Mountains and Mist

Each evening, after a long day of hiking, we get to sit around the campfire and hear stories about who we are helping. This year, we had two ALYN parents on the hike and they shared some of their stories.  One mother told us about her book - about a superhero in a wheelchair - which she wrote to help normalize being in a wheelchair.  After she published it, she distributed copies within the community and her son went from being somewhat outcast into a superstar.  (https://www.wheellustratedtales.com) Another parent, a father, talked about how nausea quickly brought them to discover their son's brain tumor.  And after the operation he suffered from a complication which makes motor skills start from zero (I don't remember the name) - bringing the parent-sleeping-in-hospital estimate up from an impossible 3 weeks to something like 1.5 years.  But his son speaks again, and they continued with daily hospital outpatient work to help him regain mobility and ability in many many areas.

 This is a belated, huge thank you to everyone who supported us on the hike last year. ALYN just asked me for access to our photos, so I put together some to share with everyone. 4 hours drive to the southern end of the country. Pack sandwiches and water for the day and head out. The guides led us along many colors of trails. We walked for hours each day. It was so scenic we could have walked more. There were 2 groups of about 20 hikers. The logistics team met us at night for camp. Everyone helps each other find the next step up. And up Here's Shira, and our amazing medic bringing up the rear. Shira and me on a summit, note the different colored hills Breakfast on top with the Gulf of Eilat in the background. Heading down Up again Some amazing canyons... At one point the medic's bag barely squeezed through! Some cool rock formations The tree of the desert - the acacia. It was an amazing hike - but what made it most worthwhile was who we're hiking for - the kids who climb th

Nothing like a fresh breakfast Fresh scrambled eggs, whole wheat bread, tea, a little granola with soy milk - so simple, so delicious. I was debating whether to go with the "tougher" group today, on the one hand I figured physically it should be fine for me, on the other do they have things as scary as climbing Har Shlomo in wind and rain planned again for today (they didn't plan weather of course, but are the climbs similarly difficult to look at?  Later Elad enlightened me that the fear factor is often limited and very specific - for one it's going up, for another down, for another ladders....) The decision was made partly by having a small cold and headache the day before, partly by waking up on the later side, and especially by the preference to linger over a cup of tea versus rush out for the earlier group. Pack up and out But not much time to linger anyway, pack up the night bags to be sent ahead for the end, fill up waters, etc.  Today I wasn't car

Setting up camp Our group arrived at camp first.  The rain had just ended and the logistics team had put our bags under a tarp to keep them from getting (too) wet.  They had started to put up tents in 3 different circles, with foam mattresses inside, but most had collapsed in the wind.  They were simple pop-up tents and our guide went around pulling up the ones in one circle. Some mattresses were dry, some were moist, some were soaking.  Any that were only moist we tried to separate from the really wet ones, in the hopes that the remaining sunlight (and wind!) would help dry them for the night. Hot vegetable soup was served upon our arrival at camp, and later after everyone started settling in they laid out a great dinner of a chicken stew (plus a vegetarian one), rice and salads.  Oh and wine and whiskey - apparently two donors provide cases for the bike ride, and now the hike. The wine and whiskey started making the rounds early, but its real purpose was for toasts and stories

Our experiences on the ALYN Heels of Love Hike 2020.  I went with my daughter Shira who is a bat sherut at ALYN this year. https://www.alynactive.org/team/team-solomon/ 2 am to Jerusalem So the big day is here! Shira and I are up and ready for a taxi to meet the group bus from Jerusalem. 4 am to the Eilat Mountains A 4-hour ride, with one stop on the way, to the starting point of our hike.  Forecast is for some rain around midday, so the guides have modified the hiking routes of the groups accordingly. 8 am Breakfast at the side of the road The logistics company is waiting with a fresh breakfast - scrambled eggs, coffee, tea, bread and rolls, fruit, cut vegetables, various spreads.  From the same spread we make sandwiches and take some snacks for the day. Everyone takes a couple of bottles of water, some fill them into their hydration packs, organizes their day packs and leaves their duffels with the logistics team to meet us at the campsite tonight. We are on our way!

Getting Ready Get hiking boots! Is this going to be hard?