The Daunting Hike from Sea to Sea

It was mid- summer 2019, the sun was scorching hot, creating instant drops of sweat the second it touched our faces. The next four days would be ones of intense hiking across the State of Israel, as me and my two friends, Marley and Yael, prepared for our intimidating journey from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean Sea. The three of us were being led by our tour guide, Asaaf, who definitely made this trip more bearable as his jokes made us laugh so hard our stomachs physically hurt, and he always made sure we were in safe keeping.

“ I feel like I’m going to die!,” cried Yael, as we arrived at the first campsite.

I understood her dramatics, as I too was in pain due to the ever so creeping feeling of dehydration beginning to take over my body. Yael, Marley, and myself had never been characterized by our willingness to be adventurous, so it was as much a surprise to us as it was to others that we had decided to go on this four day troop, as part of our program’s “Trip Week,” while spending the month of July in Israel. We knew this hike wouldn't be easy, as our tour guide explained in a lighthearted manner that :

“Most people want to give up by day three, but don’t worry, I know you all can do it.”

With doubt planted in our minds about our abilities to push through and make it through each day, knowing we wouldn’t be able to shower and also have to sleep outside, we trembled with fear.

The second day of hiking was by far the most intense and grueling pursuit we had ever been on. The walking began at 6:00am, so early in the morning that the sun was just barely touching the skyline. Surrounding us as we trekked up the Northern District Hazafon, was a scenery so striking it looked as though it was straight out of a Van Gogh Painting. Views like these made even the worst hours of the hike, where all we wanted to do was sit and never get back up, worth every minute of it. We stopped for lunch on the second day of hiking, at a peak that looked over the city of Tzfat.

“Okay everybody, you can now relax and enjoy for a bit while we wait for the heat to dial down,” Asaaf told us with tiredness in his voice.

This was music to our ears. Marley, Yael, and I just about passed out on the ground, eager to delve into our pre-made lunches for the day-- a soggy PB&J-- and then take a quick nap lying against our backpacks. By the time we woke up, the sun was starting to set, and we had about two miles of the hike to go.

Finally, the fourth and final day had arrived. Yael, Marley, and I woke up eager and literally jumping for joy that our final day of walking had come. We ran up to Asaaf asking him a million questions about the day.

“How many miles are we walking today?!” Yael shouted…

“Will we get to swim on the beach?” asked Marley with excitement behind her eyes…

“Will we get to finally shower?” I asked Asaaf half jokingly.

It was quite obvious that we were all over the moon for the hiking to begin and for the second Sea to be reached. We walked through a farm through a farm that was full of banana trees for about three miles. This was quite odd considering the last three days had been full of jaw dropping views and mountaintops, but no one questioned this, as we knew it would only slow us down.

“Straight ahead!,” Asaaf loudly shouted.

Within five seconds of him saying that, Marley, Yael, and I sprinted, like we were in an Olympic track race, to the beach and finally got our blistering toes in the warm, bath-like water. We did it. We never thought the moment would actually come, but it did, and it felt indescribable.