I really hope they have increased the number of participants compared to 2009. They had approx. 100 people that started the hike in Eilat in 2009. Local thru hikers met them on the trail. I met them too during one of my day hikes. They looked like a group of hippies trying to pull a poor donkey that refused to carry the heavy load at a reasonable pace.  

This year so far no report about them on the Hebrew forums. I am not sure this is the type of group that fits an experienced hiker. They are slow and do not hike the full length of the trail, at least that was the case last year.

Yeah, I don't think I could hang with the Walk About Love group for too long, either, but it's neat to see all the different ways people use the INT. You'll likely run into people doing section hikes, school groups on educational trips, kids doing the trail (with parents) in connection with their bar mitzvah, political people trying to further an agenda, charity-oriented types walking to raise money, and spiritual seekers hoping to find enlightenment or something.

Obviously it's like this, to an extent, on all long trails...but in Israel I think hiking, and the act of walking the land, has an inherently different meaning.