A local pilgrimage

Named one of ‘20 Most Epic Trails’ by ‘National Geographic,’ the Israel National Trail is a transitional trekking experience

By ABRA COHEN
Hikers on the Israel National Trail521 (photo credit: Abra Cohen )
Hikers on the Israel National Trail521
(photo credit: Abra Cohen )
Walking across the country is no easy feat, even if the country is small. Through vast stretches of desert in the South, passing through towns, villages and kibbutzim, a group called Walk about Love made its annual trek on the Israel National Trail this spring.
Starting out at the Red Sea in Eilat and ending at Mount Hermon, which borders both Lebanon and Syria in the North, the group started its journey at the beginning of March and completed the 1,000-kilometer trek last month.
The Israel National Trail, inaugurated in 1995 and maintained by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel maintains, winds through changing landscapes and has earned itself a place on National Geographic’s list of “20 Most Epic Trails.”
Now in its fifth year, Walk about Love aims to bring Israelis and tourists together to see places in the country and meet people they would normally not have the opportunity to encounter.
Rea Pasternak, one of the initiative’s founders, says he was inspired to start the walk after traveling abroad and seeing what Israel looked like in the news.
“I saw [Israel’s] reputation on TV, and it didn’t look so good, so it gave me the idea that maybe I would change the point of view of people outside of Israel,” he said while setting up camp for the group on a moshav outside of Afula.
With a core of about a dozen walkers set to complete the entire trail, the size and ages of those in the group are constantly in flux, since people can choose to come for a few days, a week or however long they want to walk.
This year alone, Pasternak says, people from ages 10 to 87 hit the trail, with representatives from South Africa, North America and all over Europe.
The Israel National Trail can be backpacked alone or in organized groups. Walk about Love, which charges NIS 100 a day, sets out the path in advance for walkers and meets the group at the end of the day, with camp set up and dinner prepared. The group that prepares meals also brings camping gear and shuttles the walkers’ backpacks.
Historically Walk about Love sees the most walkers during the desert trek, which lasts 45 days and encompasses Passover. Pasternak explains that some people choose to join the group for a specific reason, while others join for no reason except to walk.
“Passover is a desert holiday, and a lot of Israelis join us for that,” he says, explaining that they do their best to prepare kosher-for-Passover meals and that the group never walks on the weekends. 
Shai Ruben from Kfar Saba joined at the beginning of May and was originally planning to participate for only three days. He soon decided to stay for the duration of the journey.
Leaving soon for a job in Africa, he said he knew someone who had previously hiked with Walk about Love and had come back a changed person. Ruben says he sees the walk as a way to help transition.
While the hike takes place at the same time every year because of the heat, Pasternak notes that March in the desert is the best time to be there.
“It’s sweet and chill, and it’s is the only month where there are blossoms, flowers and water pockets from the rain during the winter,” he says.
Since the trail is often a pilgrimage for individuals who have just completed their army service, there is a network of people called “Trail Angels,” who help those who are backpacking the trail alone without an organized group. Providing hot meals, rooms in exchange for volunteering, or use of facilities, people in private homes, moshavim and kibbutzim open up their doors for those making the trek throughout the country.
Deviating from the Israel National Trail in a few places, Walk about Love has changed its traditional route in the last couple of years to encompass more of the area. Because the trail stays within the pre-1967 lines, the planning committee decided the group would cross a checkpoint and walk through part of the Palestinian territories.
Pasternak says the group did not have any problems and were astonished at the beauty and hospitality in the area.
“It’s the Land of the Bible, and it’s simple: people walking with donkeys.
This is the real stuff,” he says.
In addition to going into the territories, the Ben-Shemen forest and a couple of other trail changes, the group did not end at Kibbutz Dan, the trail’s usual final stop. Instead, Walk about Love ended with an ascent to the top of Mount Hermon.
Days of walking and being out in the elements is not always fun or easy.
Pasternak’s brother Tom, who helps to organize Walk about Love, says that long days on the trail, while difficult, can teach people how to be tolerant of others. He says there’s lots of quiet, and most importantly, people learn to accept others in the group.
Omri Henderson, a paratrooper who just finished his army service says, “when you hear ‘Walk about Love,’ you may think people are going to hug each other, but it’s not like that. We try to prove here that people can be together build connections,” he says.
Henderson helped lead the group with a steady pace through olive fields and unknown terrain with a straw hat, map and walking stick. Close to the end of the trek, with hundreds of kilometers under his belt, he says after a long pause, “The trek teaches you to live in the moment.”


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