Israel National Trail: My walk along it: Israel National Trail Central and Northern Sections: Some Comments

North of the town of Arad the Israel National Trail passes through a number of landscapes. The forests were perhaps most surprising, mainly of pine in the mountains, deciduous trees lower down, they extended across hills and valleys, including a green corridor that extended as far as the outskirts of Jerusalem. Most were planted since 1948 with many signs recognising the donations from individuals and families that made them possible. Despite their beauty, with carpets of flowers spread beneath them at times, it was sad to think they sometimes replaced old Arab villages and pastureland, occupied before 1948. Outside the forests there were areas of rough grazing and low trees and bushes, often with grazing cattle and maybe some Bedouin shepherd or shepherdess with their flock of sheep. On occasions the trail followed a stream bed or river for several kilometres as it meandered across the countryside, lined with trees. At other times I walked among fields of young, lush green crops, by vineyards and orchards, almond trees with blossoms dropping petals like confetti at a wedding.
As I walked the trail in March the red anemones (called kalanit) in open grassland, the cyclamens in woodland and among rocks, the iris of colours I had not previously seen and many other flowers brightened my trip. Later in the year I would expect everything to be as dry as straw, but in spring it looked lovely. It was not all easy walking, there were hills to climb, rocks to cross, in places aided by a few metal rungs and a cliff to climb down in the rain. The weather was wetter than I had prepared for, with a considerable amount of mud (to save weight in the desert I had no gaiters to protect my trousers, no waterproof trousers and no trekking pole to help my balance on slippery surfaces). Rain could be extremely heavy, with thunder and lightening forcing me to find shelter. Owing to the rainfall, streams had turned into rivers and there were river crossings I had not expected.
Along the coast the landscape was quite different, For three days I walked on or close to the Mediterranean sea, on the beach, on promenades and pavements, and in dunes. This was the most urban part of the walk passing by Tel Aviv, Netanya and Hedera, although some sections of coast were surprisingly free of urban sprawl. In general the trail is routed to avoid towns and villages, so it felt like the middle of the countryside, even if a major settlement was nearby. The settlements I encountered were variable, there were villages and kibbutz, surrounded by high fences with barriers to prevent entry of unauthorised vehicles, all the buildings were located inside the fence so that the boundary between the urban area and the countryside devoid of buildings was very sharp. At the other extreme there were Arab villages and towns, generally poorer, with more hazy edges, no fences and maybe some loose dogs. Previous bloggers had implied that outside the desert section it was all walking on farm or forest tracks. While there are some, there are also lengthy distances on footpaths. On occasions I wished for less paths and more easy walking on vehicle tracks!

With big archaeological sites like Caesarea and Apollonia, and many small ones on the route, and with side trips to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth there was a lot of history and culture on this part of the hike. Most days had one or more ancient sites on route. These ranged from bronze age or earlier, through Romans times, to the Crusader fortresses, to monuments to more recent Israeli history, such as the "Burma road" to Jerusalem. Many places had biblical links such as the Sea of Galilee and River Jordan. There were also plenty of opportunities to speak to people, even for a reserved person like myself. In general I found Israelis very generous, hospitable and friendly. If I had wanted I could have stayed with "Trail Angels" almost every night on this part of the trip, which would increase the opportunity to meet more people, I chose not to as I do not like to impose on people's kindness, and am well able to afford a few hotels or camp if none is available. I quite like my solitude.

Waymarking was variable, sometimes good, and sometimes apparently absent (or else I was on the wrong trail), so it was very helpful to have a track on my GPS that I could refer to. On finishing my walk I recorded the route I actually walked on wikiloc.com, here and here, and also on Viewranger shortcodes johnpon0050 and johnonp0051. The Red Guide was also essential as I was loosing satellite reception on occasions, even when I had a clear view of the sky. Not something I have come across in other countries. Nevertheless, in some of the heavy rain, a waterproof GPS was preferable to a soggy guidebook or map. It was also helpful when, lost in thought, I strayed somewhat off the trail and wondered where it had gone. Nevertheless the Red Guide was great for its maps and the background in gave on various heaps of stone and monuments with Hebrew writing.