For 93 days, Rick Morales walked 700 miles as well as going 48 miles by rowing in a canoe/makeshift raft

Rick Morales, of Panama, has done what very few trekkers would even dare to attempt, let alone imagine: mapping out a new hiking trail across the length of his country. As a naturalist guide, he says that his “unconventional job took me to remote areas of Panama and other neighboring countries, such as the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, most of the Andean countries, Galapagos, and Pantanal.” When fundraising and volunteer efforts of a TransPanama Foundation were stalled, he decided, in his words, “to make a solo attempt at hiking and mapping the entire route from border to border across the country.”

For 93 days, he walked 700 miles as well as going 48 miles by rowing in a canoe/makeshift raft. His journey began in 2011 in the treacherous Darien region of Panama, barely five kilometers short of the border with Colombia. “In the ensuing days and weeks,” says Morales, “I had great encounters with wildlife, admired he fantastic scenery of the country, and came across great people. Choosing the right gear was also a bit of a challenge. I fell in love with the RailRiders X-Treme Adventure Pants and Eco-Mesh shirt, and I was instantly hooked. In the heat and humidity of the tropics, the side-mesh panels work wonderfully. My outfit was later confiscated by the Association of Hiking Clubs of Panama, and is now being entered into the Panamanian Outdoors Hall of Fame. It will be its first piece of exhibition along with the boots I wore.”  See full interview here.