ricktreks
07-07-2011, 13:08
Hello fellow hangers,
This is just a quick note to let you folks know that I'm about to start a thru hike of the country of Panama. It's not a long distance, just about 800 Km (500 miles), so it's peanuts compared to other cross-country trails in the world. What makes it special is that it hasn't been tried before, in Panama or in any other Central American country --at least not in contemporary times. The plan is to hike from border to border, and touch both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, the landscape will vary from pristine cloud forest mountains, small indigenous villages, pasture lands, traverse lowland tropical jungles, beautiful beaches, and inevitably I'll have to cross the Panama Canal at some point.
Friends and fellow hikers will come and join me on some sections. Needless to say, I'll be camping in one of my cozy jungle hammocks, and I plan to do a review on those, as they apply to tropical hiking and camping.
I am priviledged to count on a great support team from the TransPanama Foundation www.transpanama.org/en/envivo, in Panama and overseas. They will track the expedition via satellite and post the journey real time online. They will also retrieve trail notes, video footage, and pictures I'll be sending from the trail, then broadcast them weekly on a blog: http://teamtranspanama.blogspot.com/
The reason for doing this is obviously a personal motivation thing, but this is much more than a one time hike. The plan is to map the route of a long distance trail through Panama so that in the future local and international hikers can come and enjoy this country's natural heritage. The project also aims to help remote and impoverished communities to derive economic benefits from low-impact tourism, namely trekking.
So, please check us out and wish us luck.
Un abrazo,
Ricktreks
This is just a quick note to let you folks know that I'm about to start a thru hike of the country of Panama. It's not a long distance, just about 800 Km (500 miles), so it's peanuts compared to other cross-country trails in the world. What makes it special is that it hasn't been tried before, in Panama or in any other Central American country --at least not in contemporary times. The plan is to hike from border to border, and touch both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, the landscape will vary from pristine cloud forest mountains, small indigenous villages, pasture lands, traverse lowland tropical jungles, beautiful beaches, and inevitably I'll have to cross the Panama Canal at some point.
Friends and fellow hikers will come and join me on some sections. Needless to say, I'll be camping in one of my cozy jungle hammocks, and I plan to do a review on those, as they apply to tropical hiking and camping.
I am priviledged to count on a great support team from the TransPanama Foundation www.transpanama.org/en/envivo, in Panama and overseas. They will track the expedition via satellite and post the journey real time online. They will also retrieve trail notes, video footage, and pictures I'll be sending from the trail, then broadcast them weekly on a blog: http://teamtranspanama.blogspot.com/
The reason for doing this is obviously a personal motivation thing, but this is much more than a one time hike. The plan is to map the route of a long distance trail through Panama so that in the future local and international hikers can come and enjoy this country's natural heritage. The project also aims to help remote and impoverished communities to derive economic benefits from low-impact tourism, namely trekking.
So, please check us out and wish us luck.
Un abrazo,
Ricktreks