Frank Wolf - Round the Gap

March 25, 2024

(Updated April 17)

Frank's next paddling expedition will be the 400km trek from Panama City Panama, to Turbo, Colombia along with fellow adventurer Mark Sky in a pair of 2024 TRAK 2.0 Kayaks. We're asked all the time why the TRAK is the Ultimate Sea Touring Kayak. Here's one more example of incredible people on amazing journeys with them.

Mark's adventure began in Squamish, BC on his Expedition Squagua - setting out to traverse every province and state on his way to Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina. Oh, and he's climbing the highest peak in each just for good measure! An adventure not for the faint of heart.

March 13 - Nanaimo BC

TRAK HQ's Simon Naylor met up to get Frank and Mark outfitted with a pair of TRAK 2.0s for their Darien Gap paddle. From there, Frank will fly via Vancouver all the way to rendezvous with Mark in Panama City.

It didn't take long for Frank and the TRAKs to make it to Panama, thanks to their easy airline travel. With a TRAK 2.0 you can take them on the adventure. No more buying boats on location only to have to sell them after the trip, or renting sketchy boats halfway around the world.

Meeting Mark in the 16th floor war room, the guys prepared their pack outs for the journey ahead. After a slight hiccup of permits in Panama City, Frank drove the gear to their put in at the Atlantic Ocean, and Mark continued his human powered experience by trekking on foot the 80km!! Paddling is going to seem like a vacation after that.

They're underway! The pair officially put in on the Atlantic Ocean side of Panama and have begun their paddle to Colombia. They celebrated with a palm tree lunch, the first of many to no doubt follow.

March 27 - Venas Azules - Colón

Sloth in camp! Early morning departure to beat some of the day’s heat and this three-toed sloth (damp from apparently having swum to our camp spot) was crawling up a tree over Mark’s boat and surprised him from a couple feet away. Stealthy creature 😄

@supermarks_adventures rides the rolling seas of Panama’s Caribbean coast between Punta Pescador and Punta Chunga Chunga. Filled with boomers and breaks, the breezy conditions brought the sea alive…and took the edge off of a hot day 🥵

March 29 - Guna Yala Comarca

The friendly people of Guna Yala digging our kayaks and showing off their catch of the day as we enter the San Blas islands. Fishing from dugout canoes called ulus and sporting homemade paddles, they cruise through choppy seas and ply the reefs for subsistence and to sell at market. They made us feel soft in our modern kayaks- and as compatriots of the sea always greet us with a friendly smile 😊

April 3 - Isla Diablo (Niadup)

Got into some big water today as we poked our heads out to see what conditions were really like. With an exposed 30 km stretch and the 3 metre swell closing out everywhere, we retreated to the village of Niadup and found some more new friends 😀

April 8 - Colombia!

Less than two weeks after launch Mark and Frank have rounded the Cape through some huge weather and have arrived in Colombia!

April 17 - Onwards to Aconcagua

Frank has completed his leg of the epic Squagua Expedition and is on his way back to TRAK HQ. This incredible trek has seen Mark travel via human power from Squamish BC on his way to climb Aconcagua in Argentina, along with the highest peak in each country he explores.

The famed Darien Gap stood as an impenetrable land barrier, and without a way to cross it Mark's dream of a human powered expedition was on the line. Enter Frank Wolf and two TRAK 2.0 kayaks. Together the guys completed their journey together from Panama City to Turbo, Colombia. Turbo was an appropriate landing spot, and a way to describe their paddle, covering the distance in barely two weeks!

We'll have a full trip debrief including their midnight misadventure on a sandspit outside a Colombian Naval base soon - stay tuned!

Follow their continuing adventures on their pages:

https://www.instagram.com/supermarks_adventures/

https://www.instagram.com/frankwolf70/