Craziest Mountain Hike, Volcán Baru Panama



I would have to say that one of the craziest things that I have ever done in my life was to hike Volcan Baru, at midnight! For me, it was a once in a lifetime thing to do because I am not sure if I want to hike a total of 10 hours straight, no sleep for about 32 hours, and do all this during freezing temperatures. But it is an experience worth seeing the views and to say that you have completed a feat that most probably would not do.



If you start at midnight, a few things to keep in mind are....

1. YOU NEED A HEADLAMP.
We were lucky and went with clear skies with a bright moon guiding us through some of the path but then there were parts that had so many trees blocking the moo and it  was pitch black. It would be impossible to climb without some light because you can easily trip on rocks since the road is not that great.

2. BRING SNACKS, WATER, AND MORE SNACKS.
So, it is about 6 hours up and depending on how long you can descend, 5-6 hours down they will estimate as well. That is almost 12+ hours and you will be hungry and in need of energy. We brought PBJ sandwiches, trailmix, gatorade, water, bananas, etc.

3. ARRANGE A TAXI TO MEET YOU THE NEXT DAY TOO!
To get to the starting point, we signed up for the midnight shuttle at Mama Llena Hostel in Boquete ( It was $5 per person or you can find locals who are willing to take you too for $5 or less per person). Although we got lucky and there was a local bus waiting when we finished coming down, normally they will not be at the bottom of the hill! I would suggest calling a taxi or finding a local to pick you up the next day. Our initial plan was to hike to the main road and hitchhike back to town after, but that is just the healthy and rested self before you hike 12 or so hours and your feet are sore and blistering, you are tired, and just cannot walk a step further. Arrange that taxi!

4. BRING A HAT, SCARF, MITTENS... ANYTHING WARM!
I brought all of the following plus matches to start a fire at the top if we arrived a little before the sunset. You may not think that you do not need these things because you will be warm from hiking, which is true, but when we stopped to take breaks, after about 5 minutes we were freezing!

5. CLIMB WITH SOMEONE!
I decided to climb with my boyfriend and we tried to stick with the group we arrived with in the bus shuttle because it can get a bit lonely out there in the pitch black. If you want to do it alone, you could bring music ( I also had my iPod playing for part of the hike up) or just enjoy the silence and have an awesome 12 hour meditation and self reflecting journey up!





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