit such a marvelous place – but the trail does pass pretty close to the gardens, so I don’t see a reason not to visit them – well, unless you can’t due to religion or something like that.

Another archeological site, which was beautifully reconstructed as the mansion, is a Roman bathhouse which was built on top of a flowing fountain of Ein Tzur, and served generation as a Mikve and a bathing place.

Climbing down from the other side of the Carmel mountain, the trail goes on a 4×4 road (a JNF fire preventing road) through Hen forest to the village of Meir Shefia, then to village of Ofer, passing a beautiful bell shaped caved – an ancient mine (they dug up lime stone for construction, just like in Beit Govrin area). Then the trail enters Ofer forest – a truely charming place, where I first heard wolves howling (in Jerusalem vicinity I heard Jackals. I reached the night camp by the end of Ofer forest, and camped for the night.