I apologize for not posting in such a long time. As soon as Shabbat/Yom Tov ended on Saturday night I came back from Modi'in as I had mentioned and packed up and prepared myself for the 3 day Desert Survival in the Negev. I am just going to post for the entire Prepare for the journey of a lifetime...
First thing Sunday morning was a wake up of 5:45am in order to be down and ready at the bus for a 6:15 departure to the South. Kibbutz and Kehilla would say goodbye to eachother until Monday afternoon. We headed to oppositie points and would meet up for about five minutes and overlap locations. Kehilla(my group) headed south to Beer Sheva right off the bat for Davening at a local Conservative Shul. We davened and then ate breakfast in the Sukkah and filled up our water bottles as well as used the bathrooms once more before heading on the bus to our drop of location to begin our desert survival.
From Beer Sheva we drove to Machtesh Ramon(the Crater of Ramon in the South). We stopped at a gas station to pick up our guide for the 3 days, Michal, and we dropped our overnight bags with the desert survival company we were using. We had a very turbulant ride once we hit the desert until we were let off at our starting point. The view from all around was absolutely incredible and that would turn out to be a common theme throughout the trip.
Our tour guide Michal led us on a hike up and down a mountain for about 6 kilometers.
The fun really started once the sun started to set a bit, and we were in a wadi so there was shade. We got to our campsite about 45 minutes before sunset and the people from the jeeps were already cooking up something fabulous for dinner. I felt that the first days hike was fairly easy for me and I was ready for a challenge the next day. I enjoy nice challenges when it comes to hiking. I enjoy both steep inclines and very steep declines and I am always up for a twist in the path. I was excited for what the next day would bring.
After we ended for the first day we set up camp and became familiar with our surroundings. I was used to camping in the woods and using the woods as a restroom however, some of the girls and a few of the boys were hesitant at first but slowly gave in because it was the only option. We had a fantastic dinner and a great little camp fire with a song session and we all headed to bed between 8 and 9:30 pm as it was dark very quickly in the cool and moon lit desert.
Wake up at 5am is quite amazing especially when the moon has jump 180 degrees to the exact opposite side it was on when you go to bed. I was excited for the second day of hiking because I was told it would be more of a challenge. We all god up and got dressed and tore down camp and davened with our Lulavs and Etrogs in the middle of the desert and then ate breakfast and packed lunches and prepared ourselves for the day.
We began the hike around 7:30ish I believe and it was already pretty hot outside, but we had a nice breeze that kept with us throughout the entire day. We hiked up a mountain for a long time and sometimes it was a little uncomfortable because of the heat or the terrain, but the feeling at the top was unbelievable. There was a wide range of ground cover, from sand to gravel to rocks to big flat boulders, and all different combinations of those four things. It made things difficult for the ankles. At every point that we stopped, people found flat rocks and went to sleep (this even happened to me, which I was not expecting!).The hiking went on like this for several hours. To pass the time, we sang and got to know each other and got to know ourselves. I was lucky enough to hike with Razie who was very timid and scared at points with the inclines and declines as well as the narrow paths so I was holding her hand and helping her get through the hike for the three days. She did an incredible job of conquering fears as well as keeping a positive spirit.
I am sharing something from my friend Jordana's blog to sum up the final day and a half of hiking because she puts it a lot more eloquently then I do.
At some point in the afternoon hours we met up with the Kibbutz group and then passed them moments later moving on to the second half of the days hiking. After resting and seeing Kibbutz, we went on our way and hiked a full 13 kilometers up and down a mountain. We stayed at a very open area for our campsite but it was very nice and it was warm the second night, humid in fact. We woke up at 4:30 and we were on the road by seven at the latest, after davening and breakfast and clearing up the campsite and peeing in the sand several more times. The hike today was really great because there were clouds, so we were in the shade a lot more than we would have been. We also did a trust walk at the top of Har Yahav, during which we held onto the backpack in front of us, closed our eyes, walked in the direction we were pulled, and hoped we weren't led off the cliff. Don't worry, everyone survived.
At the end of a long day, we were taken out of the hiking area by real live jeeps! They were so cool and our driver was super nice and informative, although I was only partly informed because I couldn't understand his accent. We also saw a camel carcass on the ground! And I forgot to say before we saw a real yellow scorpion, many fighter planes because the army likes to practice in the Negev, and a twister!!! We then enjoyed a great lunch of cold cuts and cold ice water.
People had talked about Survival as a great bonding experience, and I did not doubt it. Any challenge is bound to bring a group of people together. But the amount that my trust and adoration grew for the people-all of them-with whom I survived was so much more than I ever expected.
When it comes to hiking and camping, I am a very intense person who loves doing both and loves challenges as I mentioned. I didn't find this hike to be exceptionally challenging however, I did find the challenge that was given to us to be quite challenging. Everyone in the group had a different level of comfort when it came to hiking as well as different experiences. I personally have a passion and a higher level for hiking and camping then most people do. I have learned over time in many different situations that you must accommodate for not only yourself, but for the majority of the people. I think I accomplished that right off the bat by helping Razie the entire time. I would normally be the person at the front of the group running up and down the mountains and being optimistic and enthusiastic during hard times, but instead I decided to stop and look around at the people around me. I was able to help out those in need and made them feel accomplished for tackling new heights both figuratively and literally. I enjoyed my hiking experience and I certainly got a lot out of just sitting in the desert and taking in the views and thinking about life.
I certainly believe that I indeed came, hiked and conquered!!
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