*Once again, apologies for the mismatched font and random bold. Working from the iPad is less than ideal*
Volcan Baru sits at 11,400 feet in elevation; earning the title of the highest peak in Panama. The climb is just uphill. Nothing fancy about it, just up and up and up for 6 hours straight. And I decided to do it completely in the dark. I started the hike at 12:30am to catch the sunrise at 6am. This is what “everyone” does. Or so I thought. Various backpackers I met before arriving in Boquette told me that they did the night hike and the sunrise view at the top makes it worth the insanely sore legs the next day.
So when I arrived in Boquette (the town you stay in to climb the volcano), I thought everybody at my hostel would be doing the hike. Nope, not even close. Most people I spoke to said they heard it was too hard and didnt want to go through the hassle. Others said they heard the volcano was closed for night hikers and it was only possible starting at 4:30am; which meant you would miss sunrise. I even met a girl who said their friend tried to go at midnight but got turned away by the security guard and had to pay the pricey taxi just to turn around. Despite all of this, I knew a few people weeks before that said they did the hike and it was rough but the views were amazing; so I took their word over these negative nancies.
Since I just spent a month lazing my life away on the beaches of Bocas Del Toro, I felt I had the energy to take on the challenge. So Tara and I (whom I volunteered with at Palmar) took a nap at 8pm to try and get some sleep before pulling an all-nighter. We packed protein bars, fruits, and hot tea to keep us motivated on our uphill goliath mission. We also heard from the interwebs that it’s freezing at the top so we wore approx 15 layers each and even brought an airplane blanket. I have to give a million thanks to Tara who clothed me since I only packed one long sleeve and quarter length yoga pants with me. So I borrowed her hoodie, sweater, flannel, head wrap, and high socks. Without Tara, I would have been an icicle attached to a volcanic rock. So THANK YOU for always being cold in a warm climate and packing way too much winter apparel.
Before our nap, I asked our hostel receptionist to arrange us a taxi at midnight. To my surprise, he advised me to not embark on the hike. He said it’s very long, cold, and difficult. He also reiterated that it used to be possible to climb at night but now it’s officially closed and therefore we would need to sneak past the security guard. I told him not to worry and to call the taxi. He agreed but on the condition that the taxi driver wait 10 mins in case we got turned away. We had a deal.
After a 20min sleepy taxi ride, we arrived at the base of the volcano. The taxi driver waited as we silently walked past the security guards station. We ducked under the gate and tried our hardest not to make noise on the slippery rocks. After clearing the bend, we celebrated sneaking in with exasperated breaths. I couldn’t tell if my heart was racing from the immediately intense steep incline or from the adrenaline of not getting caught. Let’s say it was both.
As Tara and I continued walking up, we put in our airpods and listened to our respective podcasts. We had to use our phone flashlights to see as it was pitch black out; this made tripping a very constant reality and low battery inevitable. Good thing Tara brought a portable charger! We took little breaks to catch our breath in the 3 feet of flatness after every huge hill. Our only real breaks were around 10 mins each to eat our snacks. But the second we stopped moving the cold wind caused our hands to go stiff. So we cut our breaks short and put a spare pair of socks on our hands to keep warm. Socks: the poor man’s glove.
The main pro of doing this hike in the dark were the stars. They were shining so bright in their constellations and covered the sky in iridescent beauty. On one of our breaks we even saw a shooting star at the same time! (we both wished for this damn hike to be over soon lol). To our dismay, we had another 3 hours to go. We finished the hike in 5 and a half hours. Reaching the top right at 6am. The internet says it takes 6 hours so I felt some pride in knowing we finished it a little quicker. But I also met people who claimed they did it in 4 and a half which is actually impossible and they are robots.
Something extremely unique about this hike was the solitude. There were no other hikers on the volcano. There was nothing but silence in the dark. Tara and I were the only two people in the entire world climbing this volcano tonight. It felt special and intangible. That’s until we saw two flashlights behind us. I was convinced it was the security guards so we just waited until they caught up to find out. Turns out it was two guys from our hostel! Funny enough, they said they saw us coming up behind them and they were convinced we were security guards out to get them!! So they hid and waited for us to pass them. We walked past, unknowingly, and they realized we were just other hikers. Apparently since we walked at a good pace, they didn’t catch up to us until now. Okayyyy so now we were the only 4 people in the world climbing this volcano tonight. Still pretty cool.
I kept Tara motivated through my relentless toxic positivity as she was struggling with the altitude due to her asthma /lack of inhaler. When we finally inched our way to the top, we could not be happier to be done!!
We got there just in time to see sunrise… so why is all we saw white mist?!? The sun was coming up but we couldn’t see jack shiz. The wind was blowing, our teeth were chattering and there was no view. At all. We were so disappointed because we endured 5 and a half hours of pure uphill agony just to see the view and say “ahh it was worth it”. Well currently it was very much NOT worth it. We sat behind a wall to shield ourselves from the wind and hoped and hoped the clouds would clear. After waiting for 30 mins, the sun poked out from the clouds. We jumped up to see the view and this is what we got.
But after a few more minutes, the clouds started to clear and the sun warmed our frostbite faces. We saw a huge mountain that was completely hidden before and realized we weren’t even at the top! We had one last hill to climb to officially be at the viewpoint. So I mustered up every drop of energy I had left, and rock climbed to the top. We were rewarded with beautiful views of both the Pacific and Caribbean ocean at the same time. Volcan Baru is the only place in the world where you can see those two oceans at once!
We rested at the top for some time until deciding what to do next. The hike down was a 3 to 4 hour slippery rock endeavour that I had absolutely no interest in being a part of. We ended up hitching a ride with a Jeep tour company that takes the fancy up the volcano for sunrise. We paid 25 bucks each to ride down with them and get dropped off at our hostel. The driver even gave us a hot coco! Worth every penny. I honestly would have paid anything to get me off that volcano. My legs were jello and my brain a pile of mashed potatoes.
To give some reference to how hard the hike was, it took us an hour and half in the jeep to get down to the base. It was an insanely bumpy and comedic car ride as I had the back seat. I was flung left and right as the jeep tried to maneuver over the rocks. When we finally arrived at our hostel at 10:30am, we took a dip in the jacuzzi, showered, and then passed the heck out.
I slept for 4 hours before being awoken with a pang of hunger. I treated myself with an overpriced caprese baguette, french fries, and a muffin. The rest of the day we relaxed and told the tales of our journey to those who doubted going themselves. We felt very accomplished and very exhausted.
My tips to anyone willing to take on this challenge would be:
Stay at Bambuda Castle hostel. Super nice and 18 dollars a night for a touch of luxury
Go when there is good weather for a clear nights sky and a good sunrise
Dress accordingly for the cold and pack extra layers for the top
Bring snacks
Bring a portable charger
Download your music, podcasts, and audiobooks.
If you don’t care about sunrise, you can hike during the day like a normal person. This way you can see the views while going up. It will just be a sweaty and more crowded experience.
The hike is free! And you don’t need a guide. There is no way to get lost on the trail as its very wide and there is only one path.
The marker signs are wrong and inconsistent, don’t listen to them
Keep a positive attitude or the time will go soooo slow.
Bring cash if you decide to take the jeep down
Remember there is someone sitting in a wheelchair that would give anything to be in your shoes. Don’t complain too much 🙂
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