It seems we keep eyeing bigger and bigger hikes and this year is no exception. While looking ahead to the potential for Camino de Santiago in Spain (fall 2026), we happened to find the Camino de Costa Rica and figured we’d give it a go. We’ve already done Volcan Baru in Panama and this spring we did Havasu Falls so why not?
This will be our biggest trek yet, as the Mar a Mar Foundation, which created El Camino de Costa Rica, designed a route that will take us 16 days to cross from the Caribbean Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It features 35,000 ft of elevation gain over nearly 175 miles of walking/hiking on roads, trails, and beach through forests, jungle, and fields.
Training Plan for El Camino de Costa Rica
We never really stopped hiking much after Panama last year. In fact, when we found out we were getting the permit for Havasu Falls we added a number of longer hikes along the Appalachian Trail with large packs loaded with 30-35 lbs of books each. So we never really were out of shape for El Camino. That said, there are a few things we doubled down to prepare.
Zone 2 and Zone 5 Training – We’ve made a concerted effort to get in two sessions a week of Zone 2 training (heart rate roughly 132 – 144 bpm) with a mix of stair climber, treadmill walking with 9-10% elevation, elliptical, or very (very very) slow running outside. And, as much as possible, one to two sessions of Zone 5 (heart rate above ~170 bpm) each week as well.
Multiple Days of Walking/Hiking in a Row – We’ve taken advantage of living on the W&OD Trail to regularly walk 4 to 6 miles on the trail and sometimes more. More importantly, walking this distance multiple days in a row. Periodically, we add 6-12 mile hikes along the Appalachian Trail too. While we haven’t done as much back to back days as we would have liked, we’ve done several and it will have to be enough.
Strength Training & Mobility – While we always do this we’ve focused on strengthening our feet, quads, and hips as well as lots of stretching and mobility work to increase range of motion in them as well.
Special Items for Our Packing List
We’re using Urritrek as our guide. Not only do they provide a guide for the hike but they also carry our luggage between overnight stays so we only need to carry a day pack with some water. They also provide a packing list though its pretty basic — shorts, hiking books/sneakers, long shirt/pants for a couple of stretches. Not really rocket science. However, we’ve got a few additional items we’re adding to the list.
Xero Mesa Trail WP – I’ve been wearing wide toe box, minimalist, shoes for years and absolutely love them. We both had a different pair of Xero shoes to hike Volcan Baru last year but they have almost no tread left and are worn out the sides. Since there is likely to be a good amount of mud this year we opted for a new pair but this time waterproof. They’ve been wonderful for hiking around here so far this year.
Bridge Soles from P. R. Gear (Hillary) – Hillary has only more recently become a convert to wide toe box, minimalist, shoes and periodically ends up in a good deal of pain as she rebuilds the strength in her feet. While strengthening here feet has helped a great deal, she also found these inserts do wonders for her. They are meant to help support your feet temporarily while they rebuild and adjust to minimalist shoes. We’ve got a brand new pair for her so we don’t have to take any chances.
Selfie Stick & Wireless Microphones – I’ve never been a fan of selfie sticks. They always seemed a bit silly. However… We want to try recording video during the Camino de Costa Rica. Boy was I missing out. I’ve been taking family selfies by hand for years but its always a struggle to fit everyone in and get something meaningful in the background. It is soooo much easier with a selfie stick. I picked up a TONEOF 60″ Selfie Stick and Tripod in one plus BOYA Dual Wireless Microphones for this trip.
Solar Charger – We really have no idea what the power situation will be so I’m also bringing along the BigBlue Solar Charger I picked up for our trip to Havasu so that we can recharge phones, microphones, battery backups, and our Oura Rings.