Last night I slipped into sleep listening to the flapping of the flysheet in the strong breeze, some persistent rain drumming on the tent and the sound of lorries, their engines struggling to pull their loads up the steep gradient of the nearby road. Fortunately, in the morning the tent was still in one piece, I was dry and the wind had dropped.
The addendum to the guide for the diversion of the Israel National Trail to the Dead Sea, that I downloaded from the internet, implied that today's hike would be mainly downhill. While that was the overall pattern, my GPS registered at total ascent of some 470 metres. These climbs, in and out of wadis, I found more tiring than I should have. Its a psychological effect, if you know you have a big climb or difficult path it is easier than if you have an unexpected one.
The first part of the day was best, a visit to the Peres Pits, a canyon with pools of water, a viewpoint across the evaporation ponds at the lower end of the Dead Sea (rendered less visible by the haze) and a path down a long descent. Then it was across what looked like a wasteland on the plain to the west of the Dead Sea. From the dirt track the factories of the Dead Sea works were visible on the shoreline and later the route went under an extremely long conveyor belt carrying potash from the factories, across the plain, up a high cliff and out of sight. Signs warned against hiking in Wadi Ashalim, which was highly polluted by a dam collapsing in 2017, releasing toxic chemicals, many ibex died. I was not entirely sure where the polluted area extended but trusted that I would be safe if I stayed on the Israel National Trail. Another reason for sticking with the trail was a possible minefield. As I approached Amiaz Night Camp there was another industrial structure to end the day's sights.
I deliberated between Amiaz and Amiaz West Night Camps which are a kilometre apart. The latter had better scenery, acacias and birds but the ground was stony, full of boulders, and the wadi it was in could be prone to flooding. Amiaz camp lacks much in its immediate surroundings, it sits on a flat plateau, but it has well groomed sites for tents, spread with gravel. There was also a distant view of Mount Sodom, apparently a salt diaper, illuminated with patterns of slow moving sunlight created by gaps in the dark clouds as they crossed the sky.
Having collected my cache of water I had plenty to spare, so, feeling sticky with accumulated sweat, I decided to strip off in the empty camp site and poor a litre of water over myself in an impromptu shower. There was no one around until I was suitably wet and then two 4x4's drove by on the nearby dirt track. I struggled to cover up quickly. Hopefully their eyes were focused on the road and not on me.
I dined at 6:00 pm, sitting on the low stone wall beside my tent, just after the sun set - tuna, dried apricots, biscuits (with a picture of a cake on the wrapper) and an apple. Beneath me shimmered the orange and white lights of factories and villages beside the Dead Sea, higher up there was a more distant city of lights that seemed to float in the sky, presumably somewhere in the mountains of Jordan. Above them all, the lights of an aeroplane pulsed as it flew by starry constellations in the heavens.
20 kilometres walked today.
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