We did a lot of hikes in Israel, but this was probably the hike that very nearly killed me the most. Had it not been for my toe being in the state it was, I probably wouldn’t have had such a hard time, but it was swollen and sensitive enough as it was without it being slammed around in my shoe as we trekked down steep hills and literal cliff sides.
The hike itself, ignoring my blinding pain, was a really interesting one. It was through what had been an ancient city built directly into the cliffs – talk about impressive retail! Oh, and did I mention that to get to that ancient city we had to LITERALLY scale down from the top of the mountain, along the narrowest edges no bigger than the width of a single foot with nothing more than a few metal handles sticking out from the rocks to cling to. Oh yes, I also like to live dangerously.
It was a harrowing journey that I’ve practically blanked from my memory. I would just like to pat myself on the back for not falling to my death in the process.
At last we made it and we walked through the remains of the buildings, which was a pretty surreal experience.
It’s pretty crazy when you think about it, to be standing in something that was so old, and considering how old it was, made the location was all the more impressive. I’ve walked (limped) through cliff dwellings, and that’s pretty darn cool.
The matter of making our way down from the cliff dwellings was a whole other level of pain for me than making our way to them. The hill was so steep it was basically a sheer drop. Working my way down the cliff side, I could side step most of it, avoiding ramming my toe into the edges of my shoe, but there was no avoiding the collision between toe and shoe on the way down this hill, or more aptly put, this mountainside. The cliff side had been a slow journey, I could take my time; going down the mountain felt like we were going at it at a run, so steep that it was. I was pretty much sobbing with pain by the end of it.
I didn’t think my toe would be able to hold out for much longer…
violetsams 
I loved hiking in Israel! Difficult ( because let’s be real it’s always hot as hell) but so worth it!
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Definitely worth it! You feel extra accomplished because of the heat
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