Simien mountain hike anyone?

You will love it jjsg.
Take plenty of small change in burr and all the food you will need for you and your guide and scout.
Wish i was there with you.
good Luck!

Hi ijsg

I have just arrived in Addis this morning and would be interested in trecking but not sure if those dates suit me.

Are you still in Addis or are you already up north.

If your going on any other treks in the next month would be interested in going.

Take care

JP

hi jjsg & jepers -
i could probably be to debark in a week (via Wukro, Adrigat, Axum, & Adwa) to do the trek, if any of you want to go trekking then or explore any of the towns in parentheses on the way...let me know!
also, i read that some meals can be purchased in the villages within the Simiens park - is this still the case?
thanks!

Just to fill you in on how it went.

Scenery was amazing - and the baboons are pretty cool when you get up close. If you have been to the Drakensberg (South Africa) you’ll get the idea.

Logistically if you are planning to meet some random people in Gondor to share costs make sure you are flexible - everyone (myself included) had flights to catch etc and I didn't manage to synchronise with anyone else.

Prices have risen since the Lonely Planet guide was published (now about 40% higher)

Getting a lift into the park (to skip the first days walk) is difficult / expensive. All the 4x4s run from Gondor so finding something in Debark isn’t easy. Coupled to this the park does not allow hikers to hitch lifts on the local bus / random lorries (for safety / 4x4 tour company monopoly reasons). If you don’t have a guide then hitching may be easier. I’d recommend getting a lift up to Sankaber if you can to avoid some of the uphill road walking.

Guides – in all fairness you don’t really need a guide – its compulsory to have a scout (ie man with gun) and he’ll know the way to places, but he won’t speak English. If you have a GPS & map then you could easily dispense with the guide. For English speaking company you’ll meet loads of people in the camps (esp Geech, Simien Lodge). My guide was OK, on the last day the requests for stuff came thick and fast (school fees, mobile phone etc) but I’ve had the same elsewhere. Personally I think it would be more of an adventure without a guide.

Camping – its very cold and the equipment for hire is pretty crap – I stayed in the Simien Lodge dorm (US$20 per night, had the dorm to myself) two nights to avoid camping.

Mule – the mule is slow (esp. uphill) so if you plan long distances in 1 day (ie Debark to Sankaber) your camping equipment might not make it.