8 hrs, 20.3 kms
Day Totals: 16 hr, 33 .0 kms

I have one challenge left to complete my Desert Gateway Superhike: connect Tazantoute, at the mouth of the Oued Melh river and Ouarzazate. Originally my plan had been to try to follow the river itself, which goes through a narrow gorge which I don’t know if it’s walkable or not. My idea was to give myself a full day, that way, if I reached a dead end, I could still backtrack to where I started.

But this morning I decided to give priority to hiking the beautiful valley above Ait Ben Haddou, rather than focusing all my effort on a hike that might not work out anyway. So now, mid afternoon, it looks like my only option is going to do a long, dreary 20 km hike along the highway through the moonscape desert.

Well, actually, it’s not that bad at all. Since the skies are overcast, the walk is downright pleasant. Off to my right is a dark stormcloud where it’s clearly pouring down rain, giving a feeling of suspense and urgency to my hike—as well as another good reason not to be hiking through a narrow river gorge!

Once you’ve hiked in the desert under the merciless sun, than you really relish hiking it in cool weather . You can just soak in the vast emptiness… ponder on the meaning of life… A great chance to look back at all that I’ve experienced and accomplished over this last semester and year.

I pass a couple of projects to cultivate the desert: palm tree plantations in the middle of a completely lifeless surrounding. An inspiring thought: makes you wonder how much of the desert could actually be cultivated with careful water management. A bit farther, I veer of the road for a while, blazing my own trail across a vast rocky plain. But here also, it seems there’s a project to plant hardy desert brush, perhaps an attempt to slow erosion and sandstorms.

Finally I first signs that I’m nearing Ouarzazate: a desert movie studio/museum. I’ve never visited any of these studios, and figure it would be a nice way to finish my hike, but unfortunately it’s closed to visitors for the day. Apparently a movie’s being shot right now, as there’s a row of catering trucks heading in .

And then, just as I reach the shelter of a gas station/café, the storm that has been looming next to me sweeps in, blowing chairs over. Hmmm… maybe this would be a good time to just chill for a bit, sit in a classy café and bask in my accomplishment… I think back on the various segments to my hike… Exploring Ouarzazate back in the summer of 2010… doing a blistering hike in the sun from Tabouraht to Tekirt a week later… Hiking From Amerzane to Tekirt a few months after that… Stopping by last spring to add a couple suburb villages of Ouarzazate… and now, hiking the Ouad Melh Valley, and connecting all the segments into one Superhike.

Afterwards, I continue on, and am treated to a magnificent double rainbow over Ouarzazate, so huge I can’t get it in a single shot… A delicious ending to a rewarding adventure..