What's Pangea Traverse?
Around 340 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period, a tectonic plate that attached West Africa and South America collided with the North American plate. This collision formed the supercontinent known as Pangea. As the Carboniferous period ended, and throughout the Permian and Triassic, tectonic plate convergence formed a massive mountain range (equal in height and mass to the Himalaya Range) called the Central Pangea Mountains.
About 200-250 million years ago, Pangaea began to shift and break apart. This global tectonic breakup wrenched apart Pangea, formed the Atlantic Ocean, and remnants of the Central Pangea Mountains ended up in eastern North America, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, the British Isles, Western Europe, and North Africa.
The similarities between rock layers of the Ouachita Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Caledonian Mountains, Scottish Highlands, and the Anti-Atlas Mountains indicate that they were once part of the Central Pangea Mountains.
Eastern Terminus
Mount Toubkal: 4,167 m (13,671 ft)
Highest Peak, Atlas Mountains, Morocco/North Africa.
توبقال ⵜⵓⴳⴳ ⴽⴰⵍ
Three Continents | 18,000+ Miles | 21 Languages
The Pangea Traverse is a transatlantic expedition across the geographically separated spine of the Central Pangea Mountains. Since Pangea no longer exists and is now split into the continents we know today, a Pangea Traverse is not possible in the literal sense. The hypothetical route is an amalgamation of several established thru-hiking trails, backcountry routes, a cross-network of walking and cycling paths, and route planning.
Pangea Traverse crosses three continents, 18 countries, passes through 21 regional and distinct indigenous languages, routes 200 miles above the Arctic Circle, and over the Atlantic Ocean to Northern Africa.
Some notable established trails that make up Pangea Traverse include: Eastern Continental Trail (Florida Trail, Pinhoti Trail, Benton MacKaye Trail, Appalachian Trail, International Appalachian Trail); Arctic Circle Trail; Laugavegur Trail; Fimmvörðuháls Trail; The Ireland Way; West Highland Way; United Kingdom National Trails Network; The European Paths (E-Paths: E1 and E9); and Camino Frances to Finisterre.
The western terminus of Pangea Traverse is Key West, Florida, which is also the southern terminus of the Eastern Continental Trail; and the eastern terminus sits atop Mount Toubkal (توبقال ⵜⵓⴳⴳ ⴽⴰⵍ), standing at 4,167 m (13,671 ft), Toubkal is the highest peak in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and the tallest mountain in North Africa.
On October 6, 2023, Lil' Buddha finished the ECT for a third time, completing the first leg of Pangea Traverse.
Pangea Traverse Mileage:
- Year 2023: United States and Canada, Eastern Continental Trail (6,100 miles); Completed OCTOBER 6, 2023
- Year 2024: Greenland, Iceland, UK (6,000 miles); Planned June 2024
- Year 2025: Western Europe and Morocco (5,950 miles); Year 2025/26
- Trail Miles: 18,000+ miles