I would never ever hiked a mountain. I would pranced all over the English countryside of Epping Forest and try to escape from ponies on Dartmoor, though I would never ever come near to hiking a mountain.
So it is good to point out I was entirely from my comfort zone when I went on a Mount Toubkal 3 day trek in Morocco.
Our neighborhood guide challenged me together with the phrase: “Walk with the mind of yours, not your muscles” and that appears biologically impossible (since it is) though the poetry of it begins to ring true once you get started on this epic climb.
It was really quite the challenge, but here is why you must consider it.
To the Atlas Mountains
Despite the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains, the majority of people will connect Morocco with wandering all around the souks, camel rides through the wasteland and enjoying large quantities of mint tea. While the latter is true, Mount Toubkal is a good which is not really popular amongst non mountaineers, but appears at a remarkable 4,167 metres (13,671 ft) with amazing views of rural Morocco.
And therefore, with several packs and boundless trepidation of blister plasters, twelve individuals headed from the community to handle probably the highest peak in North Africa.
On our very first morning we had been dropped at the mountain village of Imlil, from there we had taken a brief hike to Aroumd, wherever we settled in because of the evening at a regular mountain gite. Getting to know one another over tagine, we talked when the sun set behind the mountains that surrounded us. We could not really see the peak, though we understood that the next day or two will be difficult.
The book of ours, Youssef, prepped us the morning on the increase, advising us that this may be a very long journey to the summit and to not get it casually. Currently somewhat concerned, I wished that wrongly pouring olive oil over my porridge rather than honey on the early morning we head out would not be considered a bad omen, though I attempted to cast that aside and focus on getting to base camp.
Zigzagging through the gorgeous Ait Mizane Valley, we made the way of ours during a six hour hike, stopping every then and now to click an image and also ingest the splendor of it all. The paths leading us there have been steep and rocky, though the high peaks and scattered waterfalls made it a breathtakingly scenic hike. We’d to be aware not to draw a lot of time dawdling, as Youssef would yell “yallah yallah” like a polite way of telling us to be quick, an adage that we have since almost all adopted into daily use.
Passing Mules and berber families in the process, I enjoyed each and every minute. It was very peaceful set up in the hills and each time I looked around I could not really trust the scale of the mountains around me. “You’re climbing up a mountain”, I kept telling myself as well as for a purpose that I felt really interested in.
As we got closer to the refuge we might simply create the top of Mount Toubkal. What concerned me most was the steep incline from the bottom part. With absolutely no true course as well as only a mass of stones stacked on top of each other, I actually doubted that I would be ready making it. Taking things only one stage at time we arrived at the refuge and ate lots of foods to bring back the energy of ours. Acclimatising to the altitude, we blissfully spent the majority of the evening playing Uno, charades and also trying to solve a selection of riddles, temporarily forgetting about what the following morning had in store.