Recuperating from Yam L'yam

This is me holding up our map that we used on our Yam L'yam trek. It is map number 2 of the Israeli maps. If you click the picture to enlarge it, you can probably make out the orange highlighter line we drew on the map to mark the trails that we needed to take. On average we hiked between 7 and 7.5 hours except the final day, where we were at it for about 8.5 hours total before reaching the legitimate endpoint. We think that the whole trek was around 50 miles.

Upon returning home to Jerusalem from our Yam L'yam trek, Rafi and I both relaxed as much as we could. It was not very difficult though, as we could barely move. I, for one, was so stiff everywhere from my muscles being worked hard. I limped first from my overall muscle soreness and stiffness, and second due to my injured right calf muscle. Our overall feelings about the trip were quite positive in tone. I wrote them down on the bus ride from Ginosar to Jerusalem.

Chelsey's feelings: Accomplished; successful; tired; sore; that was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done; I feel powerful and human, hurting legs/feet/toes/back; blisters; we walked so far!; I am proud of us!; my love for Rafi and my love for life; also my love for my family, but especially mentionable is my dad for giving me my love of adventure; overall this was fun and amazing, challenging trip; I don't know if I will ever do something like this again.

Rafi's feelings: Feet hurt like hell; really happy to just sit on the bus and not have to move anymore because his feet actually feel incapable of walking; we did a REALLY awesome job; was just the very limit of what we can do - anymore would be too much; glad we were able to actually touch the water at the end - was mad when he thought he coudn't; hardest hike he has ever done; big accomplishment; glad he did it; wouldn't do something like this for a long time.
This is a photograph I took of my feet when we arrived home again in Jerusalem. Notice the second toe of each foot. Can you see the black-colored nails? These toes hurt so bad at the very beginning of our journey - almost unbearably. They turned black during our trip and continued to stay that way. As of now (Dec 17) they are still black and the nails themselves seem to have become loose and I am afraid that they are going to detach from my toes!

This is a picture taken of my feet after the hike. As you can see, I had a blister on the left foot that popped during our hike as well as a large one on my right foot that had yet to pop. Ow! All this even though I wore moleskin and bandages.

The final yuckiness! This was the most gigantic blister I have ever had or seen in my life so far. It started out as one blister on the first day of hiking. I covered it over the next few days, hoping to protect it. I definitely felt it with each step of my left foot - a searing pain. When I finally took the bandage off after the hike, I was surprised to find blisters on top of my blisters! I never knew that blisters could get blisters! It was terrible! None of it had popped by this point and it was just a bubbly and painful mass of liquid.