Sunny With a Chance of Hail

On Friday, November 4, a group of friends and I traveled to the city of Tzfat in northern Israel to hike a part of the Israel National Trail (INT). Tzfat is the highest city in Israel in terms of elevation, and was known for being the art capital of Israel in the 1950’s and 60’s. We arrived on Friday and spent several hours exploring the city before setting up camp just off of the INT.

It looked threatening on Friday, but it cleared up the next morning. For a while. 

The sun and the clouds gave the day a very spiritual feel.

Exploring the Artists' Colony.

Le centre d'art

Cool window.

Ruins.

Looking out from the city.

Peanut butter and pita. A healthy, balanced meal.

Trekking through Tzfat.

Asking for directions.

Snoops.

Cool painting.

We came across some barbed wire, but we were not to be deterred.

Finally made it to the campsite. 

We awoke early the next morning, packed up our camp, and began our hike along the INT. The day started great; with sun and nearly clear skies, just like the forecast had said when we checked it earlier in the week. The trail itself took us to a deep ravine, and was incredibly beautiful. Everything was going perfectly, and then the sky started to darken. Initially we just ignored it; hoping that the clouds would just blow over and that we wouldn’t be trapped in a ravine during a downpour, which tends to be unsafe. We managed to climb out of the ravine before it started raining and make it to the part of the trail which winds along the very edge of the ravine. And then it started hailing.

Stick bug.

Spider with babies.

Hiking.

Due to difficulty finding the trail that led to the INT, we decided to make our own way down this hill.  We've made better decisions. 

Beautiful hike. 

Luckily we survived the hailstorm, and, soaking wet, managed to make it to a highway which intersected the trail. We followed this to a gas station where the owner offered to call his cousin, who ran a sherut (basically a taxi) service to Jerusalem, which we gladly accepted. Tired, wet, and dirty, we clambered into the back of this strange man’s van, and headed home.

The next weekend we headed to Arad on a Shabbaton (sort of like a spiritual getaway). Located on the border of the Negev Desert, it was about an hour drive from Jerusalem. We hiked in the desert on Friday, and spent Saturday relaxing and going to a glassblowing museum. After a delicious dinner Saturday night, we headed back to Jerusalem aboard our buses.

The Negev.

Cool graffiti. Also I don't know these people.

If you look closely at the center of this picture, you can see the group of students who left on  a hike just before us.

Climbing.

Taking a quick break.

And making some desert snacks.

Glass art museum.

One of my favorites.

Holocaust memorial piece.