Mhamid to FZ
 

I'm on the fence regarding taking this route next week.
3 of us on 1200Gsa BMW, not overly loaded.
Minimal off road experience.
Any opinions.
Thanks

IMHO it's to late in the year to ride this section on big bikes.Very hot and debilitating especially the loose sand section.Others may well have differing views:nono:

There's a place called Mhamid a few km north of Foum Zguid, but I am guessing you are referring to M'Hamid El Ghizlane.

Minimal offroad experience? Forget it. You need sand experience, lighter bikes and preferably no luggage.



This is the relatively easy section to the west of M'Hamid El Ghizlane, there's a good 15km of this and more difficult stuff to get through.

What I could suggest instead is a bumble around Foum Zguid. Have a look at this point on Google Maps satellite view,

Zoom out a bit and follow tracks north to Foum Zguid. That's how you get there.



And this is what it's like, nice and easy fun with great scenery.

It’s completely possible to travel from Mhamid to FZ and not got near any sand. If you take the RP1522 piste along the south side of the mountain.

If you had south from the Sacred Oasis towards the Erg and then follow the well defined route that take people into the tourist camps then it’s under 15km of sand track but it’s not deep. I wouldn’t call it difficult but with limited experience it will challenge you, watch the temps and take enough water, worst case someone from the desert camps will come and help for a price.

We’re taking a group of 2wd cars that way next week.

Hi Warden.It is a long time since I used your route into Sacred camp and it was a very rough rock track.I was in a LR Def. will it be OK in the heat on big bikes?

Great advice from those that know what it's like here. I burnt out a clutch on a KTM Adventure trying to get out of the sand last year. Managed it this year on my 1989 Yamaha XT600 Tenere during the SandRaiders rally because I'd learned how to ride fast(ish) in the sand.

The heavier the bike, the less fun it is.

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Here's a recent video which covers some of the route (Tissint to Mhamid) and shows you what it's like on an old Honda Doninator 600.
https://youtu.be/qBq_E5ZEZVc?si=PUOnWDfWzPSbBJvh

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As the irishman said when asked for directions: "Well, I wouldn't start from there..."

As the guys have said, the dunes west of Mhamid are a nightmare on big bikes, as is the sandy piste by the Chegaga dunes. I accompanied a couple of very experienced riders on 1150GS's through there a while ago and the soft sand and heat damn near killed them and their bikes. That was in April.

If you're going to do it, you'd be far better starting from Tagounite.
Get on the piste heading NW from the centre of town, following the telegraph poles, keeping the ridge on your left. In about 17km there's a gap in the ridge so you can turn SSW. As you come onto the plain, you'll pass through an old abandoned defensive line.
In 10km or so, swing SW - you'll pass a well in a few km. Continue on this heading and you'll pick up the main piste coming in from Mhamid on your left, thus avoiding the dune field. Carry on due W towards the Oasis Sacree. The piste is a bit rocky for 20km but eventually it joins up with the piste coming in L from the Chegaga dunes. You'll be ready for an ice cold Fanta at the Titanic Cafe.
With a sugary drink inside you, it's time for a blast across Lac Iriki. The lads at the cafe will tell you whether or not the lake is dry. If it's wet, take the very rocky 'piste de la montagne" to the north of the lake. It'll take you all the way to FZ but it's bloody hard work.
If it's dry, continue across the lake WSW towards a large mesa. Just before you get there the track splits. NW is the rocky track to FZ. If you head SSE, you can follow the old Paris-Dakar piste which is clearly marked with balises (large piles of rock). Be aware that the first 200m is soft sand, after that it's OK.Keep the saw-toothed mountain range on your R. In 9km, there's a military checkpoint and the track swings due W.
In 35km you'll come to a track junction. Turn R heading due N for FZ. There's a checkpoint after 10km then continue N across the plain for 25km to join the N12. In 8km, you'll be tucking into 'brochettes de poulet' at Rachid's cafe in the square. He's probably got a couple of beers in the fridge.

Temperature is going to be the big limiter, it's still mid 30s in Zagora at the moment. You'll need to keep to the good firm pistes and avoid as much of the slow, strength-sapping rocky stuff as possible. Why not head out from Tagounite and see how you get on for a few hours? If it's too much you can back track to Zagora.

Happy trails,

Peter

Coming from Tagounite it’s still a rocky hell after you pass through the mountain, much like the last section in FZ.

Better to head west out of Mhamid directly to the oasis

Spot on advice Peter, but I think the Irishman did just ask for directions: "Well, should I start from there..." ;-)

I also recall being shaken to bits in a 4x4 via the gap, but that is one thing motos and a GS in particular do very well.

Basically if you're not sure, don't do it.
There are loads more enjoyable mountain pistes nearby suited to heavy GSs and the heat.

Three guys with "minimal off-road experience" will not make it through the dune field W of Mhamid. The route I suggested avoids the soft sand and also the worst of the rocky piste to FZ. The approach to FZ from the SSE has deteriorated and is now IMHO one of the worst pistes in the south.

The detour to the S on the rallye piste is much longer but less stressful riding. However, I'd rather ride it in the springtime than next week.

As Chris and Tim have suggested, there are many other pistes that are much more rewarding.

Cheers guys,
Excellent advice.
Exactly as I was thinking, not to be attempted.
I'd have the most experience of the group, and if I was on my Xt600, I'd tackle it.
Best to have a little venture into the dunes and back out again. One of the guys is determined to camp out in the dunes for 1 night, which is a bit if a p.i.t.a.....
Its a load of gear to bring for just one night.

One of the desert camps around Mhamid could fix that for you and save your luggage.Maybe someone can help with names :scooter:

If you want to camp in dunes without using one of tourist camps go to Chebbi, you can get much closer on tarmac. The downside is it’s hard to avoid the other tourists, parts of Cheggaga are sadly heading that way.

(Strictly speaking wildcamping and driving/riding in the Ergs is restricted legally. Not much enforcement though)

It’s is possible to to the originally route discussed without hitting more than a few meters of sand heading west out of Mhamid and there’s also a non sandy route that circumvents the rocky RP route from Tagounite and also Mhamid village itself.

Over the last 2 days we took a group of 2wd cars from Mhamid to FZ via Chegaga. The so called difficult dunes immediately west of Mhamid are hard packed sand/mud as I previously posted and present no difficulty to anyone.

The piste on the north edge of Chegaga was a little bit more difficult than usual but nothing I wouldn’t expect with the reduced traffic over the summer months. Stay on the edge of the mountain and you can skip all the sand.

Last nights thunderstorms didn’t cause any difficulty for us crossing Iriki heading west although the mud caked rally competitors arriving in FZ this afternoon would suggest that Mhamid saw more rain than Chegaga did

There are hard packed areas and there are soft areas. I can imagine the cars would have done OK, but bikers on heavy Bavarian tractors with "minimal off road experience" and zero sand experience would find it a nightmare.

I am reminded of the three Portuguese riders who got into trouble near Erg Chebbi. One guy went for help and when he returned the other two, who were brothers, were dead. That was June.

Any soft bits could be ridden around on the smooth hard packed bits. Then there’s one soft Oued before the Sacred Oasis. From there you can carry on to lac Iriki and Foum Zguid avoiding any sand.

It was 41 when we were there and the overnight rain caused some mud closer to Mhamid for the rally the next day

Job done
 

Thanks for the advice.
After riding the R704 from north to south, to Boumaine Dades, N'kob and Agdz for the night, we headed west to the coast and found some more amazing roads.
What a trip.
Biking heaven.

52C on ext temp gauge here a couple of days ago. Whatever the real temperature was, it was HOT!!! Glad I was driving not riding.

We drove Mhamid to FZ today. Not done this since the last millennium in a 60 series boneshaker along the corrugated/stony northernmost track and was put off forever. Never actually ridden it.
Today, just followed our noses out of Mhamid in an auto TX; a deep-sand roller-coaster for a few km with the added risk of meeting others belting in from the camps. Even in a car there are places you'd not want to stop and try and start again.

That was my conclusion. Must be something less testing to the north? but if there is a sand-free way out of Mh, I'd be interested in seeing a tracklog.

We turned south at the Oasis then skirted the Erg's north edge along miles of soft sand ruts to Iriki. Driven this before but would't fancy riding that on a travel bike, either.
But from there we went diagonally SW across the lake (a track on OSM/free Gaia) which, even in poor viz, was great fun, threading past isolated dunes. Came in at the Control (fort, no one in) carried on west via Dakar mounds and loads of other signs/mileposts etc, then turned north via Nsour Pass (Control; pic below) which I recognise from Tim's video 4 thumbnail. All up a great route and just about the smoothest way to link FZ with Mh in a car. Who knew! Loads more enjoyable than Kem Kem to Tagounite, for example (looking forward to not doing that for another 25 years).

For 'MS7' and variants – now called S2 in the new book – westbound on a regular travel bike up to GS12 etc, I'd come in/exit via the Tagounite/Jebel Bani gap and sit it out to the north until you can cut across to the Rimal cafe on the Lac (on Google Maps), then ride as above, going low, across then up to FZ for an OJ at Ibrahim's.

Hi Chris,

To avoid the all the small dunes W of Mhamid, there's a piste a few km north of town. Begins at N29°53.6 W5° 37.2. on a bend on the N9. It heads generally W for 30km before joining the rough hamada pistes from Mhamid. I'll dig out the track log.

Back out next week.

Happy trails,

Peter

Thanks Peter. I see it on the OSM Topo, about 16km before Mhamid.
.gpx copied off the map but remaned 'Not dune free...'
Good to know.

Pretty much it. Looks like there’s a NW piste out of Mhamid centre that intersects.

Not really. A [light moto] mate tried this the other day, taking the high trail (from hell) from FZ then splitting off east of O. Sacree.

Sounds the same as regular Mhamid exit/entry then.
And was probably quite warm too.
There may be something firmer further north, he said.

we hit 37 degrees coming out of Chegaga yesterday, but only for about 30 minutes and it dropeed back to 33.

Didn't see any water crossing Iriki but the rain and mud of the last 6 months have dried out to lot and lots of fine dust both on Iriki and the last few km into M'Hamid. Plenty of plants and flowers as well.

Take the standard entry point at Mhamid. There are two small sandy dunes. Cross them and immediately take the track that runs NW. It’s sandy, but dune free and easy going. Continue on this heading for a few km and then switch to WSW until you hit the hamada (the least corrugated tracks are to the north of the plain) and the rocky piste W towards O Sacree. Cross the dry river bed by the well and push on past the nomad dwellings and you’re there.

Considering it’s only March and there’s been rain, the sand is unusually dry, especially the Chegaga run. The Ouzina dunes have loads of soft patches to catch out the unwary.