April-May, 2012, Rootie and I enjoyed 3 weeks in beautiful Israel, visiting every corner of the country, all 4 seas, and most points in between. During our journey we found 75 caches placed by 24 different Israeli cachers. Most hides took us to incredible archeological ruins, beautiful parks, great hiking trails and historical sites, reflecting the best of geocaching in a foreign land.
We decided to place this cache as a tribute to Israel's geocaching community -- our way of saying thanks for your hospitality and cache placements.
The cache is placed along the Mt. Eitan circuit trail, the site of one of our afternoon hikes while staying in Jerusalem. We enjoyed the area and hope you will, too.
NOTE:
The following writeup about the area is shamelessly copied from yishaysho's description appearing in his nearby Mt. Eitan Circuit Power Trail series:
"The mountains are round about Jerusalem..." and Mt. Eitan is one of those mountains, a beautiful, pine-covered peak to the west of the city.
The circuit trail of Mt. Eitan offers a very easy walk on a hard-packed trail in the shadow of the pines. The relatively high altitude makes the weather nice to chilly for most of the year, and during winter and spring both sides of the trail are covered by blossoms. In the summer, it is recommended to visit the trail during early morning or afternoon. It is not recommended to come here after dark. The trail offers a great view of the mountainous area, and a breath of fresh air from the crowded city.
This trail is very popular with residents of the area as a health trail, used for hiking, jogging and bicycling, so watch out for muggles! The full circuit is 8km, and is excellent for bicycles- on sunny weekends one can rent a pair on spot. Very near can be found the Sataf Park, displaying a reconstruction of ancient agriculture techniques and two wonderful little springs. At the upper parking there's a café with a great vista, and very near is a goat farm selling excellent goat cheeses.
Directions:
Take Route #1 (Jerusalem- Tel Aviv Highway), to the Harel interchange (near the Castel), then a right onto Route # 3965. After about 3km you'll reach Mt. Eitan roundabout- follow the signs to the Sataf, and that will lead you to the parking lot.
Small note on cache maintenance: Yarives has offered to assist with future maintenance. Thanks!