#southernmosttree

Behind the scenes photos of my expedition with a bunch of adventuring scientists in search of the world’s southernmost tree. The journey took us to the last spot of land before Antarctica, to Hornos Island. Swipe left for more. 1/ A hike with a view of the jagged peaks of Dientes de Navarino; 2/ writer, Craig Welch (left) and expedition leader, Brian Buma braving some wind and chop for some fresh air on the ferry ride to a Puerto Williams; 3/ Local horse in Puerto Williams wants a piece of whatever Craig bought at the grocery; 4/ Craig again, he fell and needed help up in Hornos Island and not for the last time as all of us did almost every other day (had to document him before I offered my hand of course) and; 5/ Steve, the penguin we said hello to most mornings when we hiked past him on the pebble beach on our search for the world’s southernmost tree. Issue out in National Geographic’s June issue. With @craigwelch and @brian.buma #environment #climatechange #southernmosttree #hornosisland #dientesdenavarino #puertowilliams https://www.instagram.com/p/CPemWhks_fr/?utm_medium=tumblr

Chuffed to have also got my copy! Read writer Craig Welch’s caption for a taste of the adventure we had at the bottom of the world. Re-Posted from @craigwelch • Look what came today. Every so often, @natgeo sends me out w/a bunch of kick-ass scientist-explorer-adrenalin-junkie types to pen an old-school adventure narrative about their hunt for something no one has ever seen before. (Usually I discover I'm not so adept at adventuring.) The June issue includes my favorite: Our trek to the outer island of Tierra del Fuego to find the very last tree in the southern hemisphere before the land becomes grass, rock, ice and, well, Antarctica. And by that I do mean the very very southernmost specimen. We crossed oceans; chugged 32 hours by ferry; motored 10 hours by wooden boat helmed by a man who confessed after it was too late to change our minds that he’d never navigated such deadly seas. Then we hiked through gales, slipped on penguin guano and fell to our necks in prickly shrubs. (Photographer @iantehphotography had to rescue me from one that was sucking me down like quicksand.) After 10 days in tents clawing over and through brush w/compasses and GPS devices, we wound up pawing through weeds to find the hemisphere’s very last tree as it snaked a dozen feet along the ground because winds had bent it completely horizontal. At least we didn't have to climb or rap down that 1,000-foot headwall, though for a while it sure looked like we might. All in all, it was a fabulous experience. It was bloody windy. And it was bloody awful. But still fabulous. Plus, the team made history. That’s something, right? W/ @iantehphotography @brian.buma @omar_barrosop @felipe_mendez_g #capehorn #southernmosttree #climatechange #wildlands #naturephotography @javitayi @javier_estay_vergara @patty_aros https://www.instagram.com/p/CPJ-HhjA0YW/?utm_medium=tumblr

We flew over oceans; chugged 32 hours by ferry; motored 10 hours more on a wooden charter boat captained by a sailor who confessed mid-journey that he navigated this wicked stretch,” describes @craigwelch, who pens the National Geographic piece this June about our adventures searching for the world’s southernmost tree. The journey from Puerto Williams started quietly enough as we sailed eastwards on the Beagle Channel’s calm waters sheltered by the landmass of Argentina in the north and Chile in the south. In my jacket pocket, a stash of pills -- in anticipation of the jolly ride that awaited us on the open sea. With@brianbuma for @natgeo #SouthernmostTree #beaglechannel #Environment https://www.instagram.com/p/CPDpGh6s11q/?utm_medium=tumblr

Swipe left to see more // Image 1/ Glacier Hollanda. Some of us took the scenic route by ferry starting out on the Straits of Magellan. Our 32-hour journey took us past some of the most dramatic and beautiful glacial landscapes in the Tierra Del Fuego region before arriving at Puerto Williams, the southernmost city in the world. Image 2/ by scientist @brianbuma of @craigwelch and @iantehphotography (taking pictures) trying to hang onto the ferry Yaghan in some serious wind and chop, as we move a ton of gear, alongside a few cars and an excavator, from Punta Arenas to Puerto Williams at the beginning of the Southernmost Tree in the World Expedition to Isla Hornos. This exceptionally nice spot was rounding out of the Straight of Magellan, exposed to the open fury of the southern Pacific, and shooting for the Beagle Channel. Read about the trip in June's issue of National Geographic. @insidenatgeo @natgeoadventure #SouthernmostTree #AvenueOfTheGlaciers #TierraDelFuego #Environment #Glaciers https://www.instagram.com/p/CPBLU4oMrdN/?utm_medium=tumblr

I journeyed with a bunch of adventuring scientists in search of the world's southernmost tree. The expedition's large equipment wouldn't fit the small twin-turboprop passenger plane to Puerto Williams, our rendezvous point. So for some of us, it meant the scenic route by ferry on the Straits of Magellan to the outer coast before re-entering the small waterway channels of the Chilean fjords and heading south through the historic Beagle Channel. It was named after the HMS Beagle, which once brought the young naturalist Charles Darwin through its waters, where he saw his first glaciers back on 29 January 1833. Our 32-hour journey took us past some of the most dramatic and beautiful glacial landscapes in the Tierra Del Fuego region before arriving at Puerto Williams, the southernmost city in the world. After a few days, we would cross rough open seas in a wooden boat where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. At the northernmost point of the notorious Drake Passage was Cape Horn, a rocky headland on Hornos Island and our final destination. The tale of this adventure will be out in the June issue of National Geographic. With @natgeo @craigwelch @brian.buma #SouthernmostTree #AvenueOfTheGlaciers #TierraDelFuego #Environment #Glaciers https://www.instagram.com/p/CO-D48lMX71/?igshid=16ixwlyov3to2

"We flew over oceans, to that treacherous point where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet. We were looking for something no one had ever seen and were prepared to climb up or rappel down a knobby face above the deadliest seas on Earth to find it. (Well, some of us were prepared. Ahem.) We crossed oceans; chugged 32 hours by ferry; motored 10 hours more on a wooden charter boat captained by a sailor who confessed mid-journey that he'd never navigated this wicked stretch. Then we hit Cape Horn, the last spit of ground in Tierra del Fuego," writes Craig Welch describing our experience vividly. We were following a scientific expedition led by scientist Brian Buma last year. We were met near its shores at the lighthouse by Chilean Navy Officer Andrés Morales and his family, the only living souls on this island barring the occasional passing cruise ship. Or this time, adventuring scientists about to explore the island away from the shelter of this outpost. In the coming days, Morales would keep us abreast of weather conditions by radio on an island notorious for its gales, and unpredictable weather. Not knowing when I might see them again, I asked to do a family portrait outside during a lull in the gusts buffeting their little home. Within minutes the winds picked up again, ruffling their gracious poses to produce this, an image of a windswept family trying desperately to look presentable in front of my camera. I had hoped to capture a sense of the place they were in, a windy, isolated island at the bottom of the world. Cape Horn delivered. Later we hiked through gales and cold sheet rain, slipping on penguin guano, before plummeting to our necks in prickly shrubs. This is the story of our hunt for the southernmost tree on Earth. #capehorn #chile #southernmosttree #climatechange https://www.instagram.com/p/CE_11I1AAj3/?igshid=1mc9ujksppnj4

Printed and Signed! This baby is now ready for shipping to partner in crime - writer @craigwelch - who was on our assignment to the bottom of the world with leader @brian.buma and team in their search for the planet’s Southernmost Tree for @natgeo. Thanks Craig for the purchase — 50% of the proceeds have gone to the Union of Concerned Scientists - an NGO that uses science to address global problems to improve people’s lives. Link to the Nat Geo article is in my bio page. #southernmosttree #capehorn #chile #scienceexpedition #climatechange https://www.instagram.com/p/CDD19W_A053/?igshid=6107l0pk2noj