Israel national Trail FAQ's 1. When is the best time to hike the trail? 2. What are the sources of water in the desert? 3. Is it dangerous to hike the trail? 4. Maps and books: 5. Trail Markers: 6. Resupply 7. How much water should I carry? 8. Which direction to go: 9. Where can I get more information? 10. How long the trail and how much time does one need to hike it? 1. When is the best time to hike the trail? There are two good seasons - October to November & February to mid May. I would pick the second one because: The landscape is green and the flowers are blooming. You would have more water in the creeks and the river up North would be much more impressive. In both seasons you can expect rain in the Northern part of the trail. A tent or tarp and raingear would be good to have. 2. What are the sources of water in the desert? I can think of four places that the water supply would be very useful on the trail The small crater, Ein Akev, Before Kenyon Vardit, and Kenyon Shehoret If you need help with arrangements, let me know, I might be able to help. 3. Is it dangerous to hike the trail? The Trail is only close to the occupied territories in one place - near Lahav. Other than in this area, where I skipped 20 KM, I felt very safe along the trail. Carrying a weapon seems to me very foolish and unnecessary. 4. Maps and books: There is one book (so far) in Hebrew. I don't like it. It's written for families and day hikers, it's not updated (at least for now). The maps are all in Hebrew and buying all the maps might be expensive. There is definitely a need for a professional data book + maps + trail story both in Hebrew and English. I'm thinking of doing it, and if you have any advice, I would be glad to hear from you… The maps have water sources marked but they're not reliable. (To see a list of water sources go to the end of this page) There are no recommendations on places to stay or good campsite markers on the map. 5. Trail Markers: The trail is marked all the way in blue, orange, and white. It's difficult to get lost. 6. Resupply: The trail passes near towns and places where you can buy food and resupply more often then you need. You wouldn’t need to carry more than five day's worth of food. Every village, town, kibbutz usually has a grocery store. As big as the place is the biggest the store will be… 7. How much water to carry? Until you get to Arad and (if you have not had a heat wave on the way) five liters per person per day should be enough for drinking and cooking. If you want to take ¨bottled shower¨ or you want to wet wash your dishes you would need some extra. There is no place along this part that you will need to carry more then one day's water supply. From Arad to Eilat eight to ten liters per day areneeded. You would have some day and a half and two days from the water sources. See the water drop question. 8. Which direction to go: I did it North to South so I'll start the pro for this direction: a. The Northern part is easier and gives your body a better chance to get in shape, acclimatize and adjust to the trail life. The amount of water you need to carry is smaller and again it gives your body time to get stronger. b. If you are going in the spring (March, April) you will hike in a green landscape for the first half if not more. If you take your time and get to the North after mid-April you would miss most of the flowers. This is right for the average year. C. The finish line - I found it more appropriate to spend few days relaxing, in good hotel if possible after this kind of trail. Eilat is much more suitable than Kibbutz's Dan... d. There are many more villages and kibbutzim on the Northern part with more resupply possibilities. For most of the hikers it's the first long trail they have experienced and many mistakes are made with water, food and gear. These mistakes are much easier to ¨fix¨ on the Northern part of the trail. By the time you will get to the desert you would learn the water and food quantities you need and will have gotten used to the gear. Pro for South to North: a. If you are going in the spring its make sense to hike the desert section before it gets too hot. b. You have a better chance to ¨catch desert floods¨, which are beautiful. It might be dangerous too... 9. Where can I get more information? In English it's not going to be easy... You can try the INT committee- phone number 972-3-6388719, 972-3-6388720. If you get any help from them please let me know and I'll add the information here. Maps - If you want the entire set, there are about 16 maps and it's going to cost you about 16$ per map. The maps are very good and I highly recommend using them. You can do well with the maps alone. When you call the INT committee you can ask for a tourist discount. If it works let me know...I have my one set of maps and will be glad to lend them, so let me know if you can't find any other solution. The maps are in Hebrew, of course! But they would be very helpful even if you can't read Hebrew. 10. How long the trail and how much time does one need to hike it? The trail is about 900 KM (600 miles). For the average hiker it should take from 30 to 45 days. |