Sunday, July 29, 2007
Day Eleven; Toubkal Refuge To Marrakech
Looking Back Towards The RefugeIt was a nice, gentle descent, and we stopped at Sidi Charamouch for another drink. I went to the rather smelly squat loos behind the shrine, and was rather traumatised to see a complete goats skin discarded nearby!
Sidi CharamouchWe carried on down the valley, one of the blokes had hurt his knee descending Toubkal so was taking his time. I stayed at the back to keep him company! Lunch had been prepared on a stony river bed, in the shade of a walnut tree, and after this, we said goodbye to our muleteers and cook, Omar.
AremdAll that remained was a gentle descent past armed to Imlil, where me, Sandra and Heidi grabbed a quick cuppa whilst we were waiting for our mules to bring our bags down tot the minibuses. Then there was the drive along the switchback mountain roads to the plains, in the bus I dubbed the ‘Marrakech Express‘. The sharp, jagged mountains gave way to flat plains and olive groves, and mules and donkeys gave way to cars and mopeds. It seemed a million miles away from the High Atlas. Marrakech is also very hot, lacking the cooling mountain breeze.
We arrived back at our hotel, and the first thing I saw was a Moroccan guy leaning casually against the check in desk, wearing an official Daraboud- Marathon des Sables jacket!!
Shop in ImlilWe found a nice French restaurant set in an open courtyard for dinner, which served alcohol- the selling of alcohol is prohibited within the old city walls, and some of our group felt the need to indulge! I had a pizza and chocolate pudding, which was delicious.
I shared a room with Sandra, and although the air conditioning was rather noisy, it made a difference sleeping on a bed with sheets!
Labels: Aremd, Imlil, Jebel Toukbal, Marrakesh
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Day Ten; Ascent Of Jebel Toubkal!
It was another sunny day, but fairly chilly as our valley was in deep shadow. We reached our path and began to climb… the path alternated between rough scree, high boulders and pretty much everything in between. As we ascended, our group strung out and we had regular water stops for folk to catch up. There were quite a few other parties climbing Jebel Toukbal, including a British group with Exodus, who we kept leapfrogging.
We had to walk up through a large patch of snow at one point, which was quite slippy. Finally the path zig zagged up to the saddle of Tizi Toubkal, and the wind hit us- it was really chilly. We had a most amazing view though… jagged and flat topped peaks poked up through the cloud. We climbed more steeply, and could see the summit with its odd iron triangle.
View From Tizi ToubkalI found myself actually overtaking people as we had the last push to the summit. Then we were there; we all made it! Including Sandra and Heidi, who were understandably thrilled. And what a view- ridge upon ridge of high, rocky mountains. We were surrounded by the High Atlas, and Ali pointed out the mountain ranges of the Anti Atlas and the Jebel Sahro in the distance. I could just about make out the direction in which the Sahara lay.
The High Atlas- From Jebel Toubkal SummitWe had bread, cheese and oranges at the summit, which is a brick, small square shaped enclosure topped with a black, metal pyramid shaped structure. There were a couple of other groups there, so when they moved, we had a group photo! It was actually a lot less windy and warmer on the summit than it had been on the pass below. It was great to be stood at the highest point of North Africa, at 4167 metres.
Me At The Summit!Of course, what goes up must come down, and the descent was as horrible as I had feared! I stumbled and picked my way down, and my Achilles started to protest. We descended by a slightly different route, and as we walked through a small patch of snow, I grabbed a handful of snowy ice and stuffed it down my left sock!
Luckily, we kept stopping, and I ended up coming down just behind Sandra- it was such a relief to get back down and tuck into lunch! After lunch, I braved the trip to the showers in the new refuge, which involved a walk across rocky ground and a river crossing, but it was worth it to be clean!
Labels: Jebel Toukbal, Morocco, trekking
Day Nine; Aremd To Toubkal refuge
It was really misty last night, cold and damp. I could feel it when I went up to the terrace to use the toilet. Everybody was a bit concerned that this meant the weather had turned, which could affect our Toukbal attempt. When I woke, Sandra said that she had lain awake, listening to the pouring rain. I pulled back the shutters, to reveal another gloriously sunny day- she had been listening to the stream!
We set off up the valley, and pick up a fairly gentle mule track, much of it in shade. One of our party, Heidi, wasn’t well; she had severe stomach cramps and sickness. She alternated between striding off ahead whilst she felt better, and dropping back to walk with her husband and Assiz when the attacks came again. It must have been awful for her.
After a couple of hours of following the valley and gently climbing, we reached the shrine of Sidi Charamouch. It’s the sight of a shrine to a holy man, and locals will make pilgrimages there regularly. It’s a funny place, and very popular- we kept having to leap off the path to allow passing mules. The shrine itself is marked by a great white, hollow boulder, inside which prayer is held. There is a ‘Muslims only’ sign- us Infidels aren’t allowed in! The rest of Sidi Charamouch consists of a few ramshackle stalls selling drinks, clothes and the usual tourist goods. One stall had an ingenious system of piping cold water from the stream running through the hamlet to keep the bottles of drinks cool.
Sidi CharamouchWe sat at a café, and had drinks- mine was a coffee made with powdered milk but still good. Then it was onwards and upwards; the path climbed up and round the mountainside, and the scenery became more rocky and wild, with splashes of gorse. We could see the refuge- there is an old, established one and a new one being built. However, they are apparently very crowded, and we stayed at a wild camp just below it.
Mountain SceneryWe sat drinking mint tea in the mess tent whilst our muleteers put up the tents. I ended up with one to myself- luxury! Our toilet consists of a small white toilet tent over a dug out pit, with flat stones around it for balance!
Our Loo With a View!We are surrounded by rocky peaks, soaring into the most intense blue sky, far brighter than any achieved in England in the summer (and certainly this summer!) After dinner, we had a short walk up the valley, where we could see the evening sun turning the distant bulk of Oukaimeden pinky- purple. Everybody’s thoughts turn to tomorrow- the ascent day!
Evening Light On OukaimedenLabels: Aremd, High Atlas, Jebel Toukbal, Morocco, trekking
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Day Six; Oukaimeden To Aguersioual
We descended for ages on a long, red, gritty undulating path with the usual fantastic views. We wound through stunted juniper trees and crossed a barley ‘meadow’ resplendent with poppies and pretty purple flowers. It was steep going at first- I lagged behind- but became easier.
Views Descending Tizi OukaimedenWe crossed another small pass and had dates and candied nuts, then another undulating descent brought us to the village of Amskere. We walked down through the village accompanied by the usual children, goats and women laden with bunches of long grasses. Down by the river, our cook, Omar, and the muleteers had prepared lunch and taken the packs off the mules so they could rest. We had loads of free time, so I got my book out of my bag and lounged on the cushions by the river whilst the others dozed.
After lunch, it was quite difficult to get going again, and we had another long ascent to Tizi Aguersioual. This was after crossing the river, which was tricky, I needed a hand as I am cursed with short legs and little sense of balance! We could see and hear people on the slopes opposite us, Ali said that they were planting trees. We reached the pass to find one of our muleteers waiting for us. He walked downhill with us for a while, chatting to Assiz, before taking off at a run down a wild and rocky path following the stream; we could hear him making bird calls as he descended!
Prickly Pear Cactus FlowerWe reached the village of Aguersioual, or cactus ville as I dubbed it- there were bushes and bushes of prickly pear cactus everywhere we looked. Me and two others went for a wander and found that the main road to Marrakech ran opposite the river. It was a bit of a culture shock after so many days on rough tracks, and it was a novelty seeing traffic which didn’t bray!
Our gite has a terrace looking out over the village with a disconcerting view of a rubbish dump below complete with dead cat. The loos are the usual squat-and-bucket affair but the shower is adequate. Our route tomorrow takes us over the road and to the other side of the valley.
View of Jebel Toukbal From The TerraceLabels: Aguersioual, Jebel Toukbal, trekking
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Off On Holiday!!!
I have had a major panic over packing- my four season sleeping bag is really bulky! (And I have realised what FUN it is going to be, stuffing the thing back into it's stuff sack every morning...) I have ended up with my canvas bag for the trek, plus rucksack as hand luggage (as long as it's not to big/ bulky!) which isn't too bad... not sure what I'll do if I end up buying anything though!
Our tour itinary is as follows;
Day 1; Arrive Marrakech, check in hotel
Day 2; Morning in Marrakech, drive to Imlil, walk for approx 1 hour to Aremd
Day 3; Trek to Ouanskera over Tizi n'Tamertert into the Imenane Valley, walking approx 4 hours
Day 4; Demanding day's walk, starting with steep ascent, to Iabessene, via Tachedirt and Tizi n' Tachedirt, walking approx 6-7 hours
Day 5; Walk to Oukaimeden, via Tizi Mzlee, Agounss and Tizi n' Ouatter, walking approx 7 hours
Day 6; Free day in Oukaimeden, with optional walk up Jebel Oukaimeden (4 hours round trip) for stunning panoramic views
Day 7; Demanding day walking through Amskere through juniper forests. Head up to the Tizi-Aguersioual, walking approx 7-9 hours
Day 8; Head for Tizi-Oussem after crossing the pass at Tizi-Oudite, relaxing afternoon with the possibility of a short walk up the valley or visit to the village Hamman (think this might be a Turkish Bath!)
Day 9; Trek to Aremd via Tizi Mzik, rest of afternoon free in Aremd
Day 10; Trek to Toukbal Refuge up the Mizane Valley, via Sidi Charamouch, walking approx 4-5 hours Day 11; Optional attempt of Jebel Toukbal, North Africa's highest peak, (4165m)
Day 12; Walk to Aremd and Imlil, drive to Marrakech
Day 13; Free in Marrakech
Day 14; Come home!
No idea how to pronounce the village names!! Morocco is an hour behind us, time wise... I've looked at the weather site, weather for the next week appears to be warm (24-26) and sunny! Actually I hope it is hot- be good practice for 2009!
I really hope I get to the top of Jebel Toukbal. I am now worrying that everybody is going to be much fitter than me!! Poor Lucky is not going to be happy as Katie will need to take her to the cattery Friday- they are going to Norfolk while I'm away.
I doubt whether I will be able to update this before I return- so I will give a quick outline when I get back and go into more detail for each day. With photos!
See you when I get back!
Labels: High Atlas, holiday, Jebel Toukbal, Morocco, trekking
