Hiking with Jonah

Went hiking with Jonah on Wednesday, and came back today (Thursday). We went up to the Carmel (north) and though we didn't stick to our original plans (much to ambitious) we did have a great time. We started out on the red "Sfonim cave and spring" trail--which, as you guessed, has both a cave and a spring. Took us a lot longer than we expected because the trail was so poorly marked, that we ended up having to go over long stretches twice so we could end up on the proper trail. We camped in Tirat Carmel in an old abandoned house (better than the other options, although took me 2 hours to fall asleep because of the noises from all the animals), and there was a community center right down the hill, so we were able to use the bathrooms and fill up water, etc. Saw the Total Lunar Eclipse, thanks to mom calling me to let me know about it! And something I learned during Survival Week came in handy--what nutritious dinner foods you can make without a stove!

Took us a long time to even find the trailhead (blue, "Keden Spring" trail) but once we did it was pretty easy going, except for all the thorns that slashed my legs up (oh well). Today was an excellent hike, though. Complete with a nice spring/pool, and funny exchanges with the group of schoolboys we ran into.

See pictures below for some highlights.

Once we got back and I'd showered, I met up with a bunch of friends from the Mechina for a few hours in Jerusalem.

Jonah in the first cave on our trail

Up there--you see that hole? That's the cave we had to crawl through in order to continue on the trail. Luckily, we ran into some other hikers, otherwise we'd have spent hours looking for how to get from up there to down where the picture is taken from...

By the red marker to the right of the cow, you can see how close it was to the trail (ie: on it). We had to pass so many cows during the hike!

Where we slept... in a tent in an abandoned house.

The cows that didn't shut up ALL NIGHT (in addition to the foxes howling and the roosters cockadoodling)

What we ate for lunch: "tuna steak"

The spring (ayn kedem) from the hike. Felt so good--until a group of forty 6th and 7th grade boys came along...

I find something to add to my pack on every hike

At the end (finished near the University of Haifa)