Backpacking with photography gear; not gonna lie, it's a challenging feat. It's what I've been doing for much of this past year, and I didn't hold back with the gear. I remember, early on, catching sight of myself in some reflective glass at the airport in Lima. I looked ridiculous. Like a parrot had exploded. 'If you want to be a bear, be a grizzly' mentor @ryandyar told me once. Yet I was looking at a full grown polar bear. A bag in the front, a bag on the back, another on the side. Things dangling off of every available clasp, a massive tripod sticking out from somewhere. A tent. A solar panel. Weeks worth of dehydrated food. Etc. etc. etc, all totalling nearly 100 pounds. I jingled when I walked. No wonder people were staring. I got stuck in doorways, and I don't even want to talk about elevators. Is this how photographers do it? I asked my reflection under the crushing mass. It certainly didn't look right and increased my respect for the ones who do it so much better. Yet photography is a results oriented endeavour and all this was gravy, I told myself. Unlike past adventures, I would sacrifice experience for imagery, minimalism for self sustainability. It's been a learning process (I use baggage carts now) and as I write this on night 360 before my last flight home, I think I've picked up a trick or two. You're looking at the view from San Antonio pass in the Cordillera Huayhuash where silence prevails and condors soar. If you've read 'Touching the Void' by Joe Simpson, this valley and one of those mountains is where it all took place. One of the greatest stories of survival and the human spirit ever written. At above 5000 meters, this view is garunteed not to take your breath away. It will be long gone before you get there. #sikkim #sikkimdiaries #sikkimtourism #sikkimtrip #sikkimadventures #gangtok #nathulapass #zeropoint #Tsomgo #RimbiWaterfalls #yumthang #nepal #kathmandu #pokhara #machapuchare #phewalake #amadablam #nagarkot #kathmandu #machapuchare #travelnepal #instanepal #nepal8thwonder (at Peru)
