Patagonia

[TheWengler]

I just got back from two weeks of backpacking in Patagonia about a week ago. Here are a few of my favorite images from the trip.

1


2 - This one is a work in progress, but I love the clouds!


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


10

[raven15]

You really jumped all the way in to that backpacking thing, now I'm jealous. Now, lets just say #6 is my runaway favorite. 1,3,9,&10 are also good, I'm not really into 8, but #6 is amazing. Curious to know more about the trip.

[kgosden]

Lukas,

Number 6 is a classic composition. But I like the first best. The warm/cool color contrast between the ice and mountains is interesting. I would hate to see what one of those online printing services' auto-color correction processes tries to do with it

Did you plan the trip on your own, use a tour company or just hire a guide? I have met a number of guides on other adventure type trips that do Patagonia treks. After a scare with acute mountain sickness at 15k ft in Peru I have become hesitant about some regions. What was the average and peak altitude on your trip?

[tim11]

Stunning shot here. The only thing that can be fixed is the horizontal on the first.

[TheWengler]

Did you plan the trip on your own, use a tour company or just hire a guide? I have met a number of guides on other adventure type trips that do Patagonia treks. After a scare with acute mountain sickness at 15k ft in Peru I have become hesitant about some regions. What was the average and peak altitude on your trip?

There really wasn't much planning involved. Bought a book, got a plane ticket and that was it. Booked all shuttles and hotels once we were already there. Mostly though we were backpacking and camping closer to the shooting locations. You only really need a guide if you want to go out on the ice or maybe for climbing. For what we were doing, it wasn't necessary at all. The town is small enough to walk and most of the trailheads start at the edge of town. We went out for 2, 3 and 4 night backpacking trips. In between trips we stayed at hotels which we either got on the spot or reserved a few days ahead.

Elevation was a non issue. I think the highest we were was about 4000 ft. The main peaks are in the 10k-11k ft range. Weather is the bigger issue. Highly variable and can get crazy windy. I gave myself 2 weeks for shooting because of this and I needed every day. The first 3rd of the trip I couldn't see Cerro Torre or Fitz Roy. The second 3rd I could see the peaks but there were too many clouds at sunrise. The last 3rd the stars finally aligned for me.

[blindeye]

Stunning images all around! Excellent work.

[D70FAN]

One place I have never been. BA only briefly.

Stunning shots.

[raven15]

Stunning shot here. The only thing that can be fixed is the horizontal on the first.

Yeah, I was gonna say that too, after my first post I started comparing the edge of the lake to the bottom of my screen.

[raven15]

A few questions,
Was it cold? There seems to be some fresh snow on the ground in a few of those. I'm curious how you dealt with backpacking in the snow, so far I've chickened out whenever I had the chance. And, are these sunsets,rises, or both? A cold sunrise is a thing I have a hard time getting out for.
I was gonna ask about elevation, but that's answered. Strange that you never came close to the elevation of my house, and yet there are towering glaciated mountains everywhere.
What kind of gear did you use and were there any issues getting it overseas? I've actually never been backpacking more than a 2 hour drive from where I live. The thought of bringing a tent etc. on a plane makes me cringe.

[kgosden]

Raven,

Tents on planes are easy. It is tent poles, trekking poles, etc. that are tough. I have actually purchased a 3ft long section of white plastic drain pipe and put two screw on ends to carry easily bent items. I even made it TSA lock friendly with a few holes and a TSA cable lock.