Israel National Trail: Southern Negev

[redharen]

Here are some pictures my brother took. We had a better photographer on the team, and I'll post his pictures as soon as I get them, but here are some views along the trail as my brother saw them. All of them were taken along the Israel National Trail between Mitzpe Ramon and Eilat.

Starting the trail in the early morning at Makhtesh Ramon, the world's largest crater:



Yours truly at the top of Shen Ramon (Tooth of Ramon) with the crater below:



A strange, sudden pool of green water several feet deep:



Typical midday rest stop, in whatever natural shade is available:



The difference between shade and sun is vast, both visually and thermally:



Natural shade beats a tarp every time, especially in this case:



Not the best pic, but it illustrates the dusty nighttime winds near the Arava Valley:



The Eilat Mountains are a geological oddity -- see the red sandstone, yellow limestone, and black basalt all together:



More to come.

[flipflop]

Awesome pics red, looks like quite a trip

Cheers for that

[Penta]

Great pictures.

You want to watch that bit at the back of your neck: did it get burnt? I like your brother's orange slipper - good packing.

[redharen]

Penta: So observant. Most of the time I had that piece of cloth thrown over my head and then wrapped completely around my neck like a scarf, so no, I was OK. Got a deep and healthy tan overall, though, with white crows' feet at the corners of my eyes from all the squinting.

Those orange slippers are ridiculous but my brother swears by them as camp shoes. I prefer flipflops myself, but he thinks the slippers stay on his feet better when scrambling out of the shade over hot rocks to squat and answer nature's call. Won't argue with him there.

Incidentally, he got the slippers for free a couple of years ago when we were trying out Israir Airlines. They're embroidered with the slogan, "Fun is in the air." I never saw what was so fun about flying an "airline" that only owned one crappy secondhand plane, whose signs in the lavatories warned that smoking was a violation of the Icelandic Air Code. But the free slippers, as well as the Sky Torah, paraded around by the Hasidic passengers, almost made it worth the diminished legroom.

[Penta]

But you can slip the slippers on quickly even if you haven't taken your socks off, unlike flipflops. And you can squash them in anywhere in your pack, more easily than flipflops. I have a rather fetching multicoloured woven pair (can't remember where I got them), but sadly the soles have almost worn through. I'll be reduced to asking Mr Penta to nick some of those horrid white ones from one of those expensive hotels he stays in on business next, I suppose. :)

[redharen]

Ha -- you and my brother would get along really well.

[Stiv]

Really nice stuff Red!

Thanks, I think after seeing that night shot and all that dust it looks like you'll be finding dust and grit for weeks to come.

~Stiv

[svizzerams]

Great pics - esp. to see the different kind of rock formations. And also the crater shot. Amazing stuff.

[redharen]

Lower resolution, but better pics IMO...

Crater, early morning:



A modest climb:



The trail often follows ridgelines like this:



Sometimes you can see it winding on, depressingly, for miles:



Nahal Barak, in which the team had to swim at several spots:



Over Timna, site of the world's oldest copper mines, dug by Egyptians:



The Pillars of Amram:

[SRR]

Excellent stuff Mr. Haren. Is the trail marked all the way?

[redharen]

Yes, it's very well-blazed, all ~600 miles of it. In many areas, though, the blazes are painted on rocks, and the Bedouin use them or move them. Construction projects (rail lines, highways, etc.) play havoc with the routing, too. The Israeli topo maps are great, but the guy who conceived the trail never thought non-Hebrew-speakers would ever be interested in visiting. But if a person wanted to, he could hike end-to-end without a map; he'd just have to be really conscientious.

[ROB]

awesome pics

thanks for the update

[kilroy]

sweet.

[Hitoru]

Really cool(hot) pictures Red, what's with the flag you guys carrying along ?

[redharen]

My brother felt that the endeavor would not be a proper expedition unless we carried a flag. He wanted American, but I had qualms about flying our nation's flag on the territory of another sovereign country. So he went ahead and made a flag bearing the ibex logo of the Israel National Trail Data Project and insisted that it be flown at every stop. A bit ridiculous, but I signed off on it, and it turned out that the Israelis on the trail loved it.