Kaukab Abu al-Hija to Arbel (J40-42, J5-6)

Kaukab Abu al-Hija to Arbel (J40-42, J5-6)

A remote arm of the Jesus Trail network begins up in the hills a ways north from Nazareth, and crosses the northern ridge of the Beit Netofa Valley, exploring some terrain even more remote and bucolic than that on the Jesus Trail, before meeting up with the main trail to climb Mt. Arbel. My first impression was to be struck by how much greener it was up here than down around Nazareth, due mainly to the lack of cultivated land (these wild bushes and cypress trees were the only sign of verdance at the time).

The trail begins on a sweltering July day

Washed-out color in the photo was not intentional, but helps convey the heat I was experiencing

And the haze, likewise

The valley here is just below Tel Yodfat, the site of a Masada-like siege by the Romans of some Jewish holdouts.

Josephus was among them, and they met a less bloody end than those at Masada, allowing him to

become an important historian

Just behind the olive trees, you can see the entrance of one of the region's trademark caves. Very useful for

cellars, tombs, and hiding if the king or the latest empire is after you

Dead dry grass gives the land its characteristic summer hue, and spiky plants seem to flourish

The massive network of rocky trails around the Galilee would be ideal for

mountain bike exploration

The occasional fence up here marked someone's farmland; otherwise, the land in these hills is

mostly wild

Near Khirbet Cana, cultivated olive groves began appearing

Although the picture doesn't quite reveal it, from here, I could look across the Beit Netofa valley

and just see the hilltop of Nazareth across the way, with its skyline barely visible. I looked out over

this valley all the time from Nazareth, from the opposite direction

Scrubland and rocks everywhere, with little shade. Today was an exceptionally cloudy day,

for summer

Savanna-like conditions transformed into farmland

On top of Khirbet Cana. According to the Jesus Trail guidebook, this ruin may be a more likely site

for the biblical Cana wedding than is Kafr Cana, the traditional site

From Khirbet Cana, the trail turned up the side of a hill. Not a huge hill, but in the heat, with a heavy

backpack, it was more than hard enough to climb. From the top I found a wonderful view of the

Sakhnin Valley. Beyond its collection of little villages, you can see a large ridge declining from the

1151m peak of Mt. Meron down to the Mediterranean down to the west

After coming downward from these hills, I found a campsite just off of a fairly major highway

(Route 65) with my tent barely concealed amid a patch of scruffy trees. I shlepped up into the

nearby town of Eilabun to get some food and water, then returned to watch night fall over the

Arbel valley. The nights are a cool relief from the daytime weather, though they don't last

long enough

Once I reached the smoother upper reaches of Nahal Arbel, cow pastures and enclosures began to prevail.

My non-stealthy campsite had also attracted the notice of a farmer I passed, who asked if it had been me

in the tent

As the wadi walls got steeper, the cow-land receded. Here, I found a ruin of something - perhaps an

old watchtower?

Several kilometers down the wadi, I finally came to the foot of the trail that led up Mt. Arbel. The heat was so intense that I had no desire to climb the cliffs, but the thought of the view made me push on, somehow. I reached the top and was only able to stay up there for a few minutes before I had to flee for the shade and the cold spring water that awaited below.

Up on the cliffs of Arbel, there are the remains of some sort of cliff fort or dwelling. I've heard

various stories about people using the sides of cliffs throughout the years, but I'm not sure who

this particular "castle" belonged to

Down below, the village of Wadi Hammam sits at the foot of Mt. Nitai, the hill whose foot you see

at left.

The coney or hyrax, a large rodent-looking creature found all over the region. Not actually a

rodent, though; it's in a monophyletic group along with elephants and manatees!

They are especially profuse on Mt. Arbel, for some reason

At the foot of the cliffs is this fantastic spring. It's the only spring I drank from, at the guidebook's

advice. As with many springs, the natural source has been tapped by a pipe to carry the water

into a more accessible pool

The water was incredibly cold and refreshing

I sat with my feet in the pool for 30 or 45 minutes, recovering from the heat. Then I made my way

down to the nearest bus stop and set out for Nazareth

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