Fear of Heights? What Fear of Heights?!

Har Sholomo

A place like Israel has such a wide variety of terrain. HUC took us down to the south to show us a variety of different things. One of them being the vast expanses of deserts. The Negev and the Aravah. These spots are in the Syro-African Rift Valley, and on either side are large swaths of mountain ranges. During the tiyyul we had the choice to go on a hike at Timna or a more challenging hike up Har Shlomo (Mount Solomon).

It started out pretty easy. A long walk from the bus to the foot of the mountain. Our guide stopped and told us a story about a trip he took a group of high schoolers on. On an early morning hike they paused because he was shocked to find a family of Ibex living in near the foot of the mountain. Then about 25 meters later we spotted our own family of Ibex. It was really cool.

Ibex Family at the foot of Har Shlomo

They were eating and just wandering around a little bit. Someone said, "I wonder how close we can get before they get scared off?" A few seconds later, they got spooked and ran into the hills. They are so agile! It was awesome to see.

If I hadn't told you before, I have a slight fear of heights. I get a little shaky and my heart starts to race. The majority of the hike up wasn't so bad for me. There were some spots, though, that there were no footholds or handholds to scamper over. Instead, there was a large handrail that had been attached to the mountain so you can hang on. It was at that point my heart started to race a bit. It's hard to not look down, even when you know that you shouldn't.

In the end, it was worth it! The shakiness, the sore legs on the way to the top, but at the end, I want to quote my friend Beni, "Look at the view!"

The View Partway Up The Mountain

The view was incredible! Looking back at where we started, you could see two different shades of mountain, the furthest away were the hills of the Sinai mountains, Egypt. We looked down into the Gulf of Aqba and across the Red Sea, you can see Jordan. Gazing slightly further south, into the haze, we could see Saudi Arabia.

I wish my camera hadn't died on the climb up the mountain so I can share a picture from the top. It was spectacular.

The walk down took a few hours longer than the way up. We passed through a dry river bed and down a bunch of different waterfalls. They were challenging because you drop straight down, and use footholds to lower yourself.

I love getting out on the trails here. I want to learn more about how to navigate them, and more about hiking. I had a blast on the few that we've done here and can't wait to get out and do more, here and when I get back to the states.

A Break Partway Through the Hike

On Tiyyul

School sent us on a tiyyul really early this semester. Instead of us waiting until three months into the year to go away, we got to leave really quickly. It has been so great. On the way down we stopped in a little development town to learn about their area and talk to some people about what life is like in the Aravah.

We continued on to Kibbutz Yahel and got to hang out here. It's awesome so far. Yesterday I had the chance to hike up Mount Shlomo and look down into three different countries. So far today we went to Kibbutz Lotan and learn about their community too.

I don't have a lot of time right now. I'm sitting at their porch near their Moadon, downloading podcasts, checking emails quickly and figured I should put up a little post.

The trip has been really good so far. Look for more updates tomorrow and next week with pictures from my trip.

Shabbat Shalom,

Masada

When I was in Israel on Taglit (Birthright), my bus chose to not climb Masada in the morning. They wanted to stay up later in the "Bedouin" camp. That group wanted to hike later in the day. So I was really excited when Kaitlin said that she wanted to get up at 5:15 to climb the mountain for sunrise.

It was totally worth getting up so early in the morning!

We were at the gate to start climbing at 5:45 in the morning and it was pitch black. We couldn't find the path right away, but there were two large Taglit groups that went ahead of us, so we could follow them on the path. As we were climbing the sun started to rise.



The fog of the morning prevented us from seeing the entire sunrise as we were climbing, but we stopped during the hike to watch it. After about 50 minutes of walking up the "Snake Path", the winding path that takes you up the back side of the mountain, we made it to the top of the mountain.



After a 350 meter vertical climb that takes almost 2 kilometers and 700 stairs we made it in time to see the sun break over the top of the fog of the morning.



The top of the mountain was the same as I remembered. There are some really cool remnants from the Herodian Palaces and the fortress that sits atop the mountain. We wandered around for a few hours before going back down the snake path to get back to the hostel.

Walking down was harder to me than climbing up to the top of the mountain. It's hard on my knees and my calves, but it was a good workout. I would suggest that you make the effort to climb Masada for sunrise. It is absolutely beautiful!

In Joshua’s Shoes: The Long and Short of It

Not only am I blogging here this year, but I am also writing occasional pieces for the Minneapolis Based website TCJewfolk.

A new post of mine went up on Thursday. It's all about the little adventure I had with Brian A, Leah and Dusty walking down the side of Mount Carmel on the way to the beach during our break. You can link right to the post here or go to their site and peruse. There are some interesting articles and some great information about things happening in Twin Cities.