Israel Trail - Burying Water on the Desert

. DESERT PARTS of the ISRAEL TRAIL • WATER SOURCES on the ISRAEL TRAIL • HOSTELS ISRAEL Author: Tomer Ben Rachel In order to bury water for the Israel National Trail in the right way, it is not wise to bury for the whole desert, but to divide it into sections. The hardest week in hiking the Israeli desert (water wise) is the week from Arad till Sede Boker (either the first if you're southbound or the last if you're northbound). So the sections you can divide it to would be that hard week, and the 2/3 weeks after it. Once you have planned your route for the next 1 or 2 weeks of the Israel Hike you will know where there's a water source on the Israel Trail and where you need to bury water. A thumb rule about burying water is to bury more than the amount you carry every day. Not a whole lot more, but remember that you use water not only just to drink. Let's say you carry 5 liters of water every day you walk in the desert. So at every place you bury water, it will be smart to bury 6 liters. Always remember to wrap the water bottles in a couple of trash bags and don't forget that with water, you can also bury food . Any canned food that comes to mind can be buried. There's nothing like being awarded after a long day's hike with a can of chili. Also, since canned food weighs a lot, it will be much smarter to bury the food instead of carrying it with you.   The same method of burying water is used to bury food, just bury it separately from the water. And if you're real paranoid, divide the water up to different buries. Food aside, you can bury gas tanks, toilet paper and other necessities that come to mind. make sure you can carry the trash you produce and don't go overweight.  An important note before we start with the whole issue on how you bury water in the desert: Due to the growing amount of hikers trekking in the Israel National Trail, some people who own a SUV are offering a service to hikers. They are willing to drive you anywhere you need to bury water for a whole day for as many places you want. This of course is more expensive than burying the water yourself. for more information ask around in our Backpackers Forum. Now you  might ask yourself, how am I supposed to get anywhere in the desert and to bury water at that? Well, the answer is simple: Most of the night lots  near the INT are very close to roads, so you can drive up to them with almost any kind of vehicle. There will also be signs in the form of drawn tents stating there is a night lot nearby. You don't need a jeep/SUV/ or any other vehicle that can go off-road in order to bury water. Once you get to these night lots you might find them hard to identify. This is because night lots are enclosed by rows of rocks. Now, you can imagine there are plenty of places in the desert that are like this, but it doesn't mean they are night lots. So, look at the signs that mark that this place is a night lot. Once you have finally arrived at the night lot, the next step is to actually bury the water. The desert is one place digging is hard to do. Due to the fact that the land is very hard. You will overcome this obstacle by burying your water at the sides of hills/mountains that are near the night lot. Obviously, you don't want to bury your water in the middle of the night lot, since anyone can notice it and it can be very hard to dig. What you will do is look around, and see if you can spot a hill nearby. Nearby doesn't have to mean a couple yards away from you. Try looking further. Once you spot one, head over there and look at the place where the hill connects with the land. There, you will find it easier to dig into the side of the hill, chipping away, inside the hill and not into the ground. You won't have to dig much, since the makeup of the hill will be soft. Once you have dug a nice little cove, you can place your water bottles in there, making sure you press them into the hole. Next, just cover it up with the dirt you dug out and you will notice it looks like there's nothing stashed away in there. That's why it is important to write a very detailed description of the place you buried the water and take photos from different angles. Israel National Trail Israel Backpacker Hostels Cheap Food Israel Hikers Pictures FORUM