Yam 'L Yam

This past week, during Pesach, I participated in a 5 day hike from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean. We woke up at the crack of dawn to begin each day with the start of that day's hike. We would stop to have breakfast along the trail and around noon we would stop to cook ourselves some lunch. Lunch was so much fun to cook. We got to experiment with what they gave us and we were able to make some delicious dishes. Then we would hike some more and the guide would give us a map so we could navigate ourselves through the trails to a checkpoint. Despite getting lost a couple times, we were eventually able to find the checkpoints. We would continue hiking and eventually reach our campsite for the night where we would pitch our tent, have dinner, go on a small night hike, and sleep. 
Before Yam 'L Yam, I was excited, but I was also a little worried. I had never been backpacking or anything close to it where I was hiking for 5 days straight and I had also never been camping. I was worried that I would have a hard time walking up huge hills and adjusting to whatever nature had to throw at me. 
After Yam 'L Yam, I was very proud of myself. It made me realize that no matter what task I am set up to face, I am able to make it through. It was difficult, but not as bad as I thought because I was always having fun. There was always something to look at, whether it was the view or a lizard crossing the path. 
Yam 'L Yam is an experience that each person who wants to get to know the land of Israel should do. Throughout the week we walked through water, forests, plains, fields of goats, and rocky terrain. Thinking back to how Israel looked prior to 1948 (swamps) and how Israel looks now (agriculturally rich) is mind blowing. The early pioneers must have had to work from dawn until dusk and possibly more to change the landscape to make it suitable for living and farming. It is a really amazing thing to think about.