Hiking Yotvata

On Thursday, November 11th, 2021, I joined a group of strangers at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv to embark on a camping trip in the Negev desert. This was a no-frills with everything on your back sort of experience over three days. There are glamping trips and then there is camping, and there was nothing glamorous about this. It was a rollercoaster of blissful highs, painful lows, and fraught with tears, and even a salty reservoir of utter joy.

Before this, I was a city sparrow who enjoyed going on hikes and running in the woods when afforded the opportunity, but this trip unearthed a new delight for me and transformed my relationship with nature into something greater.

Our bus dropped us off right at Yotvata Junction and there we set up camp alongside the road to rest before setting off at 6am.

Lessons learned

With 40 km to cover over three days with no rest stops other than the spacious areas to rest our bags and set up our tents, this was my longest outdoor adventure both in terms of distance covered and duration in the hot desert so there were some logistics to manage like how much water to carry on our backs and then of course food.

Mistake #1

Packed too much food.

Mistake #2

Did not pack enough water.

Mistake #3

Did not break in my hiking boots.

Mistake #4

Did not bring sandals for campfire mingling

Mistake #5 (well, sort of)

Did not properly prepare myself for the humbling experience of using the outdoor facilities many times over three days with 20 strangers soliciting all around nearby.

Stats