Another successful Heels of Love Hike for the ALYN Children's Rehabilitation Hospital.

This was my fourth year on the ALYN hike - this year we were about 45 hikers, divided between the "Scenic" and "Challenge" routes.

I was seriously debating which group to walk with on Wednesday - 20km or 9km.  The point that tipped the scales was that the 20km hike would be a section of the Israel trail, and I really liked the idea of getting started on a 1000km goal like that.  Some hike it straight in 6-12 weeks.  There are others who hike one day a month and it takes about 5 years.

20km sounded like a lot, but I decided that since my increased running schedule went well the week before, and because I was coming from a women's retreat earlier that week (I was a Tai Chi instructor there) so I would be well rested - I was up for it.

Our 12th grader had a school performance Tuesday night, so I drove down from Jerusalem to Machtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater) on my own.  I pulled into the campsite at midnight, brushed my teeth, unrolled my sleeping bag into the empty tent waiting for me, and went to sleep.

Wakeup time was 5:30 am, in hopes that we could make some progress before the heat of the morning.  Someone had heatstroke the day before, so the organizers were especially nervous - especially since the temperature was predicted to be even higher.

Our participation fee covers a logistics crew to manage the campsite - tents, meals, and water and toilet arrangements.  This was actually the first time that I stayed with ALYN at a site that didn't have its own pit toilets - so they rented some which get delivered before and picked up after we leave.  But these toilets were a surprise - leave it to an Israeli to rig up a pump and provide flush toilets.  And marble tiling on the floor!  But they malfunctioned so by late Wednesday they were changed out for a regular pit style.

We ate breakfast, packed a lunch, filled our bags with water, and each group set out.

My group started at the top of the crater and took the Israel Trail down.  We crossed paths with an Evangelical group on a pilgrimage to complete a year of study at a camp in Texas.  We kept walking into the crater.

Last year I bought a pair of hiking poles.  This year I also used them downhill, and found them very helpful for stabilizing my steps.  On the first year of the hike the guide told me that people experience fear of heights differently - for me it's downhill and when I have nothing to hold onto.

By now we were really feeling the heat of the sun.  I was very grateful for my wide-brimmed hat; no joke it's like a safari hat.

Once in a while a mild breeze with an intoxicating sweet smell wafted over us.  It's flowering season in Israel, and apparently in the desert too (I took pictures of the plants and flowers I saw along the way here.)  And there's this bush called "rotem" (White Weeping Broom) which brought us this incredible fragrance.

Around 10 am we reached the Acacia tree in the center of the crater - it's a huge tree that somehow throws more shade than the span of its branches.  It's even on the map as a little tree icon.  We felt like we were under a giant, cool umbrella.  Erez, the ALYN coordinator with our hiking group, led us in a relaxing nature meditation.

Then we continued up a mountain - Shen Ramon - Ramon's Tooth.  Yes it's quite sharp, or steep.  Fortunately we were mostly up it by the time some of us started saying hey are we there yet.  We stayed on the peak for a bit - some people doing their Lion King immitations.

Then - down - steep again.  The poles were so helpful, first through a section with loose rocks, then a dirt path section that simply felt steep.  And for the last third I put away my poles and scrambled along the rough and porous rock to the bottom.

Because it was so hot, we actually skipped the final 3 km which would have included another lower mountain, and we joined the other group and went to the Machtesh Ramon museum.

The museum has evolved over the years - it's first purpose was to detail the crater.  Geologists actually use the Hebrew term machtesh because it isn't like other craters in the world - this and 4 others like it in the region are erosion craters.  They started as mountains with layers of limestone above sandstone, then the Syrian-African Rift caused a shift that opened up cracks in the surface.  The water washed at the sandstone underneath the limestone, until the limestone was an unsupported shell above - it collapsed inward and left the empty crater, open to the south where the river drains.

In 2003 the crater acquired an additional identity after Ilan Ramon, the fighter pilot who was the last in the formation to bomb the Iraqi reactor, and later to be the first Israeli astronaut.  He died in 2003 when the Columbia shuttle disintegrated on re-entry.  So the museum contains a section about him as well, including pages from his space journal which miraculously made it to earth and were found in Texas.

Then we went back to camp, had a nice supper, and some special time around the campfire.  This trip the emphasis was on the parents of ALYN (more details here).

I mentioned the Israel Trail ("Shvil Yisrael").  It's common for twenty-somethings (and others) to set out on the journey from one end of the country to the other, often averaging 20 kilometers each day and sleeping in designated overnight camping areas.  There were about 15 "shvilist" campers at the site, and they joined us for supper.  They also filled up their water with us, and one got a bandage and first aid ointment.  They were traveling in pairs or threes, and some alone - and all of these had started in Eilat and were gradually making their way North.  (They will probably be passing near me in Bet Shemesh later this week.)

The next day I juoined the "Scenic" group - I wanted to take it easier in the heat, and anyway the Challenge group wasn't doing more of the Israel Trail.

Our guide Keren spotted an Asian Wild Ass, herds of which were successfully reintroduced to the area in the 1980's.  She also saw three deer - I didn't see them but their heart-shaped footprints crossed our hiking trails.

We climbed up Har Harut (har means mountain, harut means carved), time for more Lion King calls, and then walked down around the crater alongside colorful layers of rock.  The rock in the Machtesh is really fascinating.  Some of it is volcanic, but most of it is different layers colored by different minerals.  The volcanic rock stays trapped beneath the surface so it dries more solid - but it breaks apart in formations like bricks.  There was one path we walked on that you would think was cobblestone but it was this volcanic rock.

I want to thank everyone who encouraged me to for this hike - whether it was a "like" on my Facebook post, a reaction in whatsapp to my fun photos, or a donation to support the hike this year or in the past. Each time I come home happier to be a part of their program.  

I am still raising my fundraising commitment.  For the first time ever a double-matching was announced for up to $10,000 raised beginning on Thursday.  If you would  like to be part of it please click here.

Happy hiking!