Negev – Once Again In The Heat Of Desert (Part 3, finale)
07/03/2022 – Back in action
A few hours of sleep in a normal bed got me back on my feet. In the morning we quickly pack up and the plan is to head to the second crater, back to yesterday’s original route and continue from there. It’s about a half-hour drive. We’ve agreed that the guys will experience for themselves what it’s like to sunbathe in the desert, and they’ll accompany me for a few kilometers. When the navigation diverts us from the main road towards the crater, we’re stopped by a large sign that the road is closed because it’s dangerous. We look at each other and agree with our eyes to ignore it. Unfortunately, a road maintenance truck is just arriving, so we won’t be climbing it right away. We wait to see if it disappears, but the truck stubbornly stands still; maybe it has an inkling of what we’re up to. So I go outside to ask if the road is really closed. Of course, none of them speak English, but from what little I can gather, it’s really impossible to go there.
So we’re forced to change our plans again on the fly. I have a bad feeling about this, but unfortunately this information cannot be found from our latitudes. The new version is to move to the town of Mitzpe Ramon, do some shopping and from there walk about twenty kilometers in phase 1 to the beginning of the night crossing, which promises to be fun because it leads past a large tank base.
Mitzpe Ramon is a classic small town, I would call it more of a settlement, although of course there is a shopping center. There are several buses with soldiers parked in the parking lot, most of them are outside or shopping, each with a big quor to himself, but I don’t feel too out of place. Once we have finished buying provisions, we park at the edge of the desert, and as agreed, the boys change clothes and gear up and come with me. We are high on the edge of the basin, so we will be going down steeply (For the boys, this also means a sharp climb back up, where they will sweat, because the sun is already quite hot.).
The camera and drone are set up for filming, which we have been neglecting a bit so far. The descent is relatively doable compared to expectations, I was hoping it would be more technically demanding so that the guys could get an idea of what it looks like inside the desert, where they don’t look. However, Patrik still surfs down on slippery rocks in his rented sneakers, so it’s good in the end.
After about half an hour of taking pictures and making videos, we say goodbye in the middle of the hill. According to the map, I go down and return through the desert parallel to the edge of the basin from where I just came out. The terrain is easy, runnable, and since I am full of energy, I start running. In the distance on the hill behind me, signs of civilization are visible, but in front of me there is only wasteland. The desert is crossed by small depressions and the trail often runs along their bottom. The rock formations look very interesting, and you can also hide in the shade for a while.
As I look around, I realize that there is a tree in the distance. And it is not just any bush, but quite a large one. It is strange that it can grow to such a height and strength in the middle of the desert. And since it offers tempting shade, I choose it as my first place to rest (or rather to admire). Some liquid is flowing from the trunk, but I don’t know what it is and whether it is safe to touch it, so I just take a picture.
The run is quite monotonous for many kilometers. Therefore, I welcome the appearance of hills and rocks. I climb a little and enjoy the afternoon sun. My water consumption is surprisingly low, I didn’t even take food, because I don’t eat much anyway and the next meeting point is not that difficult. I see on my watch that I have only a few kilometers to go to the guys and the trail now runs along the road – up and down, it is not pleasant, but I resist the urge to get off the road and finish this section on asphalt. However, I miss the last turn uphill, which would add a lot of height and length meters, because I can see our white car in the distance ahead of me.
We are parked in a small oasis, or rather a flat patch, of course without anything except stones. The sun is slowly starting to set and it is much more pleasant and you can cook here. The gas stove is therefore running at full speed and the food produced is useful to me, after all, I have fasted all day.
Dance among the tanks
The night crossing promises a rolling landscape without mountains, mostly along roads near the main road. I take this stage as an opportunity to catch up on some kilometers. A walk around a large tank base will be a bonus, although I’m not sure if I’ll get anything out of it in the dark.
And indeed, after a few kilometers in the terrain I reach a parallel rocky road. It’s getting dark and I turn on my headlamp. I pedal hard, there are vehicle tracks on the road, so it’s not deserted here. The fact that I still have to be careful is only reminded of when I almost step on a scorpion, which, as if nothing happened, is scratching itself in the middle of the road. I happily chase it with my headlamp, it’s a much bigger piece than the one I saw in the Gobi.
The terrain waves are getting steeper and steeper, and at the top of one of them the lights of a large complex appear in front of me. It glows into the darkness, a pleasant change from the pitch-black darkness. The landscape flattens out, and here and there on the right a two-meter or higher embankment appears. In the distance I begin to hear a dark hum. It looks like a factory, so I don’t pay attention to it. As the kilometers go by, the noise intensifies – it’s no longer a monotonous sound, and suddenly I realize that I can distinguish what looks like machine tracks. At first I think they are some bulldozers at night work, but when I look at the base glowing into the night, I realize that they are training tanks.
The path leads along the immediate edge of the training area and straight to the base. The tanks are not visible, but they are all the more eerie. I am near the area where night maneuvers are taking place, a lone runner who anyone could mistake for something else at night. My imagination starts working and I get nervous. The fact that I see cones of light pointing towards the sky and then start searching the surroundings doesn’t help either. I have the feeling that they must be looking for me. As I approach the base, the tanks must be just a few hundred meters away from me. I dim the headlamp to the minimum and try not to come out from behind the embankment. When it seems to me that the tanks are just a few meters away from me, I turn the headlamp off completely. I imagine what would happen if one of those tanks wanted to drive over the embankment. Brr…
And of course, at the most inopportune moment, the need comes upon me. That’s the situation: between tanks with bare asses, I just don’t know if it would be a horror movie or a comedy. Moreover, I haven’t seen any trail markings for quite a long time and I hope that it hasn’t deviated anywhere. The highlight is the off-road vehicles that head out from the base into the desert, it looks like they’re heading straight for me.
I’ve had enough. Although I am relieved to finally see the trail markings at the base, I decide to walk the last part of this section on the road. There are no cars during the night. The main road is crossed several times by tracks as tanks cross to the other side, where, as large signs announce, there is a shooting range. There are at least five crossings and this entire section is several kilometers long. In the distance, I hear loud commands from the base and I suspect that the tanks will soon be coming here too. So I pick up my pace.
When the lights disappear in the distance, it seems that I will be alone. But after a while I am surprised when I see a large fire and an off-road vehicle on a patch of land next to the road. Someone is having a night picnic here. We say hello and disappear into the night again. I look up at the moonless sky now and then. The Milky Way and the starry sky are beautifully visible. I stop a few times and enjoy it. Then I just pedal and run and in the middle of the night I reach a crossroads where the guys are waiting for me. After the stress I have experienced, I decide to take a few hours of rest, so I climb into the car and immediately fall asleep.
07/04/2022 – Oasis in the desert
In the morning we all wake up in the car quite early. It was not a very comfortable night – hot, small space. We move to a nearby parking lot, where the preparation will take place. There is no equipment, so the trunk of the car and nearby bushes have to serve for the morning toilet. Once again, there is an operational meeting about where to actually go, because all the closures, time slips and similar snacks have completely destroyed the original plan. I decide to run along the path along the road as far as possible, then I get on board and move to the evening stage closer to the destination. The guys don’t want to sleep another night in the car, so we order accommodation in an air-conditioned tent in a desert oasis.
I set off without breakfast and slowly move forward alongside and along the road. On the right side, large military tents appear on the edge of the desert, I see a lot of soldiers and equipment. I hear loud gunfire, each projectile is accompanied by a noise as it cuts its way through the air; they are undoubtedly sharp. I suspect that newcomers are probably training here. All-terrain vehicles are driving around in confusion. The trail again leads right past this training area and I feel eyes on me – I must be a bit suspicious here at this time of year. Over the next half hour, I see two more similar camps.
The trail is boringly led next to the road, so I welcome it when it suddenly turns straight into the desert towards the nearby hills. I know from the map that there are supposed to be sand dunes here. I have enjoyed the sand very little in my entire time, so I am looking forward to it. I climb the hill on a rocky path and indeed, there are decent sand dunes on the plateau. No Sahara, but better than nothing. I am not afraid to get sand in my shoes and at the same time take a few shots with my camera and take pictures.
Back down to the road it is something completely different. The terrain is full of flat unstable stones that are like a broken ankle. But I am used to this after a few days in the Israeli desert. I join the road again, actually running a few meters from the dunes and pedaling is made more pleasant by a few landing planes and especially a few fighter jets that are taking off, because I am on the edge of the Ovda airport. The main road leads straight to the air base, I almost don’t notice it and at the last moment I turn right onto a side road. The guys in the car don’t notice it and turn around only a few hundred meters later, when they are already on the base.
From the signs next to the road I know that there is supposed to be a luxury hotel at the end of this section, and I imagine myself buying a cold drink at the reception, because there is only warm water without bubbles in the car and I am fed up with that. On the way, a few luxury cars pass me and I suspect that the hotel probably won’t be for normal people (and it isn’t, a night costs at least 50 thousand, that’s nothing for our people). Later I find out with disappointment that there will be no drink – the hotel is behind a guarded gate. The guys are waiting for me, saying that it won’t work. There is no point in going into the mountains, because it would be too far to the next potential contact point, the access roads that can be used according to the map are not actually accessible to our car. So I change and we go shopping and later to the place where we will spend the night. Which is great, it’s beautiful, an air-conditioned tent, a lake in the middle of the desert… But there is a certain disappointment.
To shake it off a bit, I get dressed again and go for a recovery run to the reserve. I take it along the national trail, climb a few nice climbs, enjoy some beautiful views. Then I turn it around and when I get back I have a shower, dinner (as always instant), we drink a few beers together and lie down for a few hours to prepare for the next stage.
05/07/2022 – From the border with Egypt to the border with Jordan
We are in no hurry in the morning. The night before we agreed that we would spend this day completely outside the national trail. We planned a route from the border with Egypt, mostly across open plains, almost always downhill with a destination near the new Eilat airport and the border with Jordan. The journey to the start takes about thirty minutes, because of course the road does not lead directly through the desert. We recognize the border with Egypt right away. A fence with barbed wire several meters high, on the Egyptian side, forts resembling miniature medieval castles, firing positions.
And the ubiquitous warnings that entering this area can have fatal consequences. Even though the starting point of today’s route is not far away, it leads from this zone. Patrik launches the drone and Petr takes video and photos. In a moment I am enjoying the solitude again. It doesn’t take long and the beautiful blue color of the Red Sea appears in the distance in front of me.
The landscape suddenly changes and I see deep valleys again, I climb up and down, often in the beds of dried-up rivers. From time to time I am pleased with a green plant, sometimes a colorful flower or fruit.
I even make an appointment with a large game animal – it is not an ibex, it looks like our deer. The animals let me pass right by them, but it seems to me that one of the males is looking at me unkindly, so I prefer to disappear.
On the other side in front of me, beyond the valley, the peaks of the mountains in Jordan rise high. And on the right the Red Sea. In addition to the persistent sun, there are simply a lot of impressions. The goal of the stage is the settlement of Ber Ora, where the guys have accommodation and which will be the base before the last stage.
In the final part I can already feel my legs. A fenced settlement appears in front of me, the guys are supposed to be waiting for me there. I come to the gate, it is closed. They are probably somewhere inside – although there is nowhere to hide from the sun, I sit down and wait. I feel like a crispy-roasted piglet. When it’s already strange to me, I take out my mobile phone with a map and find out that I am somewhere else and I still have a kilometer or two to the right place. So I take it step by step on the way down and, along with the huge gate, which even a tank probably wouldn’t break through, I also see the guys coming out to meet me. I envy them a little, they are after a swim in the Red Sea, a shower, changed, watered and fed. And I, the stinking pig… After the accommodation, I return to a civilized state and set off to buy the necessary supplies. The settlements and small towns next to the highway are all fenced off, there are anti-aircraft batteries next to the road, it feels a little oppressive. It is a bit of an awakening from the fairy tale of the desert to the harsh reality of a potential war. We plan the last stage until half past one in the morning and then lie down for a few hours. It will be the last day of the long journey.
07/06/2022 – Over mountains and valleys into the waters of the Red Sea
For the last stage, I return to the national trail. According to information from my Israeli friend, it will be a spectacular and demanding route including rock climbing, chains and other delicacies. All in a beautiful environment with a view of the sea. I am excited and so getting up at five in the morning does not cause me much trouble. We leave Patrik to sleep and Petr and I set off by car to the start of the stage, again about 30 minutes away.
This morning is the coldest we have experienced in Israel (however, the term cold has a slightly different dimension in the desert than it does here). It is still not suitable for long sleeves, but it was still a difference compared to the previous days. Probably also because the start is at an altitude of almost eight hundred meters above sea level. I don’t stay long, I say goodbye to Petr, who returns to sleep. During the first few kilometers, I enjoy the moments just before sunrise. I am packed with water, I have already learned from my previous mistakes. The initial flat part quickly turns into a series of steep climbs and descents, when the often narrow path winds on the edge of deep cliffs. Again, I know that one wrong step is enough and I will have a (last) flying day. Running interspersed with marching is exhausting. I climb a few ladders, descend down metal steps, and hold on to the railings. I often feel my heart pounding in my throat. Sometimes I have a route planned outside the national trail, deliberately through more difficult terrain, but now I’m not sure if that was a good idea. There is no shade, and when I see a crack in the rock, I don’t dare go in because it looks too flimsy, as erosion has worked its way into it.
On one of the flatter peaks with a view, I build a small tower of pebbles as a thank you to my loved ones.
Hopefully, it is still there. At the same time, in the valleys between the peaks, I notice a concrete fence and know that I am again close to the border with Egypt.
I see the Egyptian redoubts again, they look funny from a distance. The abandoned trenches and machine gun nests warn me that it probably won’t be that fun here. I remember how, at the beginning, when I was moving around Jerusalem, I saw traces of history – here they are also traces of history, but completely different. I imagine Israeli soldiers patrolling here once.
I am glad that in a few kilometers I am back in the mountains, in the Eilat Massif reserve. The views of the mountains and the sea are a reward for the kilometers worked and liters of sweat.
As I approach the sea and descend, the signs of civilization become more and more clearly visible. I see the beach below me, and when a drone appears out of nowhere above my head, I know that I am at the end of the road. The goal of a personal challenge and a two-hundred-mile race are the same – no cheering crowds, just a few faithful and the joy of my own success.
It is the same here – Petr welcomes me at the beach and I celebrate the completion of the project by jumping into the sea, of course in my clothes. The bath is divine and the astonished looks of other people on the beach are not a problem.
Then we leave for the accommodation, get together and head out for a few evening celebratory pieces. But we are so tired that we are soon back and in bed. We still have a journey across half of Israel ahead of us, which we will make even more enjoyable by swimming in the Dead Sea, which I missed in my personal collection of experiences.
We are leaving the desert, but for me this is not the last encounter with it this year. In a few weeks I will be grilling again (and freezing at night) in the Utah desert in the USA at the 240-mile Moab race, the first in two and a half years.
Acknowledgements
As always, every such project is not the result of the work of one person.
I would like to thank my support, Petr and Patrik, for their selfless help, sacrificing their comfort and time to help the sometimes annoying and selfish runner.
Of course, thanks also go to my other loved ones for their help and tolerance, without which this would not have been possible.
And last but not least, Kilpi for the financial and material help, without which this event would not have been possible.
I also thank those who followed and supported me online.
