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| Distance: 4.4km | Time: 2-3 | Difficulty: Moderate |
| Ascent: 180m | End Point Parking | End Point Parking |
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Most of us don’t pay much attention to the moon. Sometimes it’s full and bright, other times it’s not visible at night. For many of us, the moon comes and goes with little effect – we barely notice or care about the cycles of the moon, when it rises and sets, or how much light it emits.
But the moon’s phases can be fascinating, and understanding how they work has been an important tool throughout the ages. When there’s no moon, conditions are ideal for stargazing. The full moon, on the other hand, lights up the night sky in the middle of the month, making it easier to navigate.
Ever wonder what it would be like to hike by the light of the full moon? I have. But for early birds like me, staying up through the night to hike by moonlight is no simple matter. For years, I’ve been wishing I could go on a full moon hike without losing sleep.
And this year, at October’s full moon, we finally managed to head out on a moonlight hike in the desert. It took some careful thought and planning for this early morning gal, but we managed to complete a 4.5 kilometer moonlight trail at Nahal Havarim in the desert near Sde Boker.
Here’s how we hiked it:
The Plan
When most people organize a night hike, they plan it for the night of the full moon, when the moon rises at dusk and sets at dawn. If it’s a long trail, hikers walk through the night. For short trails, it’s considered ideal to hike towards the middle of the night, when the moon is directly overhead.
Since I hate being up at night, I knew I would have to plan our moonlight hike differently. The first problem was that the upcoming full moon would fall out on the holiday of Sukkot, which wouldn’t work for hiking.
So instead of waiting until the moon was at its absolutely fullest, we decided to plan the hike one day earlier, when the moon was almost full. The benefit of this plan was that the moon would rise about an hour before sunset on that day.
We decided to drive the hour and forty five minutes down to Sde Boker in the hours before sunset. Then, we would hike as night fell, and continue the trail by the light of the nearly full moon. Our timetable had us set to return home at the late hour of 10 PM, which was just perfect for me.
The last nick in the plan: The trail at Nahal Havarim was one way. There was an easy fix for this problem – we threw our bikes in the car and parked at the end of the trail, then biked towards the trailhead as the sun set in the sky.
Heading Out on the Trail
After locking up our bikes, we were ready to get started. The sun had vanished and the moon was already up, bright and beautiful in its almost full state. We followed the trail markers down into the desert valley.
Of course, the scenery at this time of day was absolutely spectacular. Although the sky was growing dark, we were able to capture a few shots of desert landscape lit up by the magical glow of sunset. As we climbed down into Nahal Havarim, we kept our eyes peeled for the markers, which became more and more difficult to see as darkness fell.
Soon, we were really navigating by moonlight. We had brought along our flashlights (just in case!), but we were surprised to find that we didn’t need them at all. The moon provided just enough light to traverse the terrain safely.
The Desert at Night
It’s funny how everything changes in the desert at night. First of all, the weather was cool and perfect for hiking, despite the heat of that day.
Sounds of movement seemed ominous somehow, as we were unable to identify the animals and birds that hid in the shadows. But the landscape itself was otherworldly – the desert hills and valleys took on a golden glow by the light of the moon. It looked like the terrain of another planet.
Through Nahal Havarim
Luckily for us, most of the trail was easy to follow. There were no major rocks to climb, although the path did lead in and out of the riverbed and up onto desert ridges. We were free to just enjoy the peace and quiet of hiking at night, the sensory deprivation of walking in darkness, and the silence.
We hiked and hiked until we found a perfect spot for a picnic. From one flat ledge, we could see the glowing white moon as it cast its light on the rolling desert hills beyond. We sat down on the rocks, got out our flashlights (food is so much more delicious when you can see it clearly), and cracked open a couple of bottles of beer.
And then, we had dinner, by the light of the moon in the complete silence of Nahal Havarim. The air was slightly breezy, the moon was bright. And everything was absolutely perfect.
Completing the Trail
After dinner, we continued along the trail in near darkness. Soon, it became clear that the path was looping back towards civilization. We followed the markers as best as we could, using the map on our phone for a little bit of assistance. Eventually, we turned onto the green trail, which would take us up through Ma’aleh Karkash.
This last 1.5 kilometers of the trail was a bit trickier than what we had hiked so far. There was a bit of rock climbing involved, and occasionally, I flipped on my flashlight to locate the next trail marker, as they were quite difficult to find in the near darkness.
We enjoyed roughing it a bit in the desert at night, and climbing along rocky terrain as we ascended out of the valley.
It was getting late (for me). Just as I was beginning to feel exceedingly tired, I saw the lights of Sde Boker up ahead. A few more minutes of ascent, and we were back at the trailhead where we had parked our car.
All in an Evening’s Adventure
We climbed back into the car, and returned to the trailhead where we loaded up our bikes. This time around, we noticed that the parking lot had filled up with cars, likely belonging to hikers who preferred to hike through Nahal Havarim with the full moon overhead.
But I was happy with our own hike experience. Our adventure in Nahal Havarim that evening had been so perfectly accessible. With a little bit of planning, we managed to turn an average Tuesday evening into an incredible night in nature, complete with dinner by moonlight.
In Israel, one can embark on a magnificent desert adventure with just a few hours of free time. This moonlight hike at Nahal Havarim is an experience that any avid hiker will absolutely love.
Hikers’ Notes:
- Suitable for all seasons.
- This is a one way trail. The distance between the beginning and the end of the trail is a bit over 2 kilometers on the road. You can walk it, bike it, park two cars (one at each end), or get a cab from Sde Boker.
- Suitable for adventurous families with kids.
- Plan this hike for the 13th-17th of the Jewish month. On the 15th, the moon rises at dusk. It rises about an hour earlier each day before and an hour later each day after. You can find moonrise times online.
- Wear good hiking shoes to hike this trail. You do not need sun protection, but you do need some water, food, and flashlights.
- As with any desert trail, always follow the trail markers! If you lose the trail markers, go back to the last one you saw and search from there.
- Do not hike this trail when there is a risk of flash floods.
Trail map from Amud Anan.
Don’t forget to read my guide to the navigational features in this post before you hit the trail!
