I hiked part of the trail during March of this year and wanted to post my "hard" lessons for others to learn from. I will be going back in March of 2010 to do it again though.
First things first, I started at Kibbutz Dan and the tenative plan was to make it as close to Jerusalem as possible. Well, that didn't exactly work out, due to many reasons, but the main one was I turned my ankle, (actually both) when heading down a hill going to Yiron. So, without further ado, here are my lessons learned.
1. Water is no joke. I had a 3 liter Camelbak and figured it would be plenty since I could refill on the way. Well guess what, that didn't work out. We were going to stop at the Senir national park to refill, but with all the rains that had hit the area, the Senir river was overflowing, so we had to go around. Basically I ran out of water right after the park, so we had to go to Ma’ayan Baruch to refill, (thank you to the very friendly girl at the guard post!). On the second day I ran out of water on the hillside, (about 3-4 miles from the Sheppard Farm). Not good. Then when we got to the Sheppard Farm the water container that is on the hillside for hikers was bone dry. Thankfully my hiking partner, went up to the house and asked if we could get some water. Long story short, I was pretty much dehydrated the entire trip.
Keep in mind, if you sweat alot you need to think about extra water. I sweated like a pig and didn't have NEARLY enough water to replinish what I lost. This time around I'm going to take my 3 liter CamelBak and an additional 4-5 liter Platypus, just for refills on the way.
2. Pack weight. Seriously, don't even think you will be able to tote it. My pack weighed probably around 40 lbs. I've carried 70+lb packs before for long distances, so I didn't think 40 would be bad at all. Well, I was WRONG! My mistake? Too much food! I had enough food for like 5 days, plus other bulky junk I didn't really need, and of course the least part of the weight was water, go figure. I didn't realize how many places there were to resupply the first couple of days. :D I basically ended up chunking the majority of my stuff after the first day. Don't worry so much about food in the North. Most places you will be able to get the food you need that day. The other areas are marked in the guide, (Thanks Yankle! Great resource!). Focus heavily on your pack weight.
My plan this time is to have the majority of my weight in water. Anything else is not a huge necessity, (i.e. sleeping bag, tent, etc.). I will be carrying these things, but I'm going to limit myself to categorize each item. "Must have" vs "Nice to have".
3. Physical and mental preperation. I was prepared, or at least thought I was. I wasn't as prepared as I probably should have been. Hence, I turned my ankle, (this can also be atributed to pack weight and dehydration). Make sure to start preparing a couple of months ahead of time if you are not in shape. Also focus on getting your mind ready. It can be stressful, but I think focusing more on "situation evaluation" would pay off. Don't be so focused on "making" it. If you have to stop for the night due to fatigue or injury. Stop. Even if this means you need to take a break and go "off trail" to get recovered.
4. To sum it all up, listen to the advice given here by those, (not me) that have succesfully navigated this trail. Honestly, I took most of the advice, but some of it I thought I could just tough it out and some I figured I could just take it as it came, (water and pack weight). These people know what they're talking about, (they've done it many times). If they say take 5 or 6 liters of water, you better pay attention.
5. Hiking partners. If you don't have one, (in the North at least) don't sweat it! I traveled to Dan on the bus with a guy starting the trail. I decided to stay at the Kibbutz that night. I met a very gracious, friendly and overall great person, (You're the best Shalom!) that night and we started the trail together. We met a ton of people the first day and they were ALL very outgoing and friendly. So if you don't have a partner yet, (not saying for the south portion) I'm sure you will find one when you get there. If not, don't worry you'll meet plenty on the first and second days.
I want to say one more thing about my hiking partner, (which I'm sure is indicitive of most if not all Israelis). He was one of the friendliest people I've met in a long time. I honestly believe If I were to ask for the shirt off his back, he would have given it to me. He was also a VERY experienced hiker, I was not. He helped me not only physically, but mentally as well. I actually hampered his hike, (he would have to wait up for me) on some areas, but with a smile, he lent a helping hand. He even gave me the last of his water on one portion fo the trail, (day two). I can honestly say, you don't have to worry about the locals or anyone on the trail being un-friendly to you. I found exactly the opposite during my trip. Everyone I met was so outgoing and friendly I was amazed.
At the end of the trip I think all told I made it roughly 45 -50 miles. I wasn't happy to be honest, but at the end of the day I had to be brutally honest with myself and take a serious inventory of my situation. I really should have done that on a daily basis, but I was too caught up in "making" it that I didn't see the problems until it was too late.
Anyway, hope you all have a great time out there and I'll see you on the trail in March of 2010!
-Billy