Trekking Mount Toubkal

Before travelling to Morocco we did some research on where in May is best place in the world to hike. Several articles mentioned Mount Toubkal in the high atlas mountain range of Morocco. After reading about it and seeing the amazing images online we were excited to make it a reality! Mount Toubkal is the fourth highest peak in Africa at 4200 meter and quickly became our number one destination for the trip!

After a few days of exploring Marrakesh we took a taxi to Imlil, the little Berber village. Imlil is at the entrance to the hike to Mount Toubkal. It felt great to get out of the city and set our eyes on the mountains! Once arriving in Imlil we were ushered directly into a info booth where a man named Mohammad started up the pressure sales. Despite my better judgement and due to a keenness to set out for the mountain that day, we shook hands with Mohammad and solidified our guide and plans for the next four days. We were promised a few things: to leave in an hour (check mark!), an English speaking guide (named Hussein and he only spoke a few words), a mule to carry our things (partially check mark as we carried our packs the last day) and food that included something other than bread for me (not met by a long shot). However, all of these factors could not stop us from enjoying the splendours of the high atlas mountains! It was simply breathtaking!!

The first day we hiked for four hours to a shelter (at 2000 meters elevation) in a small Berber village. It was really interesting to see the many terraced plots of agriculture, all cultivated by hand or mule and plow. Talk about hard work! We had a nice meal of couscous and meat and were treated to a gorgeous sunset before headed to bed. 

The second day we woke early and started up two passes to the Mount Toubkal "base camp" hostel at 3000 meters. We hiked for six hours and actually took an hour nap at the top of the second pass. It was beautiful and in the first two days of hiking we only saw three other people! At this altitude I could feel my breathing and heart working little harder and climbing the passes as more effort than usual! There was also quite a bit of snow as we neared Mount Toubkal. If you miscalculated your step, you would sink down into waist deep snow! I felt like I was home in Canada!  Our non English speaking guide was 22, had only two years of guiding experience and wasn't keen to wait for us. At one point he actually lost us in the trail and we took the wrong way. When he found us about half an hour later he was mad at us! Finding a good guide tends to be the most difficult part of any journey! We really started to see some of the vast peaks around us and enjoyed the hiking immensely.

We arrived to the hostel and were treated to a hot shower and a really expensive snickers bar! I'm not sure which was better! I found sleeping difficult at this altitude despite being physically exhausted. We could only see the base of Toubkal and a trail that seemed to go straight up.

Day three of the journey and although most were up at 4am to start climbing, we slept in a little later as were only planning to summit and return to the same hostel. The trail we had seen the day before was indicative of the entire hike: straight up with no reprieve! We used crampons (spike additions to attach to your boots) for grip in the snow and I can't imagine how slippery it would have been without them. Aaron's crampons didn't come close to fitting so his heel comically hung off the end. The physical work was well worth it as the views were incredible and we were blessed with a miraculous blue bird day. This peak hardly ever sees a clear day all year long, so we were more than lucky! As the triangle marking the summit became visible it felt surreal! 4200 meters is the highest hike I have done! The views were unreal and a 360degree view as far as you could see was visible! 

The summit was quite cold so we only spent less than half an hour at the top before the swift descent down. What took us more than three hours to climb took an hour to descend. The bright sun had partially melted the snow, making it slushy and extremely slippery. We seized the opportunity and skied with our boots down! With such a steep decline you really picked up some serious speed and it was exhilarating! 

We stayed a second night in the hostel and headed back to Imlil the fourth day. What a great start to our trip! The views will be forever etched in my memory as will my amazing hiking partner Aaron! I always feel so renewed and appreciative of life in the vast wilderness of the mountains. I am eager to see what Morocco holds for us as we head to the coast for some beach time!