Last night I had tucked myself in my sleeping bag at 8:20 pm, enjoying the sensation of being snuggled up, listening to the sounds of the Oron plant and the lorries coming to and fro. An early night as I was planning to start at sunrise, 6:00 am, also, after eating and reading my Kindle for a while (a book by Amos Oz a famous Israeli author) there was not much else to do. As I prepared to sleep, a man came up to my tent speaking loudly. Fearing I had transgressed some rule I poked my head out, and indicated I was English (I am actually Welsh but outside of Britain it's too fine a distinction). He offered me bread, salad and chicken. Taken aback I explained I had already eaten but agreed to take the bread for tomorrow. There was no charge. He bellowed at bit at the Dane's tent but they were already asleep. When he had gone I felt really sad and bad. He made an effort to come and offer us free food, packaged it in plastic bags, and I had refused most of it. Probably I would have enjoyed it despite having eaten already. I shared the bread (it was a full loaf) with the Danes in the morning.
My morning began with a climb back up Mount Karbolet to some excellent views over "Large Crater", as it is called. (Like all the craters in the Negev it is the result of erosion, not a meteor impact or a volcano). Returning back down the mountain it was under a railway track through a low drainage tunnel. I also walked through one yesterday. Doing so with a rucksack is a challenge, as it is difficult to bend low enough to avoid the rucksack hitting the roof. Carrying the weight of your rucksack in front of you is also arduous.
Crossing a road I began looking for the Ein Yorkean oasis with its Roman steps referred to in the guide. I found some muddy pools and nearby a canyon with pools of grey water which may have been it. As I looked around two coaches of what I took to be school children arrived. Not wanting to get caught up in some melee with them, I headed down the canyon to where there is a large dry waterfall, apparently the highest in Israel. To get around it the trail follows a rather precarious ledge above a significant drop, there are a few metal bars attached to the rock to help you avoid falling off. After the ledge and an easier path down I reached the Ma'ale Palmach, where a special paramilitary unit made a daring ascent up the cliff face in the 1948 War. Fortunately, today there is a ladder, which I used to reach the canyon floor.
A large, attractive canyon with acacia trees, under one of which I rested, watching the birds watching me. A creature like a big, brown marmot shot across the path. Then, inevitably, there was a steep climb out of the canyon followed by a more gradual ascent between rounded hills. On one such hill stood the ruins of a Roman fortification.
Eventually I reached Makhtesh Katan Night Camp (the Danish couple got there first and were sunbathing). According to the internet there was a water source at the nearby military installation (which seemed to consist mainly of aerials). A sign at the campsite pointed in the wrong direction, not leading to anything, so I approached the entrance of the military enclosure where I spotted a square tank a little way up a road through the outer fence. The pipework and tap was at an odd angle and there was no sign but it seemed to deliver water with which I refilled my "platypus" bags.
As darkness falls the wind is picking up with possible rain forecast.
22 kilometres walked today including fetching water according to my GPS, which was struggling with signal in the deeper parts of the canyon.
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