Negev – Once Again In The Heat Of Desert (Part 1)

It was two long years, full of Covid darkness. Since my last trip to the Swedish Royal Trail, I have been in a winter sleep as a runner, at least in terms of long-term projects. My friend Zdeněk and I had been planning a north-south traverse of Iceland for a long time, but unfortunately this project did not work out for various reasons. Gradually, alternatives came to mind, the Jordan Trail, Lofoten beyond the Arctic Circle were considered, but in the end, after years, I decided to set off again into a full-fledged desert, the Israeli Negev.

The Israeli National Trail is approximately 1000 kilometers long and crosses the entire country from north to south. I chose the part from Jerusalem to the end of the trail in Eilat on the shores of the Red Sea. The original plan was very ambitious, to run about 600 km in 6 to 7 days. During the planning, I appreciated the help of my Israeli friend, Adam Schalit, who gave me very valuable advice on how to behave in this desert and what to watch out for. However, most of the planning was done from the computer, including the places where I was supposed to meet my support to replenish supplies. And that turned out to be crucial for the entire course of the expedition.

Now let’s jump straight into the whirlwind of events…

06/28/2022 – We’re setting off

The plane leaves at midnight. It’s an inhuman time to be leaving. Especially since two days before the start of the project I don’t sleep at all one night, which is not to be expected from 4 hours spent in an uncomfortable seat on the plane. My support, friend Petr and son Patrik, are on their way from Ostrava or Olomouc and are already at the airport when I’m just setting off. We’re all on site a long time before departure, I’m scared by the scary stories about crowds at the airport, although it probably won’t be so hot at midnight, although certainty is certainty.

After all, we stand in line for about an hour and after the security check we buy a large and chilled Pilsner in the store, it’s really big, the can is three quarters of a liter. The classic beginning of every project…

When I hear my name called at the gate, I wonder what disaster awaits me. Instead, I learn that I have something unauthorized in my suitcase – probably a power bank. I think to myself that maybe after all these years I’m not so stupid as to leave something like that in my suitcase, but the X-ray convinces me otherwise. With a feeling of shame, I put the power bank in my hand luggage and then we can move to the plane.

The journey goes smoothly, we try to sleep, but I personally can’t do it. At half past four in the morning, after a pleasantly turbulent flight, we land in Tel Aviv. We have a few hours, we have to pick up a data SIM card and a rented car. My concerns about the smooth running of the project are partially realized when the store where I am supposed to pick up the card does not open at the promised seven, but at half past eight. We wait for the car for more than an hour, so we are quite late right from the start. But before that, we manage to eat a few pieces that we have hidden in our suitcases just in case.

06/29/2022 – Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and preparations

The tasks for the morning are clear: pick up satellite trackers (the mobile signal coverage in the desert is very weak, the trackers allow you to send text messages and emails), buy gas canisters for cooking in the desert and do some shopping. Traffic in Tel Aviv is very heavy and I have trouble finding a company with trackers, because as I later find out, they are located in a building somewhere on the fourth floor and there are no signs anywhere in a language I can read). Of course, I am not surprised when the company employees, after I tell them the purpose of the rental, tell me that I am crazy, because no one goes trekking in the desert in the summer, let alone running.

Since we are several hours late, instead of accommodation in the evening after visiting Jerusalem, we reverse the order and go to the rented apartment. About two kilometers before the destination, soldiers stop us in a booth, they don’t say anything and send us on, but it turns out that our accommodation is already in Palestinian territory, at least beyond the formal border, because Israeli flags are flying everywhere.

We have minimal time for normal travel due to our time-consuming sports program, but in the afternoon we will set aside a few hours to tour Jerusalem. We have planned the famous places, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall and the Old City. I have mixed feelings about the tour – places that seemed monumental in the photos (like the Al-Aqsa Mosque) are actually much smaller and less impressive, as is the Western Wall. It is worth mentioning that the Western Wall is divided into male and female sections – of course, we invariably enter the female section first, which is full by the way, unlike the male section, which is half-empty.

The Old City with its shops is impressive, but given my aversion to shopping, I wasn’t that keen on it.

On the other hand, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is definitely worth a visit.

We don’t really linger and on the way back to the accommodation we buy the remaining supplies, 84 liters of water and 12 liters of cola in the supermarket. We have instant food (pasta, etc., how else, right?) and all other food from home, so we are done quite quickly.

The evening is in the spirit of pre-start beer, meetings, planning and preparations. And of course, growing nervousness. We don’t get to bed until after midnight.

As for the equipment, it is minimalist compared to previous projects. I put a 2l bag in the WWA Ultra Bag backpack, which has been my constant friend since Ultra Gobi, and add two 0.7l bottles, the obligatory first aid kit (imodium 🙂 , bandage, space blanket and so on), a power bank and other materials. At night the temperature shouldn’t drop below 20 degrees, so I won’t need anything against the winter.

The clothing is very different this time. Unlike previous races and projects, when I relied on compression items, this time I decide not to let anything weigh me down and try the ultralight loose Kilpi COMFY-M a red T-shirt WYLDER-M.

         

This time my legs are without compression knee socks, which I replace with my favorite finger socks. I have an indispensable Outdoor Research cap on my head and Columbia Montrail Caldorado shoes certified by the Kungsleden on my feet.

06/30/2024 – First running day around Jerusalem

Contrary to the plan, we don’t rush to get up early, nine o’clock is for sure. My pre-start preparations are the same, whether it’s a personal challenge or a race. A very light breakfast (more like less than more) and of course the essential stay in the bathroom followed by a shower, which is certainly not news to those who read my reports regularly…

It’s about half an hour by car to the start, we set off at ten o’clock. The starting point is quite unassuming, I would say civilian. A short side road and entering the terrain. Petr takes pictures and Patrik launches the drone. It starts to get really hot and I realize what I’m getting into – and this is just the beginning, the desert will only be in a day or two.

My first steps lead straight uphill, the trail winds between bushes and rocks, I follow the GPS on my watch, but I get lost several times. The trail is marked with a red-blue-white flag, which is always turned in the direction of the route. However, I only realize after a few hours that it is also a direction indicator. I climb the first hill and a beautiful view of the landscape opens up to me. It gives a very dry impression and is interwoven with a dense network of roads and paths and is divided into terraces. The trail itself continues alternately in terrain, which is quite bearable, and on dirt roads. I run through pine groves, which are so sparse that they do not protect me from the brutal sun.

I do not count on water from local sources along the entire route. Either there is none, or if there is, I would not dare to drink it. At one of these sources in the middle of the hills, a group of naked Arabs are bathing, who approach me as if I had been an apparition. I do not have the courage or the desire to start a conversation, let alone enjoy the bathing pleasures. In the valley, I see the winding fence that separates Israel from Palestine. It is truly a festival fence, and the Israelis seem to be masters at building them. The occasional towns become increasingly rare as I approach the forests outside civilization.

The route diverts into dry stream beds, between rocks, constantly up and down. It is no longer a run like a few hours ago. I feel my heart rate rising, and at the same time I have to watch out for injuries. It’s clear to me that the planned hundred will probably be unrealistic today.

My first meeting with support is scheduled in about 5 hours. The descent to the place where the guys are waiting for me is very technical, full of stones. I’ve run about 30 kilometers and it feels like it. I’m really thirsty so I won’t disdain the first running beer, which is still quite cold. I sit on the threshold of the car and rest for a while.

I’m going to digress here because I need to explain the organization of the project. As I’ve already written, mobile signal coverage is very weak off the main roads, and if there is, it’s inhumanly expensive. That’s why we’ve created a system of numbered meeting points, which are usually where the trail crosses the road. So all you have to do is send a message, for example, MP03, using the tracker, which means we’ll meet at point 3 and he’s on support to follow me and estimate when to expect me there.

After the first meeting, I run along the border of the nature reserve along a dirt road and take pictures (just like my support) of a station full of large satellite dishes. I wonder what it could possibly be.

The sun is setting and it’s slowly starting to get dark. I climb a few peaks and then walk along the ridge. The markings could be more thorough, I often follow my watch.

Music and singing can be heard from the valley. It seems that people are having fun, and so far I’m having fun too. According to the watch, I’m approaching the next meeting point, but it’s only a little further from the big picnic with live music powered by a generator. After a short run down, I meet the guys at a beautiful view of the countryside. It’s 7:40 p.m. and the sun is setting.

I’m having my first big meal. So far I’ve only been eating sticks, but now I have local bread and salami. That’s enough for me, because I’m not even hungry (it’s too hot to eat), so I gratefully decline the offer to cook pasta. I’m getting ready for a night run. As always, I have respect for the night in unknown terrain with unknown monsters, so I delay leaving as much as possible. However, after about half an hour, I finally set off under the light of my headlamp.

I’m walking through the night – I can’t see anything except for the occasional lights – when at about eleven o’clock in the middle of nowhere, a woman in a uniform with a huge crotch (compared to her figure) appears in front of me. It’s obvious that I’m as much of a surprise to her as she is to me. I suspect it’ll be fun. I ask her what’s going on. And what’s happening is that there’s a military exercise going on. They say I should turn around and go back where I came from because it’s not safe here. I reply that in 200 meters I should turn left and in another 3 kilometers I should be in the town where I’m meeting the boys, so it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. Well, they say it is. We argue for a while and then we hear the sound of an off-road vehicle. By coincidence, her superior is driving by – he asks me to show him where I’m running on the map. Finally, he agrees to let me continue, saying that I should turn left and under no circumstances turn right because it’s really not fun there. I thank him and march towards the meeting point. Just when I’m happy that everything is ok, after about two kilometers I’m stopped by another military patrol. I complete another round of explanations – this time with the explanation that a column of military off-road vehicles is about to pass, so I have to clean up 100 meters to the side and wait half an hour. I use this time to have a snack. When the column passes, I can continue, but before that I explain to the remaining soldiers why I am here, of course with the expected incomprehensible reaction. In half an hour I am with the guys who are waiting for me at the gas station. I have dinner, it is midnight. I feel relatively good, even those approximately 14 hours are not very noticeable.

My next meeting is scheduled for the morning, so I leave the support and continue into the hills. After a few kilometers I reach an asphalt road – it is a service road for endless vineyards, it goes around small towns and is insanely flat and dull. I slowly start to nod as I move. It is all the more tiring because in the distance ahead I can see the lights of the highway that I have to cross. Crossing the highway itself is a bit of a challenge, as the underpasses are poorly marked and the route on the GPS doesn’t match the real thing. But I finally find a sign to continue.

I have about ten kilometers left to get to the car when, wow – a ditch appears in front of me, about 2 meters wide and 4 meters deep, which is lined with high embankments of excavated soil. It is clearly an excavation for a new gas pipeline. It is not something to jump over, if I ended up at the bottom, I would probably break my legs and no one would find me. It is dark and the headlamp does not shine very far, I try to go first to the left and then to the right to find a crossing. Nothing for hundreds of meters. Finally I decide to take it around the excavation in the direction of the car, simply shortening my route a little. It is starting to dawn – and I see that I did well not to jump. In the light, the excavation looks even more threatening. And there was no crossing for about five kilometers.

The landscape is still green, the sun is rising and it is very pleasant. I have covered almost ninety kilometers, which is not a bad performance for the first stage. I arrive at a forest where there is a Bedouin tent including a herd of goats and two annoying dogs, which are prevented from pouncing on me only by a loud call. The dogs reluctantly let me go, but they bark for joy. After I walk through a nicely landscaped park with a pond, I see the guys in the parking lot by the highway, who have unpacked their suitcases from the car and are making breakfast.

I get rid of my clothes and dirt with wet wipes, change into clean clothes and eat the prepared hot breakfast with gusto. Then I prepare my backpack and things for the next stage and discuss the events of the previous night with the guys.

On the advice of my Israeli friend, we skip the next 100 km of the trail, because this section is not that interesting and we also need to save some time. We leave the parking lot and I immediately fall asleep. I wake up in about 2 hours, after an hour of driving and an hour of sleeping in a parked car, already in the desert near the Kfar Hanokdim oasis.

I’m getting to know the Negev, the real desert adventure will only begin now.

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