I have just got back from trekking the Toubkal Circuit in the High Atlas mountains of Morocco. The route is less than 100km and loops around Toubkal National Park, over several successively higher passes so that you arrive at the foot of Toubkal nicely acclimatised and ready for the summit. This was part of my last research trip for the Cicerone guidebook I’m writing for the Toubkal area and I was pleasantly surprised by just how good the circuit was. Anyone who tells you the Toubkal area is only scree in summer has clearly never stepped off the beaten trail – nor looked up from their feet!
Anyway, while I had my stinking kit emptied out on the floor, I thought I’d do a quick kit list to show you what I took. As ever, there’s a section at the end to tell you my thoughts on the kit – what I’d change or any comments on how things performed.
Here’s what I took… (Top image of the team carrying all our stuff down to Imlil at the end of the trek for our transfer to Marrakesh.)
Clothing
- Mountain Equipment waterproof jacket
- Warm hat
- Rab Superflux gloves
- Rab women’s Photon jacket (insulated)
- Montane men’s dyno stretch jacket (softshell)
- Buff
- Shorts (for sleeping in)
- Darn Tough walking socks x3
- Underwear x4 (not pictured)
- Kathmandu SPF 50 top
- Helly Hanson SF 50 top
- Bolle Cat 4 sunglasses (photochromic)
- Peaked Cap
- Large dry bag for using as a second bag – storing stuff in refuge or on mule
Note no trousers: I’ve left the final photo as what I wore almost every day top and bottom.
Camping and Sleeping
- Thermarest Vesper quilt
- Thermarest Neo Air roll mat
- Cocoon cotton sleeping bag liner
- Vivo barefoot shoes (to use as camp sandals and hut shoes)
We were camping almost every day on the trek, with one night in an auberge and the final night in a refuge below Toubkal. Having a change of shoes was a luxury that was well worth it, for allowing my feet to cool down and not having to stomp around in boots at the end of the day. There was no bedding provided in the refuge, although there were blankets in the auberge.
Electronics and Work
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Moisturiser
- Notepad and pencil
- Document case (ortlieb)
- Passport
- Powertraveller solar charger
- Osmo Pocket camera
- Mini tripod and bag clip
- Garmin GPS unit
- USB charger with UK and Moroccan plug
- Torch Led Lenser
- Assorted charger cables, bag clips etc
- Pulse Oxymeter
- Phone (not pictured)
I say work simply because it was a research trip for my guidebook, but it might not have changed the list too much if it hadn’t been! I feel like I overpacked a little in this department, but with a submission deadline at the end of the month and no time to do another trip, I wanted to make sure I covered all bases.
First Aid, Health and Miscellaneous
- Water purification tablets (Lifesystems)
- Lifesystems First Aid Kit (What I put in a first aid kit)
- Personal medication
- Spare food – microwavable meal pouch and peanuts
- Extra long titanium spoon
- Lip salve – normal and SPF 50
- Mini pen knife
- Money (Moroccan dirham, Euros, Pounds)
- Hairbrush
- Insect spray – didn’t use
- Toilet kit: tissues for loo roll, hand sanitiser, zip lock for waste.
- P20 suncream and Lifesystems suncream backup
- Dry bag (seen better days…)
My poor dry bag really fell apart on this trip. Maybe the heat or maybe just poor timing – I’ve had it over 10 years. I was constantly picking flakes of white liner off my kit. It’s a sad day, but I guess I’ll have to buy a new one now.
Carrying and Water
- Osprey Talon 38L rucksack with added waist pouch
- Camelbak (1.5L)
- Platypus bottle (1L)
- Lid from the Osprey Talon
I went much lighter in terms of bags than the rest of the team, mostly because I was determined not to pay extra for large hand luggage on an Easyjet flight. This somewhat dictated which water bottles I chose. The camelbak is a must for me in hot weather or I just don’t drink enough, but I’m not as sold on the platypus bottles. They are great for taking up no space, but it’s hard to scoop up water from a stream with them – although great for bending under taps.
The Actual Clothes I Wore Everyday…
- Montane Terra Trousers
- Black Diamond Alpine Pro SPF 50 sun hoody
- Zamberlan Women’s Ultra Lite boots (not pictured)
Aaand finally the grand reveal of my flithy clothing. It was a running joke in our team that I’d started off wearing the same colour as the mountains and was slowly becoming invisible as I blended more and more into the dirt. The Montane terras had enough dirt in them that they’d gone stiff and would likely have walked off on their own if I’d let them. I think this might be their last trip as the pocket zip’s now broken and the fabric on the backside is worn thin. The Black Diamond baselayer started off silky smooth and a lovely light grey colour, only to turn distinctly brown-black around the hands and have all sorts of delightful sweat stains by the end. Others washed their clothes in water or showers. I got so ill after my last trip that I was going full dirtbag just in case.
Any Changes I Would have Made
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with my gear selection for the trip. In clothing, I really wish I’d been able to bring another sun hoody rather than just an SPF 50 baselayer. After my time in America last year I’m absolutely sold on the benefits of hooded baselayers for sun protection. To the extent that in hot and high altitude situations I don’t want to get my neck out any more. I’m doing a sun-proof gear test and sadly the other hoody I had in was white and too see through for an Arab country… I did fine on three pairs of socks, although one more would have been nice. I never actually had to wear my waterproof jacket, but it would have been good for windproofing on the summit of Toubkal, had I not left it in the refuge by accident. Everything else I used.
For electronics and tat, I didn’t use the peak designs clip and matching Osmo camera holder. I cannot get on with this clip, even though it’s what everyone suggests. There doesn’t seem to be a place that’s comfortable to wear it and still have the lens pointing forward. I have to extend the screws to make it fit over a normal rucksack strap. The one time I needed the tripod, I forgot I was carrying it. The pulse ox was a fantastic addition, to help people put an oxygen saturation number to how they were feeling, while acclimatising. Definitely recommended. And note to self to add some sort of thermometer to your first aid kit for long and remote trips, just in case.
More snacks would have been useful, as the norm was to walk on just breakfast’s energy until about 2pm, then have lunch, snacks and dinner in quick succession. I did also have a bag of sweets for Toubkal which were eaten long before these pictures. We didn’t need insect repellent at all. I never wore the scrambling gloves but probably should have, as I couldn’t get my ring off. Rucksack was a good size and the compromise of having massive sweat patches just so I could fit it in the small hand luggage box worked fine for me. If anything, I could have done with more water capacity.
And I think that’s it! All in all, a pretty successful set of kit choices for a pretty successful trip!
I’m deep in my writing cave finishing this guidebook to Climbing Toubkal. But if you want to hear about when I’ve finished or have more to tell you about the trip, sign up to travellinglines.substack.com and you’ll be the first to know.
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