By Ari Glockner, Bus 9 Participant
1. Lots of Water
Probably the most important thing is to always bring lots of water. I cannot emphasize this enough, especially in a desert like the Negev where we weren’t able to always get water outside of our campsite.
2. Extra Food
Bring extra food. When you are hiking, you’re going to be burning more calories then when you are sitting down at your computer playing Tetris.
3. Know Your Surroundings
If something happens to you, you need to know how to survive in your environment. A few things that can be helpful are to know what plants and animals you can eat, what plants can be used for a fire, and where a source of water is.
4. Don’t Overwork Yourself
Even when the scenery in the places like the Red Canyon, or views from mountains overlooking Elat and the Red Sea may be beautiful, if you hurt yourself because you want to see whatever it is so badly, then you could mess yourself up for later.
5. Don’t Pack Unnecessary Stuff
Any stuff that you pack that you aren’t going to use is just extra weight in your bag. Even just a little weight adds up.
6. Bring Sunscreen and Bug Spray
No one likes getting sunburnt or getting bug bites. Even though we were in the Negev Desert, many bugs are still able to survive there so it’s always important to bring bug spray. Besides, who wants bugs to keep bugging you?
