- Day 1 - Friday, November 7 - 18.1 miles, 6:11 elapsed, Haa trailhead to Zhey Dhey Homestay above Paro
- Day 2 - Saturday, November 8 - 32.1 miles, 12:01 elapsed, Zhey Dhey Homestay above Paro to the village of Yusipang
- Day 3 - Sunday, November 9 - 34.8 miles, 12:58 elapsed, village of Yusipang to road crossing in Wangdi
- Day 4 - Monday, November 10 - 27.4 miles, 11:06 elapsed, road crossing in Wangdi to Sangay's farm stay in the village of Rukubji
- Day 5 - Tuesday, November 11 - 25.1 miles, 10:38 elapsed, Sangay's farm stay in the village of Rukubji to Trongsa Dzong View Point above Trongsa
- Day 6 - Wednesday, November 12 - 26.7 miles, 11:04 elapsed, Trongsa Dzong View Point above Trongsa to Gongkhar Hotel in Jakar
- Day 7 - Thursday, November 13 - 31.2 miles, 13:07 elapsed, Gongkhar Hotel in Jakar to Thrumshing La
- Day 8 - Friday, November 14 - 31 miles, 13:45 elapsed, Thrumshing La to Wangchuck Hotel in Mongar
- Day 9 - Saturday, November 15 - 38.1 miles, 18:26 elapsed, Wangchuck Hotel in Mongar to Trashigang Dzong trailhead
Bhutan's Rinzin Dorji, New Zealand's Anna Frost, and the US's Meghan Hicks began the Trans Bhutan Trail on Friday, November 7, at 11:40 am local time. We finished 8 days, 11 hours, and 54 minutes later on Saturday, November 15, at 11:34 pm. We understand a few people have hiked the modern trail in its entirety to date, but we believe this is the first faster attempt of the trail so far.
Guides are required for all hiking and running in Bhutan, and Rinzin served as our guide, in addition to covering the trail's full distance. His support and athletic prowess were both instrumental to this group's success.
We were supported daily by Tenzin Wangda, our driver, who shuttled our gear from each day's start to finish by road, and who organized our lodging and food for each night/morning. We slept at night in guest houses, hotels, and roadside lodges, and ate dinner and breakfast at each lodging. Some of the lodgings were located right on the trail, while others Tenzin drove us to and from. Each morning, we restarted the trail at the exact spot where we had left off the day before.
On Day 2, we were treated to lunch by friends Vivi Tshering and Drukdra Dorji "Doogey" Penjore on the trail. Also on this day, Doogey ran with us for around 20 kilometers. On Day 9, Tenzin crewed us for a lunch spot. We experienced numerous instances of "trail magic," including coffee and treat stops, as well as offerings in villages and at homes along the way. Some we paid for, and some were gifts to us as people traveling the trail, which passed through someone's home or village.
The route is generally marked by white blazes, and we followed them whenever we could find them. However, there were places where white blazes were not found. We also had a rough GPX track of the route, so occasionally, when we were unable to locate white blazes, like through settlements or crop fields, we made our way through those locations, roughly following the GPX track until we located white blazes again. We imagine that the route in these locations will continue to evolve over time as trail administrators determine the best route through settlements, towns, and fields of crops.
We were unable to follow the trail for about 10-12km on Day 5 between the villages of Chendebji and Tshangka because it was impassable due to dense jungle brush. Prior to this spot, we'd bushwhacked for a long time with a machete, and the trail was extremely difficult to follow, with white blazes not being clearly seen. We instead hiked and ran the nearby road, which was longer in distance but less technical. We can't advise that others attempt to travel this section of trail — between Chendebji and Tshangka — until a trail administrator re-clears it. We've reported these trail conditions to the Trans Bhutan Trail nonprofit, which appears to be responsible for maintaining the trail.
On Day 7, we hiked 3km of road instead of 2km of trail after dark at the recommendation of our guide for safety. After seeing a fresh Royal Bengal Tiger track, the wide cut of jungle made by the road gave us visibility for safer night travel. The road was 1km longer but less technical.