Similar routes to MH5
 

Recently drove MH5 East to west. Definitely one of the most enjoyable and challenging climbs I have done in Morocco in a 4x4. Does anyone know any similar routes or tracks? I don't want to try crazy undriveable stuff but like routes you might not want to do on your own and you need to use the full capabilities of a 4x4.

MH1 links straight onto MH5 at Boulmane Du Dades and was pretty brutal when we did it in 2013 towards the northern end

MH7 is a nice run as well but not as challenging

Yes, didn't actually do that end this time, but was thinking there must be more stuff further afield. We found some interesting routes in the Ceder Forests south of Meknes, but this was more due to downed trees and conditions rather than hard trails.

Maybe head into the anti atlas then. A few routes I tried last October were closed but might be open now with a little bit of a challenge


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

May I suggest MA6 which was in bad shape last November - and that was before the floods. We were on bikes heading north and had to leave one up there and come back next morning. When I first did it years ago the car broke a spring.

This oued crossing around KM60 might give you something to think about. Either side of that it's just slow going over rubble - not so bad in a 4x4. I don't think it's got as hard as MH5 but has amazing views around the crest of Jebel Timouka (below). Both are routes that are no longer used or maintained by local traffic so get worse year by year, apart from whatever tourists clear to get through.

I'd second that but I couldn't get through in October before the rains heading north. Probably at km60 as mentioned


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, looks like it may be worth a try. Has anyone tried the "non" route described in the book? I don't have the book to hand but there is a route described that did not get a name as it was not a "Sahara Piste" and part of it was lost. Chris, I think you drove half way then turned around!

Not sure where you mean tbh do you have any more info? My copy of the book is within reach but is an older version

I think you may mean ME8 on p106.

My car was a bit long for that but looking again at Google sat the image is newer and there now seems to be a track that drops SE from the old mine and through a pass in the ranges just before the turn round point in the book (N32° 34.13’ W04° 09.23’). It then heads east. Hard to think we missed that track up into the hills. Perhaps the mine is operating again and that has become the access track.
Unfortunately on the link above the res drops off to the east and it's hard to see where the track goes exactly - more or less east along the base of an escarpment? It's easier visualised on Google Earth with the relief turned up to the max. zoom in enough and GE also shows what looks like an Olaf-like 3rd party GPS tracklog (not something I've seen before) + a couple of panoramio pics (including the usual misplaced rubbish) from a Spanish guy with a Toyota FJ. It comes out of the first bad res as a tarmac road serving tiny villages and then back in bad res comes in to ME1 north of Talsint. 'Tracklog' (in red below, approx) helps but the res comes and goes. There could be something there.

A quick look on OSM has a road running along that route most of the way before turning into a track.

Interestingly the road is labelled gravel track and the track has 4x4 Only next to it, 2 features I've not seen on OSM previously

About 200m west of the end of the gravel road it splits with a fork off to the north eventually getting back onto the R601

If you carry one west there is a fork off to the south, neither straight on or the southern options seem to get anywhere on OSM maps. GE may reveal more

Found this post on a Romanian forum. Not sure exactly where they went or ended but looks pretty gnarly.

On the left hand side of the screen grab you can see another track, this goes all the way west to the N13 on the OSM maps.

Maybe this is the track in Chris' link above?

Thanks guys, yes it was ME8. Definitely looks like its worth an explore!

Am i right in thinking that this is the farthest east you can get from Talsint?
Looks like a small oasis with fields etc

https://goo.gl/maps/GUD3K

And then there is a road from the west to here

https://goo.gl/maps/Aa6uE

All that is need is to find a route between the 2?

cheers

Tom

I did a bit more looking at the way through the other night and picked up further sections all the way through to the N13.

I suspect where there are gaps in what I found the route possible runs along a river bed so may not have been accurately mapped anywhere, this seems to be backed up with some of the photos on GE and Chris' link.

I'll post a screen grab from my research when I'm back on my other computer.

ok, thanks. I have been looking using Bing satellite images which seem clearer and there are signs of habitation most of the way through, so think it is just a question of joining the dots, but I guess you need the best info first as on the ground it would be difficult if you took a wrong turn. I can see the riverbeds too, and expect they will be a bit of an unknown quantity, but thats part of the fun!

Screen grab of the west end, I think that give about 8km where I can't find a track on the maps. Sat images give slight traces of a route here

Can you give me a waypoint for each end of the gap? Very hard to translate the screen grab accurately onto bing or Google satslite maps

West End - N32 34.098 W4 08.094
East End - N32 34.806 W4 03.342

The east end is little west the village you posted above, and there looks to be habitation in the gap so must at least be a footpath if not a passable route for a 4x4.

Thanks for those. Really helpful. Cheers

Tom

Yes, definitely looks like its the river bed to link the 2 together