By Susan Bromley
Staff Writer

The danger for Jonathan Schechter on his recent hike in Israel was not the nearby mine fields, but the traffic.

Only a short distance from war-torn Syria, the Brandon Township resident and on-call firefighter was more concerned he might be struck by an unsuspecting driver while crossing a road.

“The Golan Trail crosses 14 or 15 roads where people don’t expect to see a hiker,” said Schechter. “We stayed on the trail. It kind of gets narrow by the mine fields, but it’s one of the prettiest parts, it looks very quiet. We went up a small mountain and there is a coffee shop and an observation post. It’s very relaxing, you look down into Syria, and it appears quiet and peaceful.”

The nature aficionado hiked not only the Golan Trail, which spans 120 kilometers from Mt. Hermon to the Sea of Galilee, but also part of the Israel National Trail during his 17-day trip. He left Michigan March 15 and returned in early April.

He has visited the Middle East country numerous times as his sister, Laurie, has made her home there since 1976. Schechter describes Israel as “a nature lover’s dream,” with a varied landscape of deserts, waterfalls, mountains, forests, and ideal for ornithologists as birds soar across it all in their migration over the Great Rift Valley, which extends from Mozambique in Africa north to Lebanon in Asia, moving on to Europe for the summer, and then heading back to Africa in the fall. More than 500 million birds are estimated to make the journey, including hundreds of different species, all indifferent to the borders and conflicts between humans.

There are plenty of animals that make Israel their home as well, including golden jackals and Hyrax, which Schechter describes as looking like a very strange groundhog, although their closest relative is the elephant. He saw few of the land animals, however, as he and his brother-in-law Abner’s movement along the trail warned them away.

Still, there were many other stationary sights to see, including the Nimrod Fortress, a 13th century castle built by Muslims on Mount Hermon to defend spice routes and now part of the Israeli Nature Reserves and Parks Authority. The trail also traverses Mount Bental, a dormant volcano with deep craters holding water that gives a beautiful lake-like effect. Between Mount Bental and Mount Hermon is the Valley of Tears, the site of a major battle between Israeli and Syrian forces in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. A memorial to Israeli soldiers lost in the battle is located in this area of the Golan Trail.

Schechter estimates he hiked about 30 miles of the Golan Trail over the course of three days, camping without a tent, sleeping under trees.

He would also hike the Israel National Trail during the trip, a different experience not only because of the drier landscape, one he compares to Arizona, but also because of the more relaxed pace he took with his cousin David, and frequent stops.

“When you sit still, you see things,” notes Schechter, adding the trail is very steep and only three feet wide in places, with a 100-foot drop. “It was a 100 percent different hike (from Golan Trail) it looked more like the canyons in Utah. There were a lot of cool creatures… This section was by the Jordan border and it was very quiet, very peaceful. There was a mini oasis and you can see the birds come. People are friendly and you sit and chat.”

He hiked only a small section of the Israel National Trail over the course of two days, but would love to have a month to experience the entire 1,100 kilometer route which covers the length of the country from the north near the border of Lebanon to the tip of the Red Sea in the south.

Israel is, he adds, a hiker’s paradise and he also explored the Banias and Hula nature reserves.
The Hula was one of his favorite excursions, and he recalled his sister trying to tell him how to find it and her amazement when he didn’t get lost, although he explains it was fairly easy, as the Jordan River flows through town and he simply followed it, no tour bus necessary, just boots on the ground.

Rivers, much like Schechter, always go places and there is no harm, and much fun to be had, in wandering.