Planning for the Pan-American Highway

If you’ve never heard of the Pan-American Highway, that’s understandable. Most people have never heard of it. Unfortunately, I did when I was younger, and it’s never left my imagination.

So, what is the Pan-American Highway, or PAH? It’s the route between the Arctic Ocean (in Alaska) to the Beagle Channel (in Argentina), with a slight break between Panama and Colombia (the Darian Gap). You can see the official route from the map taken from MapNations.com (credit to them). Overall, it’s about 19,000 miles.

I start my trip from the Greater Enumclaw Metropolitan Area in mid-September and head south to the small town of Ushuaia, Argentina. I’ll be riding my 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan (the one I rode on the Trans-America Trail in 2022) and camping/hosteling/moteling along the way. I’ll also have a chance to connect with fellow Pink Flamingo Universe author Greg Sorber in Riverside, CA.

How long will the ride be? Unsure. I won’t be taking the “official” route, which in the overlanding community, is really more of a suggestion. My route will take me down the Oregon Coast, inland to the Sierra Nevada, then south through Baja California (where I’ll take SCUBA lessons). From there, I’ll check out a couple of Aztec and Mayan Heritage sites, then shoot straight to Panama City, Panama, where I’ll load the bike on a plane and fly to Bogotá, Colombia. From there, it’s a long journey along the western slope of the Andes, with stops along the way.

Planning for an epic journey of this magnitude requires a bit of planning (and financing). Most people only think of the equipment they need (my list is over 300 items!), but you also have to think of health concerns (travel insurance, vaccinations, prophylactic medicines, etc.), border crossings, and what you can or cannot bring into a country.

Over the next several days I’ll be outlining these things, along with videotaping and posting on my YouTube channel – Writer on the Road. I’ll try to post on the road – blog and video (but not sure just how that’ll go) Be sure to follow.