Atlas trek packing list — the one muleteers approve

The right packing list is not the most thorough blog's. It is the one the muleteer agrees to load — because a mule, and a man, carry it to the pass.

The 15 kg rule

Most agencies cap the mule-carried bag at around 15 kg per traveller. This is not logistical fussiness: it is an animal-welfare commitment, with load limits respected and animals rested. Over the cap, the agency says no — and it is right to.

If nobody asks about the weight of your bag, nobody is thinking about the mule.

What you carry yourself

• A 25–30 L daypack, water (2 L minimum), windshell, fleece.
• Headtorch, sun cream, sunglasses, hat. Altitude burns faster than the beach.
• Documents, your insurance certificate, some cash.

What travels on the mule

• Sleeping bag: −5 °C comfort at the refuge in autumn, −10 °C in winter. This is the one item not to cut.
• Layers, one change of clothes, not three.
• A minimal wash kit, a microfibre towel.

Summer version (June–August)

• Real heat below 2,500 m: breathable shirts, serious sun protection, electrolytes.
• One warm layer anyway: on the summit at dawn it is cold in August too.

Autumn-refuge version (September–October)

• A warmer bag, a hat and thin gloves, a base layer.
• Nights at 3,207 m are already cold, however mild the day was.

The three classic mistakes

• New boots. The first pass is not where you break them in.
• Too much cotton. It dries badly, it chills you, it weighs.
• A summer bag in October. The most common error, and the longest night.

What stays in Marrakech

Almost everything else. Agencies and riads store suitcases without fuss: go up with the pack, not with the trip.

For winter the list changes nature: Toubkal in winter means crampons, an ice axe and a −10 °C bag. Choosing a season: when to go. The routes: all treks.