Day 224
6 hrs, 1 km

There's just one Final Quest that I really want to fulfill before leaving Morocco . And this one I had to leave until the last minute for a good reason: I'll be climbing to over 4,000 meters, and you don't want to do that in the winter unless you've got some serious gear. Yep, I'm taking my Marrakech Superhike to the highest point in North Africa, and re-christening it the "Toubkal Superhike" in honor of that peak.

Climbing Toubkal has been in the back of my mind ever since the very first Adventure Day after moving to Morocco. In 2008 while exploring Khouribga, I met a schoolteacher who told me that he and his wife climbed to the top of Mount Toubkal... I was quite taken aback--as Moroccan guys are usual into rugged adventures--much less Moroccan girls!

Since then I've met a lot of Moroccans who have climbed this peak and it almost seems a rite of passage for the adventurous in this country, to reach it's highest peak. So there's really no excuse for me not to do it.

Two problems: First, I like my hikes to have an air of originality to them . I don't just want to follow the same trail as thousand before. Secondly: I always hike with my guitar--not really sure that climbing a 4,200 meter mountain with a guitar is such a good idea--besides, there aren't going to be any villages up there to play concerts in anyways...

I've solved the first problem by making this an original "Marrakech to Toubkal Superhike". Sure, plenty of people have hiked from the base of the mountain to the peak, not too many people have stretched the hike out that far.

As for the second problem... well... I've got to take the guitar to parkbench a couple villages along the way. Then there's supposed to be a lodge at the base of the mountain where most people stay the night before taking on the peak, so I figure I could just leave my guitar there and pick it up on the way back.

So let's do it. I've got three days. It should be plenty of time to hike from Imlil (the end of public transportation), to teh peak . Back. Then hike from Imlil downstream to Tahannaout connecting with my Superhike. All quite doable.

But things are going to go quite different than planned.

Imlil

It's all going like clockwork. I catch the 4:45 train from Casablanca to Marrakech. There, after a short wait, I'm on a collective taxi to Imlil. Imlil is a cozy little village nestled in a steep valley. Originally, it was your typical mountain community where people survived off the little food they could grow, and on herding goats high up in the mountains. But now this village has a new source of income: serving as guides for tourists up to Toubkal.

I've got sort of mixed feelings here. On one hand, I think the local people should benefit in some way from the tourists tromping through their land. But on the other hand... I really don't like being "guided" unless it's absolutely necessary ... it's just not my style.

I opt for the latter, and politely turn down offers to be guided or carried on muleback up the mountain. People here are polite and down insist or follow me around when I turn them down--as they would in other parts of the country... so it's not an unpleasant experience.

I do want to find other ways to "contribute" to the local economy along the way. I start out by looking for a place to have a hearty breakfast. Unfortunately, at this time in the morning all they have is bread and lentils, so that will have to do...

Then I'm off... up a marked trail with a series of switchbacks up the steep hillside, until it meets up with a road at the top. Here I make my first cool discovery of the day: a splendid little waterfall.

That will definitely work for my Imlil videoclip.