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Trekking through the Atlas Mountains, North Africa

Following my last fundraising campaign whereby I ran the Barcelona marathon in March 2015 in support of Francis House Children's Hospice , I am now preparing for my next fundraising challenge of a lifetime.

In my continued desire to support Francis House I am participating in a trek across the high Atlas Mountains in North Africa and I reach out to everyone who so generously supported my marathon challenge to continue to be forthcoming in your kind support of this most deserving cause.

The 8 day trek sees 25 Francis House supporters follow challenging Berber trails through the high Atlas Mountains where traditions have remained unchanged for centuries, sleeping in the great outdoors under large open traditional bivouac tents and concluding in the historic city of Marrakech in Morocco.

The Atlas Mountains in Morocco consist of three ranges, The High Atlas Mountains, Middle Atlas mountains and Anti Atlas mountains. The Rif mountains are to the North of Morocco and to the South are the Jbel Sarharo mountain ranges in the Sahara desert.

Temperatures in Autumn in the Atlas Mountains are optimum for trekking being neither too hot during the day, averaging around 22 degrees in October, nor too cold at night which is imperative since we will be somewhat open to the elements in our bivouac tents.

The trek requires a high level of fitness and training began with the completion of the 14 mile Cheshire Three Peaks walk which takes in the famous Tegg’s nose, Shutlingsloe and Shining Tor. There are two further training walks taking place during this summer on the Saddleworth Moors the aim being to get our bodies used to between 4 and 6 hours of hiking over undulating terrain before we reach Morocco.

Itinerary

Day 1 & 2 - The first two nights will be spent in the Kasbah allowing for a half day acclimatisation trek with a chance to see local Berber villages.

Day 3 - We climb to the Tizi Mzik pass (2684m) continuing to Tamsoult where we visit the highest waterfalls in the Atlas Mountains. Camp at Azib Tamsoult (5 hours).

Day 4 - Through juniper forests to the village of Tizi Oussem before traversing Tizi N’Tagoudalte pass (2700m). Bivouac at Azib N’osoul (7 hours).

Day 5 - Through almond groves to the Assaka Spring then up to Tizi N’Touati (2100m). Bivouac in the village of Tizan (1600m) (7 hours).

Day 6 - Downhill through nature reserves ending with bivouac at Tizian Ouirgan (4 hours).

Day 7 - A short walk prior to lunch before transferring to Marrakech for sightseeing. With free time to visit the souks and sights. Overnight stay in a hotel.