Fully loaded

Day 732 –it is the last weekend before our hiking journey and so we decided to go on a day hiking with a full backpack load and a real climb. We chose to climb Mount Carmel – over a thousand feet climb and backpacks full of our gear and almost all the water we’ll need to have with us. Water is the main load on a trip like that since it is in the desert and there several times human settlements are more than two days apart, which means we have to carry food and water for two or even three days. We woke up early and before 8 am we were already climbing.  It was a beautiful day and the ground was dry enough already that it was ok to walk on it. it is green everywhere and flowers are in abundance, and after half an hour of climb we were warm enough to take off the fleece jackets. We climbed for three hours, all  the way to the Druze village at the top of the mountain, we went to a restaurant there and ate hummus and then we started our climb down the mountain, back to our car. Most of the way it was an easy descent, but toward the end the trail is very steep and we were already tired from the hike so it was more challenging but we did it and we came down happy to be at the end of it, knowing we passed the last test before our trip and tired, like one should and would at the end of a hiking trip. We came home ate and by 7pm were already in bed, the same routine we’ll follow on the road. One needs a lot of sleep in order to be able to hike long distances with heavy load day after day, after day… but I have to admit I was happy to learn I can do it’ I never hiked with such heavy load before, I can even add few KG more, which we will have to do on certain days. I guess the backpack I bought is really good and did not put too much stress on my back, and the hiking poles I bought are very helpful. I was not sold on the idea and bought them just because my partner insisted it is so important and later I read the same thing from few other hikers of this famous trail. But not until I tried it myself I realized how helpful they are in the climb, in the descent and in passing over boulders. A needed addition to my hiking gear, for sure.

I am thankful we took this challenge climb today and passed it with flying colorsI am thankful for being another day closer to our hiking trip and now with more confidence we can do that. I am thankful for the healing power of a night sleep I woke up 8 hours later ready for another day. . I am thankful for a day that was so much fun with a man I really love his company and appreciate so much the fact that this hiking trip is something he is undertaking again just for me. I am so thankful for this wonderful man in my life, who makes every day so special.