The sign for the Sa’ar Waterfall says that it’s a twenty minute “loop” hike. Without hesitation, I flip-flop down a set of stone steps in my inappropriate-for-hiking sandals and equally inappropriate-for-hiking denim skirt, intent on returning to my car after a quick walkabout. According to my phone, I have 63 minutes until sunset when I start the hike that will bring me, nearly two hours later, to where you found me: flailing my arms on the side of the no-shoulder, winding road outside the town of Majdal Shams in Israel’s Golan Heights.
The sky is the color of sand and the sun casts an ethereal glow on the wild terrain.
I hear running water, so I cross a wooden bridge and climb over some rocks while shooing away flies. I arrive at a moss-covered creek with slippery looking stepping stones. Rather than risk falling, and because I don’t think this wee walkabout should include such a balancing act, I turn around and return to where I started…