Greetings my fellow backpackers!

I'm relatively new to this great online community. Here are some photos from Negev Desert on south of Israel. In summer it's really hot there so you MUST carry a lot of water with you. That's why ultralight backpacking is so important in deserts. You have to cut weight in all other things except water. BPL website provides great tips for reaching that necessary level of base weight.

In this topic I wanted to show you places where I hike. Hope it will be interesting for you.

















These are my kids climbed one of hills.


Sometimes such canyons are the only place where you can cool down a little.




Ardon Mount


David waterfall at Ein Gedi (near Dead Sea). There is water even in summer


Family hike




Nekarot








Climbing hills in desert and under sunlight is very difficult especially for children.


Done part so far...


Saharonim Mount


Forest :)


Ein Avdat




Such places are the only water source. They also provide food for animals, so you can find them here sometimes




Sunrise as seen from Massada near Dead Sea






Bugs of desert (Adesmia abbreviata)




This lizard has each finger doubled for better grip on surfaces. It actually can run on cave ceilings. Ptyodactylus hasselquistii


Eilat Mountains


"Yin Yang"


Eilat Mountains


It's me with my poor tired daughter


Red sea on left. Near Israel-Egypt border

Edited by tauneutrino on 05/23/2012 14:40:52 MDT.

Nice, thanks

That looks a lot like Southwest U.S.

Interesting how much alike the rest of the world is

Wow. Amazing places, Gregory.

Gregory, these photographs are stunning. Absolutely beautiful there. Deserts may not be green and cool, but given enough time, they can be the perfect stage for true transformation, for one who is open to it. Thank you for posting.

WOW. I have so many comments and questions!

Picture:
#1 That baby goat is so adorable. It could probably kick my butt :)
#3 In Death Valley California - similar shrubs, cynically called "Devil's Cornfield"
#4 I love photos of gnarly trees that have survived fires and disease.
#5 that looks like Red Rock canyon, there's one in California and another in Nevada.
#6,7,8 Slot canyons reminds me of Ladder Canyon around Joshua Tree National Park (CA)
#11 that lizard has the camouflage skills :)
#12 Ardon Mount landscape reminds me of Volcanoes national Park in Hawaii. WOW
#13 David waterfall - unbelievable tropical jungle is in the same desert ecosystem.

That big horn sheep is proud of his goatee. James Hetfield would be jealous.

Bugs of desert (Adesmia abbreviata) - we call them Stink bugs in California, because when threatened, they point their butt up in the air and release...

The cave lizard Ptyodactylus hasselquistii - looks like a tropical gecko. amazing!

Eilat Mountains - red clay rock very reminiscent of Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree NP.

Very cool photos Gregory, thanks for sharing. For these places, do you need a gov wilderness permit or just drive and go ?

Thank you all for kind comments.

It's really interesting we have similar nature. Yes, some say that there is nothing to see/love/impress from in desert. I absolutely love desert. First, desert is not crowded. Second I love desert landscapes, it's nature, animals. It's something unique and is really wild. Third, desert is relatively close to where I live. I would love to hike through Rockies or whatever really mount landscape, but we haven't it. So I explore our desert which is big enough for several years of constant hiking.

Roger Dodger:
>> For these places, do you need a gov wilderness permit or just drive and go ?

Well, most of Negev desert is closed military zone. That said, on weekends (Fri-Sat) you can go there without any permission, but in all other weekdays (Sunday thru Thursday) you MUST arrange your route with IDF if you don't want to be a moving target for our tanks :D
In addition it is prohibited to move there except along marked routes. Unfortunately there are lots of travellers who harm desert nature, leaving trash, drawing on rocks, making fires ... I truly hate these people. Carried out from routes several bags of others waste. I teach my kids to do so as well.

Wow! Incredible photos! I also like the desert a lot. Many people think driving through Nevada on Interstate 50 or 80 is boring and ugly (my brother calls it "the absence of scenery"), haha, but I love it.

All your photos are great, but the picture just below the Massada sunrise is outstanding! The soft color on the hillsides is beautiful.

Cool pics. Thanks.

Inspires me to go there one day, I still remember the silence near the Dead Sea, amazing experience. Thanks for the pics!

Thank you for sharing that! A wonderful group of photos on a part of the world I'd love to see someday. Thanks again!

Wow. Fantastic photos!

I got a kick out of the "forest" photo!

Thanks for sharing.

What an amazing, magical place. And your photos do it great justice. Thanks so much for sharing them!