Seventeen springs in one day, 670 kilometers of driving and a 5 a.m. departure — that was the target Koby Peled, the content creator known as ‘Kuku Trip,’ set for himself after a leg injury forced him to give up trail running, at least temporarily.
But his carefully planned itinerary repeatedly collided with reality, with navigation mishaps, long walks and unexpected surprises along the way. By the end of the day, he had managed to dip in 11 springs, but for him, it was only the beginning.
“I had become a little withdrawn at home because I couldn’t run,” Peled told ynet. “My mental state after being injured in the war and everything else didn’t exactly help. Then I said to my good friend Eliko, who is my partner in all my stupid schemes, ‘I can’t run, so let’s try to dip in as many springs as possible in one day.’”
The idea sounded simple, but the planning proved complicated.
“I opened the maps, went through dozens of springs I had marked over the past few months and tried to connect them into a single route,” he said. “On paper, we had 17 springs and allocated eight minutes to each one — get in, take a dip, film and move on.”
In practice, reality disrupted the plan from the very first stop.
Their first destination was Ein Turan in the Lower Galilee.
“I had never been there before,” he said. “It is inside a small cave, and the water is blue and amazing, but there was a lot of pigeon droppings, so in the end we decided not to go in.”
Despite the disappointment, that was part of the point.
“I wanted to visit places I didn’t know. Some surprise you for the better and some less so.”
At Ein Turan
(Photo: Courtesy of Kuku Trip)
From there, they continued to Ein Dvir, where it became clear just how far their plan was from reality.
“You drive along a road surrounded by yellow grass and thorns, and then suddenly you reach green grass and blue water,” he said. “But when we arrived, we realized we had to walk about a kilometer. We looked at each other and said, ‘Do we waste time or keep going?’ In the end, we decided we were on a mission.”
The two found themselves running in sandals, and a stop intended to last eight minutes stretched to about half an hour.
At Ein Dvir
(Photo: Courtesy of Kuku Trip)
They also lost valuable time at Bor Keren, near Ayelet HaShahar, while searching for the correct entrance.
“The first time you reach a place like that, you don’t know the terrain,” Peled said. “We parked at the wrong gate and wandered around in the brush. Today, I would go straight there, but at the time it cost us time.”
Keren Cistern
(Photo: Courtesy of Kuku Trip)
They then continued to a trio of springs: Einan Springs, Ein HaDayag and Ein Tao.
“Einan Springs was less successful, so we left quickly,” he said. “At Ein HaDayag, we felt we were back on track. We happened to meet someone who follows me, took a dip and filmed. We also stayed at Ein Tao for only a few minutes. We knew that every minute spent at one place came at the expense of the next spring.”
At Ein HaDayag
(Photo: Courtesy of Kuku Trip)
Ein Tao, deserted on a Friday
(Photo: Courtesy of Kuku Trip)
By that point, it was already clear that the original target was slipping away. Every short walk, navigation error and unplanned stop added up to dozens of minutes, and the clock became their greatest adversary.
“We saw that we were already far behind the schedule we had planned,” he recalled. “It was already noon, and I realized we weren’t going to make it.”
They then began removing stops from the route.
“For example, I skipped the Kfar Blum wading spot. I had been there not long ago, so I said there was no need to return just for another video.”
Eventually, they reached the Orvim Reservoir, where the race against time gave way to a few minutes of calm.
“We were completely alone,” Peled said. “The water was warm, there was a pleasant breeze, and it was exactly what we needed after all the pressure. You can’t sit there for long because the water is really hot, but it was simply enjoyable.”
Their next stop, an old spring in Orvim Park, ended much less successfully.
“We saw two completely green pools, and then suddenly something jumped in the water,” he said. “After that, I saw some kind of tail. It was terrifying. I didn’t even put my foot in.”
Even fearless Kuku stayed outside
(Photo: Courtesy of Kuku Trip)
They also decided to skip Bir al-Balut.
“We saw a fence, thorns and an entire field we would have to cross,” he said. “We were already under time pressure, so we kept going.”
But for Peled, one place justified the entire challenge: Bor Eliyahu.
“That was the masterpiece of the day,” he said. “All around it there are only thorns, fields, gates and fences. Then you look inside and see light-blue water. It was simply crazy.”
He said there is some dispute over the site’s status. He entered the water for only a few minutes before moving on.
“I flew the drone, we got excited about the water and just kept jumping in,” he said. “We already knew we had to get out of there quickly, but it was hard to leave a place like that.”
Their final stop was Breikhat HaAmudim, or the Pool of the Columns. Because of the water level, they decided not to enter.
“Someone who doesn’t know the place may think it is just a pool, but there are columns inside and you can get hurt,” Peled explained.
Instead, he climbed onto a nearby water tank, looked inside and even dared to enter for a few seconds.
“Eliko started scaring me, saying there was something in the water,” he said. “I filmed quickly and ran away. Obviously there was nothing there. Those are just my phobias.”
The Columns Pool — caution: It may be dangerous
(Photo: Courtesy of Kuku Trip)
The challenge ended at 2 p.m. Behind them were 11 springs, about 670 kilometers of driving and many lessons learned.
“I was disappointed that we didn’t meet the target of 17 springs,” Peled admitted. “In retrospect, I realized that you have to calculate not only the driving time but also the walking, changing clothes and getting organized at every location. It really is a mission, not a trip.”
But anyone who thought the relative failure had dampened his enthusiasm does not know Kuku Trip.
“When I’m on a mission, I’m on a mission,” he said with a smile. “I was already thinking on the drive home about how to do it better next time.”