Day Four - The Grand Finale

Well we finally made it to the end, that much wiser, and that much more adept at traversing the challenging terrain of the Golan. Day four was a breeze after the first 3 days. Though we are now hearing the clicking of hiking poles in our sleep and seeing visions of thistles in our dreams, we figure we are doing alright considering we weren’t the ones in the tank that landed upside down at the bottom of the Banias.

After gaining a deep appreciation for nature, we returned to Jerusalem and some even managed to “go green” on the bus ride home.

It’s hard to believe that the trip is over. Time really flies when you wake up at 6, hike for 8 hours, and laugh the evenings away with new friends.

A Detailed Report from Zach
Once again we woke up and loaded the van with our possessions at the ungodly hour of 6 am. As this was the very last day in the Golan, we all needed to pack up, check out and pay our last wishes to the hotel staff at Kfar Giladi. The consensus was that the meals at the hotel out shined the drab dark rooms on floor 5, but what the heck, no one's complaining in this group. After all, if we can hike the Zavitan, we can surely put up with dark carpeting and A/Cs that pretended to be desk fans.

We started the hike where we left off yesterday, at the mouth of the temple to Pan, in Banias Park. A local spring fed into the Banias River, otherwise known as Nachal Hermon. Yishai explained to us that the Hermon River rushes into the Dan River and the two then flow as one forming the Jordan River.

We walked along Nachal Hermon, in an old aqueduct that ran above but parallel to the river. Along the way we had a chance to see a number of old flour mills. One of them was well maintained to the point that it actually worked! The local Druze caretaker turned it on for us, and Yishai told us that farmers in the Golan actually used the flour mill commercially up until the late 1980s.

After a number of photo ops, including an overturned Syrian tank and a beautiful waterfall, Yishai attempted to navigate us around a hill and towards the entrance of the Hermon Field School. Unfortunately the path was not marked and it took some enterprising and patience to find or way to the main road where we were able to meet the bus.

At the field school, Rozi prepared a short final ceremony, presenting certificates to all of the participants and a nice short speech about each one of us. Then Rozi sprung the surprise of the day - a farewell rafting trip down Nachal Hermon as it empties into the Jordan!

Three boats were commissioned. Yishai led Ronnie and Penny in the leisurely cruise boat, while Rachel, Rhonda, Fran and Zach led the paddlers. Rafe, Roberta and Rozi enjoyed a mix of styles while serenading us. All three boats traversed the rapids and made it to the finish line. Not even a late stage inter-boat fracas involving mutual splashing could derail what was the highlight of many on today's final trek through the Golan!!

And now a word from our sponsor
Deep thoughts from Fran

When we started this journey, we were mostly strangers, coming together to support a common goal. 4 days and a few bumps, bruises and scratches later, we emerged as friends with great stories, great pictures, great laughs and most of all, great memories.

Thank you so much to each and every one of you for joining us on this incredible journey. Your humor, helping hands and hiking heels made this a very special adventure. Most of all, thank you for being a part of the lives of the thousands of people who are healed every day thanks to the incredible work of Emunah! A special thank you to Rozi, Yishai, Aner and Arik for keeping us well fed, well hydrated, well educated, well medicated, and well traveled.


See you all soon, start packing your bags for next year and stay tuned for Emunah’s Hike that Heals Blog 2010! (spread the word, this is the place to be!)

Garmin Award – Yishai
Botany Award – Aner
Obsessive Flower Picture Taking Award – (We have a 2 way tie) Rhonda and Fran
Roller Coaster Award – Arik
Best Vocals – Rafe, Roberta and Rozi
Best Kayak Headgear and McGuyver Award – Zach
Best Kayak Paddlers – Penny and Ronnie
Best Blogger and Camel Award - Rachel