I slip out of the car and spill onto the trail as a stranger, an old distant friend at best, paper name tag firmly plastered over my upper chest, reads as follows: "Hi, My Name is Eugene Smith"- I'm as awkward as a maladjusted, pimple faced fifteen year old on a prom date, one in which I was asked to attend. You get the picture. Reacquainting myself with the backcountry, the wild places where pavement gives way to the full beauty of our Earth, where the dashed yellow lines atop asphalt based road transform into earthen trails of freedom, is sometimes an uneasy process, fueled by a dangerous combination of overt excitement and those "first day of school" like jitters. I willingly respond to "The Call", that innate desire to stretch out and explore, to frolic in the mountains, to drink from the waters, to slip unseen beneath the trees, to wade in the shallows of an azure New Mexican sky broken up only by the fleeting clouds of a passing storm - acting upon this desire is only a natural response, one that takes place deep within me. I go because it's there. How can I not?
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Strangers to Friends
- Day #1
- Day #2
- Day #3
- Day #4
- Conclusion
# WORDS: 4730
# PHOTOS: 24
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Discussion
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Finally got to read your account of the Pecos. I'm dying to get out there.
Ryan,
Yes sir, we need to put something together this summer for sure, perhaps the Skyline Trail?
Eugene,
I somehow missed this on the first go-around. Simply a fantastic report and stunning photos. I'm putting together a trip report myself right now, and I must say that your photographic capabilities have taught me that I am not nearly as good of a photographer as you, and that a better camera is in store for me.
Wonderful job!
Thank you very much for the kind words Travis. I'm looking forward to what you put together.
I missed this article when it was first posted too. This is by far the best trip report I've ever seen, and you did a fantastic job with the video and the D7000; DSLRs are not the easiest tool to get smooth, properly focused video out of. I'm eager to see the next generation of these videos with something like the Sony NEX-7 or the Canon G 1X where this incredible level of quality can fit into an ultralight baseweight.
Great job.
All: if anyone wants to hit the skyline trail over Memorial Day, I have a good buffer of days off on either side of the holiday.
Not sure how I missed this trip report until just now. Great work, and even better photography.
A couple questions, if you don't mind: what lens did you use for your photos? As far as I can tell it's an ultrawide zoom of some sort (maybe a 16-35mm f/2.8?). Regarding the dynamic range pop of the landscapes – is that the result of a polarizer/graduated ND filter or maybe a color filter done in post (perhaps a combination of all 3)?
Also, did you bring a tripod for the long exposures? I ask because I opt to use natural features on the trail as support in place of a tripod. It's hardly ideal, but better than lugging my tripod around in the backcountry (despite my current tripod being of carbon fiber and magnesium construction, it still weighs 4lbs w/ head and never seems to make it past the trailhead). Living as both a photographer and an ultralight backpacker, I've gotten used to the two identities being constantly at odds, but I love hearing about how others manage to make it work for them.
Thanks Joseph.
Yes, the landscapes were shot with a Nikon 10-24mm 3.5-4.5, and the rest of the photographs were shot with a 35 f1.8. I had a UV filter mounted on both lenses.
Most of the photographs were shot hand held, a few, particularly the photo of Pecos Falls was taken while mounted on a Gorilla pod SLR tripod balanced on a rock in the river.
This combination of lenses covered the really wide end well and low light situations and portraits with the 35.
I'm feeling a slight bit of the "winter" blues this evening, and badly desire to get out for a few days of backpacking in the mountains. Don't see that happening soon. Nothing like nostalgia and revisiting some old memories of a past trip to lift the spirit.
How lame is it to reread your own buried article and bump it? LAAAAAAME.
I can't wait to get out and hike with these guys again in 2013.
Round 3 fellas?
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