Top 10 Packing list for Shvil Hikes

Top 10 Packing list for Shvil Hikes
By Elli Davids

If you look on the internet for recommended packing lists for a day hike, you will probably find lists that are good for a day trip in rural Scotland, with rain gear and warm clothes high on the list.  These lists aren’t really appropriate for Israel, certainly for most of the year.

So, based on our experience so far, here is our Top 10 Gear list:

1)      Water, and lots of it.  We find a 10k hike, of about 4 hours (with stops and breaks) requires about 3 liters per person.  Unless you know for certain that there is somewhere on the way you can buy or refill your water supplies, you have to carry it with you from your start point.  You can reduce your water needs by starting early when its cool, resting in the shade (amazingly cooler!) during the heat of the day, say from 1-3 in the afternoon, and then continuing.

Another source of water is fruits.  These have the added advantage of being able to replace some of the nutrients you lose in sweat.  An apple and orange per person are easily added and are almost 100% water.

2)      Wide brimmed hat.  You are constantly changing direction when you hike, and a baseball cap will protect your face from the sun, but only a wide-brimmed hat gives you protection for your ears and neck as well.

3)      App.  We are using “Bshvil Yisrael” by Lior Boynjo.  Besides using it for general navigation, we consult it often to answer: “How far have we walked so far?” or the other version of the question: “How much further till we reach the end?”    It also has lots of great info, like water spots, places to camp overnight, background on some of the sites, and much more.

4)      Swiss Army knife – I always carry a keychain sized one with me, but on hikes, I try to take a larger on with a larger handle and blade and a few more tools.  Incredibly versatile and not a lot of weight.

5)      Camping mattress pad/Yoga mat – makes sitting on the ground much comfortable.  Resting while lying on one of these for a short break can really recharge your batteries.  Much better than sitting on rocks or thorns!

6)      Nuts:  We find that people aren’t so hungry for sandwiches or real food on hikes, but almonds, peanuts, etc. are light and easy to carry but have lots of calories (and flavor!) so no one gets hangry!  And of course, keep some treats (chocolate) in reserve either for difficult moments or to celebrate the end of a segment!

7)      Flashlight – While we do our hikes in the day, we often end towards sunset.  Having a flashlight or headlight once the sun goes down makes the difference between an adventure and between stressful wandering around in the dark.

8)      Phone and backup battery – Most spots on the trail have cellphone reception.  And of course, we are using the phone for navigation (see item #3).

9)      First Aid kit – Just the basics:  Band-Aids, tweezers for splinters, alcohol towelettes, a few Aspirin and Tylenol,  etc.  I would also put a small sunscreen into this list.

10)   Spontaneity and curiosity – you aren’t doing this hike (especially if it's with your kids) just to check it off.  Be open to stopping to explore side paths, look at lizards, figure out what kind of animal those bones are from, or eat the carobs that fell from the tree.  The main thing is to have fun!

Trip 3 - Mitzpeh Mesuah to Bet Guvrin

Present:  Elli, Leora, Cheftzi, Netanel
Distance:  10 km

Today was Isru Chag, Succot.  As we had just spent many days of the holiday in a sedentary mode, everyone was eager to get out into the open and walk the shvil.  Well, not everybody... but Elli, Netanel and I were eager.  Cheftzi agreed to come along.  A week had passed since the kids and Elli did the last section and we decided to continue in that area, as it is close to our home and bridge the distance towards Jerusalem.  The last time, we started at Bet Guvrin and traveled South to Tel Lachish.  This time, we traveled South from Mitzpeh Masuah and ended at Bet Guvrin.  I had expected that the area from Mitzpeh Mesuah would be green, shady and forested, as well as being high, and that as we traveled South, the landscape would become more barren and brown.  I was wrong.  The beginning was as I expected, we traveled on this section to 3 ancient archeological "Tel"s,  each on a height, providing exquisite 360 degree panoramic views.  However, even as we descended into a sort of valley, approaching Bet Guvrin, the area was lush and green, perhaps because it was an area where rainfall is gathered, being that it is low.  The entire section was off-road but on comfortable pathways.  There were some parts that were rocky, but it wasn't arduous.  There was not too much climbing and the general direction was sloping downward and mostly flat.  We started at 1:00 pm and ended at 6:00 pm and we walked 10 km.  Our pace is slow and we take frequent stops.  The beginning point is a great picnic area, with bathrooms and water station, however, there are no further filling stations along the way.  We carried 3 L of water each, with an extra 1.5L for emergencies.  We didn't use the extra, however, we each needed the 3 L.  The day was sunny, and the temperature 32-33 degrees, however, there was a lovely breeze throughout the day (Oct. 2, 2018)  which was pleasant.  In the shade, when we rested, it was lovely.  

Trip 2 - Bet Guvrin to Tel Lachish, 9 km, 10 for us...

Succot 5759 September 2018:

Bet Guvrin to Tel Lachish, 9 km  (10 for us!)

Today, the first day of Chol-hamoed, Succot, Elli, Bruria, Cheftzi-va and Netanel added another 10 km to our goal of completing the Israel National Trail, Shvil Israel.  As you can see, from our second section, although we did begin at the very Northern point of the trail, we have decided not to follow the route in order.  Rather, we will choose parts in a sequence that fits our circumstances, the season, and our personal preference.  Each segment that is done is marked and highlighted on a map displayed in our living room, so we can chart our progress and plot our next adventures.  This is how we keep track of which segments we have completed.

A full-length personalized map of the country with the "shvil" mapped out, by hand, by cartographer   "Avigdor Or-Gad"  (no such map exists for purchase at this stage... but many who have seen it on our wall, wish to purchase their own.)

It was a mild day and they decided to stay close to home and travel to Bet Guvrin, walking the 9 km, South, to Tel Lachish.  They started at a gas station just outside of Bet Guvrin.  They spotted the trail marker, immediately, which seemed to set Southward and followed it for about 1 km, only to learn that it veered North, and they were, in fact, heading in the wrong direction.  Hence, they had to backtrack another km, before embarking upon the 9 km trip Southward to Tel Lachish.  Hence they walked more than the 8.9 km intended.

Later we learned a valuable lesson from our cousins The Rosenfelder's.  The trail marker for the INT is 3 lines: orange, white blue, symbolizing: sand, snow, water.  Apparently, when the white is on top, it means you are headed North, when the orange is on top, you are headed south!  This valuable lesson will prevent further confusion on future trips.

The flat, dry landscape... some of the trail was on an asphalt path

The trip took about 4 hours and it was mainly flat and mainly in nature, as opposed to some sections of the trail which are urban.  There were stretches which were nicely shaded and others where there was semi-shade.  About 1/3 of the way had no shade, which, even though it was a mild September day, was hard at times, as the sun in Israel is very intense in the mid-day.  There were no water refilling stations along the way, so each person had 3 liters of water plus one extra liter for emergencies between the 4 of them.  They carried less than last time, so other than the water, they had only snacks such as nuts, fruit, and canned corn.  

Cows on the way-side

Netanel was enthralled by an entire cow skeleton, of which he brought home one impressive piece, which we think is the pelvis!   He saw a hawk, resisting the wind, large and looming above and found the thickest, longest porcupine quill ever to be seen.

After finishing the walk, we spent some time in Bet Guvrin Amphitheatre - It was our starting point, and in order to get back to it, Elli had planned to hitchhike the few km on Road 30, and then return to the kids with the car.  However, a kind mini-bus driver who had a lot of time to kill, waiting for his tour group to return to Tel Lachish, saw Elli and the kids waiting and offered to take them!  So they all got into the mini-bus for the 10-minute trip.  They were grateful to the driver and tried to pay him.  However, he refused and suggested that Elli use the money to buy the kids an ice-cream!  Judging by the man's accent and the large picture of his family in front of the Al Aksa mosque hung inside the bus, the man was an Arab.
   מי יתן וניפגש בעוד אנשים כמוהו

Seeking shade in a beautiful vineyard, fallen grapes and raisins abound

Trip 1 - Kibbutz Dan to Kfar Giladi

We are a family, living in Israel since 1997.  Recently, our youngest child, Netanel, 6, expressed an interest in the Israel National Trail.  We would often see the markings when hiking on trails, urban, or sub-urban, around the country.  We had read about travelers who had undertaken the entire trail.  We decided to attempt it as a family with the goal of completing it by Netanel's bar mitzvah, 5.5 years henceforth.

This summer we did section 1 of the trail, walking the 14 km trail from Kibbutz Dan to Kfar Giladi.  I wish I had had someone to talk it over with before-hand.  We did gather information and some of our children had done parts of this trail.  However, I didn't have the big picture, which would have been helpful.

I want to stress the most important message I can impart to those considering this section:  DO IT IN REVERSE!!!!  Start at the "Roaring Lion" monument at Kfar Giladi and end in Kibbutz Dan.  I say this for a number of reasons.  

First, the nicest parts of this trail are the first few kilometers from Kibbutz Dan, along the border with Lebanon eventually through the Snir nature reserve.   You want to spend time in the Snir nature reserve.  It is shaded, with great facilities such as washrooms, fresh water for drinking and for wading, picnic tables and more.   It would be an ideal spot to stop, picnic and rest at leisure, especially for young children who could enjoy the wading in small waterfalls and exploring the reserve.  For the more adventurous, there is plenty of hiking through the cold and fresh Nachal Snir.

Cheftzi-va, 12, resting at a make-shift library stop on the "shvil" near Tel Dan.

For us, however, it was too close to the beginning of the trail for us to really enjoy it.  We were too focused on our need to push ahead, at that point.  So although we did stop there to use the bathrooms and rest, after about 40 minutes we forced ourselves to move forward.  Had we hiked in the opposite direction, we could have rested here leisurely and then happily finished the final 3 km of the trail which were mainly flat and not strenuous.  This brings me to the second reason that hiking in the reverse direction would have made a lot of sense.  The last kilometers of the first section are on a road with virtually no shoulder and no shade, and the very final km is a steep uphill climb!  This was not easy.  The road was scary, having no shoulder, and hot, and barren of trees, providing no relief from the heat and just when we thought we could almost touch the finish line, we were faced with a mountain to climb...  

In the reverse direction, it would have started out in the early morning walking down the mountain, walking on the road before the sun was blazing and directly overhead, which would have been much easier.  Then we would have crossed into the Snir reserve.  (I'm not sure where one would pay for entrance, in this manner, though.)

 Snir Nature Reserve

The last reason that reversing the direction of this trip would have been a good idea, is that there is a km or so in the Snir which is done through the "nachal," stream.  Theoretically, you try to stay dry by finding the correct stepping stones, but we all plunged our feet into the shallow water at some point, inevitably, because the stones are round and slippery.  Again, having wet feet is fine for the final 3 easy kilometers, but less pleasant when you have 7 or 8 kilometers ahead of you still to go.  For those who don't mind carrying, water shoes could be helpful.  We didn't bring any (as we didn't expect to get into the water) and we walked the duration with wet shoes and sox. Some of the kids took their shoes off and did this section, barefoot, but I don't recommend it, as injuries would be expected.

We were traveling with 2 adults, one of them was me.  I am 47 years old and not particularly fit.  I did not find the hike too challenging, though.  The final km climb was harder for me, but with some periodic resting, it was entirely manageable.  I thought I wouldn't be able to move the next day and admittedly, for the few hours after completing the hike, it was hard to get up and walk anywhere and my body cried out for rest.  But by the evening, after a hot shower and some rest and relaxation, I was entirely back to myself.  

The other hikers were my 23-year-old son, Chananya, who is in excellent shape.  It is he who urged us to push through the early hours of the day before the sun got too intense.  My daughter, Bruria, 18, is a capable hiker and also in great shape.  The climb and the distance were not a challenge for her, however, walking in the heat of the day was very taxing on her fair complexion.  My daughter, Cheftzi-va, 12, found it difficult to carry her heavy load but did well once we off-loaded some of her extra water.  

Netanel, 6,  was fine with frequent rest stops and was entranced with the stones, shells, porcupine quills and feathers he collected along the way.  He, too, found that carrying a heavy load was chaffing and we needed to offload, as well.  As a result, we shed some of our extra food and water early on.  

On this 14 km section of the trail, we each carried 3 L of water.  However, I don't think we needed that much, given that there were two opportunities to refill or to buy water.  One was at the Snir reserve and the second was at a gas station, half-way through the section, which had restaurants and other stores.  For us, it was worth carrying less and buying new water, because the heavy loads were too difficult for the younger children to carry.  This could be remedied by more professional back-packs geared for young bodies, perhaps. 

We were met half-way on the trail by my son, Tsvi, 22, and his wife, Tamar, 21.   They were less tired than us, and they infused us with renewed energy to complete the second half of the trail.

Walking on the road... no shoulder, no shade!

So my recommendations for families about to do this section of the trail:

1.  Instead of walking on the road from the Snir to Tel Chai, walk in the orchards and fields BESIDE the road.  It is safer and provides some shade, although the terrain is less flat, I think it might be worth it.

2.  Don't carry too much extra water, 1.5 L per person with an extra 1.5 L for emergencies should be enough if you finish it and refill at the gas station, as well as, again at the Snir filling point.

3.  Spend ample time at the Snir reserve, it is beautiful and well-equipped and will provide just the kind of rest you will need to finish the last few km of the trail.

4.  Most importantly reverse the direction.  Start at Kfar Giladi and end in Kibutz Dan.

The Monument at Kfar Giladi - end part 1

On Succot we will tackle our next section of the trail.  We are debating whether to go in order or to choose random sections depending on the situation, season, and participants.  The next section needs to suit my parents, visiting from Toronto.