En Gedi and the Dead Sea? Great! Hiking up Nahal Arugot and the Ascent of Ziz? Not so great.
Before lunch on Friday, Bill prepared us for our next big trip on Sunday. We were going to hike all around En Gedi and the nature reserve there, hike straight up a rather large looking mountain (the Ascent of Ziz), and then hike back down to the Dead Sea. I was really excited for the trip, but I was also really nervous. Hiking is not my best friend. I'm so miserably out of shape I can barely make it up the stairs to breakfast in the morning without huffing and puffing. From what Bill said, this sounded like it was going to be an intense hike in an intense climate. Indeed it was. The Judean Wilderness is pretty rugged. There's a reason David chose to hide from Saul there. It's next to impossible to run around the canyons and mountains without dying of thirst, starvation, or falling off a cliff somehwere. It's pretty rugged terrain, and there's hardly any water. Pictures of previous groups hiking the trail looked daunting. Tiny trails on the sides of cliffs surrounded by desert dirt brown for miles around. Again, I was nervous.
I woke up this morning at 5:30am, hoping to be on the bus by 7. All morning long, I dreaded looking like a complete wuss dragging myself up those trails. I asked God to give me the grace to make it through. Hours later, we arrived at the nature reserve. Random side note: I've officially seen an ibex. In real life. Anyway, the trail was relatively flat for a long time. Bill took us through trails with springs and tiny streams. We tromped through tiny brooks and got endless amounts of pebbles in our shoes. The surrounding canyon was absolutely breath taking. We jumped into various pools and waterfalls to cool off along the way. However, if you wander anywhere else in this wilderness, you won't find a drop of water. At any rate, I had a blast (I was super grateful for my waterproof camera). We hiked back out, had lunch, and then headed over to the Ascent of Ziz. So far, there were only tiny bits of the trail that had me out of breath. I was actually keeping up with the group just fine. It seemed like I was nervous for no reason at all.
The Ascent of Ziz isn't called an ascent for nothing. It must have only been a few minutes into our hike, and I was out of breath. Looking ahead, the trail just kept going straight up at a pretty steep incline. Like an idiot, I started to get nervous again. What if I can't keep up? What if I'm the last one in line going super slow and look like a complete idiot? A few minutes later, my fears were realized. My throat closed almost all the way up, and I was having a really hard time breathing. I had to stop to breathe. Several friends stopped with me to make sure I was alright, and then proceeded to encourage me and help me up the rest of the way. Some of the guys insisted on carrying my backpack for me too. Praise God for faithful and kind friends! The whole experience was so humbling for me. I'm a pretty stubborn person, so asking for help isn't one of my strong points. When I can't carry my own weight, I feel so awful because someone else has to help pick up the slack. Most of it is completely my own pride. But God had something to teach me that was so much better than having my ego return in one piece.
Halfway up the Ascent, we reached a spring with a pool. The water was the most refreshing water I've ever sat in. Bill began to read a Psalm.
Before lunch on Friday, Bill prepared us for our next big trip on Sunday. We were going to hike all around En Gedi and the nature reserve there, hike straight up a rather large looking mountain (the Ascent of Ziz), and then hike back down to the Dead Sea. I was really excited for the trip, but I was also really nervous. Hiking is not my best friend. I'm so miserably out of shape I can barely make it up the stairs to breakfast in the morning without huffing and puffing. From what Bill said, this sounded like it was going to be an intense hike in an intense climate. Indeed it was. The Judean Wilderness is pretty rugged. There's a reason David chose to hide from Saul there. It's next to impossible to run around the canyons and mountains without dying of thirst, starvation, or falling off a cliff somehwere. It's pretty rugged terrain, and there's hardly any water. Pictures of previous groups hiking the trail looked daunting. Tiny trails on the sides of cliffs surrounded by desert dirt brown for miles around. Again, I was nervous.
I woke up this morning at 5:30am, hoping to be on the bus by 7. All morning long, I dreaded looking like a complete wuss dragging myself up those trails. I asked God to give me the grace to make it through. Hours later, we arrived at the nature reserve. Random side note: I've officially seen an ibex. In real life. Anyway, the trail was relatively flat for a long time. Bill took us through trails with springs and tiny streams. We tromped through tiny brooks and got endless amounts of pebbles in our shoes. The surrounding canyon was absolutely breath taking. We jumped into various pools and waterfalls to cool off along the way. However, if you wander anywhere else in this wilderness, you won't find a drop of water. At any rate, I had a blast (I was super grateful for my waterproof camera). We hiked back out, had lunch, and then headed over to the Ascent of Ziz. So far, there were only tiny bits of the trail that had me out of breath. I was actually keeping up with the group just fine. It seemed like I was nervous for no reason at all.
The Ascent of Ziz isn't called an ascent for nothing. It must have only been a few minutes into our hike, and I was out of breath. Looking ahead, the trail just kept going straight up at a pretty steep incline. Like an idiot, I started to get nervous again. What if I can't keep up? What if I'm the last one in line going super slow and look like a complete idiot? A few minutes later, my fears were realized. My throat closed almost all the way up, and I was having a really hard time breathing. I had to stop to breathe. Several friends stopped with me to make sure I was alright, and then proceeded to encourage me and help me up the rest of the way. Some of the guys insisted on carrying my backpack for me too. Praise God for faithful and kind friends! The whole experience was so humbling for me. I'm a pretty stubborn person, so asking for help isn't one of my strong points. When I can't carry my own weight, I feel so awful because someone else has to help pick up the slack. Most of it is completely my own pride. But God had something to teach me that was so much better than having my ego return in one piece.
Halfway up the Ascent, we reached a spring with a pool. The water was the most refreshing water I've ever sat in. Bill began to read a Psalm.