Location and date:
This past summer (I live in Argentina, below ecuator) I went to my home city to visit family and do some hiking arround the island of Tierra del Fuego. This trekking is called "Paso Beban" which translates to something like "Beban Passage". Thomas Beban was a police officer who was asked to look for potential escape routes of an important Prison located in Ushuaia between 1900 and 1950 approx.

Gear:
I took way too much gear to this hike. I had decided to do it on my own so I could take the time to set up shots or even for the appropiate light. But my cousing wanted to come along and then I thought why not bring the dog? so...
Camera: K-5IIs and P30t film backup
Primes: DA15, 21, 40, 70
Zoom: DA10-17, 16-50, 55-300
Misc: Flash unit, tripod, gels, polarizer, cleaning kit, spare batteries...

Who in their right mind would bring that overlap of focal lengths? a 2Kg tripod to use it 3 times? But the limiteds are so lightweight.. why not? And the DA16-50 is weather sealed, of course...
Take 4Kg of dog food into account, tent, sleeping bag, some clothes, etc, etc... Sums up to 28Kg (15Kg for my cousin, 0Kg for the dog)
I only got to use the DA15 almost exclusively. I couldn´t bring myself to swap lenses or have the weight of the DA16-50 hanging arround.

Enough said:

1. There´s a trail at the start. I think it´s used for motorcycle races. Rey (my dog) was too energetic and we had a long way ahead so used the leash for the first part.



2. When the trail ends there´s a peatbog. We are heading right to the center between the big mountains.



3. After the peatbog there´s a refuge used by skiers. It was already 18.30 but we decided to keep walking and set up tent in the valley.



4. It did look nice though.



5. I am glad we continued. We got to see this:



6. But light was fading fast, temperature dropping and the floor was too wet so we set the tent over a big rock. Unprotected from wind but with dry floor. After dinner I took this photo:



7. The next day rained a little and they didn´t want to get wet at all. I really like this picture



8. View of the valley we left behind



9. And some interesting rocks. This is a kind of limestone in an interesting stage. there were others with eah layer almost as thin and fragile as paper.



10. Reaching the highest point of the passage (grey mountain on the left)



11. Passage Beban at 850 meters over sea level (started at 30mosl). I was happy, right?



12. Rey didn´t care that much



13. We came from behind Ivana. There´s another interesting lagoon to the far right.. For another time



14. Some snow at the top.



15. The way ahead. Final destination is the lake at the foot of the blue mountain in the distance



16. Slopes on the way down before we found a dry place to set the tent and make some fire.



17. Third day was less cloudy and we got to dry some of our clothes and tent before leaving



18. Beavers are an introduced species back in the fifties. They don´t have a natural predator and they are doing a lot of damage...
50 years later the goverment still doesn´t take action and it is really sad.



19. Beaver work



20. Rey making his way through the edge of the dam



21. Nice spot for launch. What´s the hurry?*



22. One more dam



23. As if beavers weren´t enough there was a fire 2 years ago. The worst part is that it was started by the goverment´s own natural resources people... Unbelievable



24. Last stage to the lake. The sun got ahead of us. Wish I had gotten here earlier*. You can see the path used by the fire workers on the right



25. Nice lagoon



26. Just a bit late to see the sun..



27. Arrival. Can you see the moon? It was beautiful. I checked moon set in my GPS and set an alarm to wake up before it dissapeared behind the mountain but I was too tired when it sounded.. Shame on me! I just peeked my head out of the tent and stared at it. My cousin couldn´t move.



28. Rey was really tired



29. But he was the first one up



30. So much DA15 photos.. I had to put one with a nice starbust.



Hope you enjoyed the series.

[TonyTurley]

Great series. Enjoyed them very much. Beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing.

[Fries]

Fantastic trip in a beautiful area and you documented it very well! I really like the 'moody' 6'th photo a lot.

[Kerrowdown]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us all.

[CreationBear]

What an epic landscape...a 60-pound pack is a bit beyond my comfort zone for off-trail hiking, but I'm glad you were willing to suffer for your art.

[Clarkey]

Bravo!
Really like to see this corner of the world sometime. Ushuaia has an interesting and often chequered history
Didn't know Beavers were introduced outside North America!
Like the glaciated landscapes too. Definitely a summer trip, by the look of it.

[normhead]

Looks like a great trip, it looks like some awesome scenery. Look at all those nice ponds the beavers ae making for you. Great fish habitat. Up here the wolves catch them, we could send you some. But a very large number of beavers die when a tree they're cutting falls on them. They don't really need predators.

[Clarkey]

Looks like a great trip, it looks like some awesome scenery. Look at all those nice ponds the beavers ae making for you. Great fish habitat. Up here the wolves catch them, we could send you some. But a very large number of beavers die when a tree they're cutting falls on them. They don't really need predators.

Yup (not my picture).

[carrrlangas]

Great series. Enjoyed them very much. Beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic trip in a beautiful area and you documented it very well! I really like the 'moody' 6'th photo a lot.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us all.

Thanks for the compliments, glad you enjoyed it and glad to share with this community.

---------- Post added 04-14-14 at 11:26 PM ----------

What an epic landscape...a 60-pound pack is a bit beyond my comfort zone for off-trail hiking, but I'm glad you were willing to suffer for your art.

Definetely too much weight for this trip... Thanks

Bravo!
Really like to see this corner of the world sometime. Ushuaia has an interesting and often chequered history
Didn't know Beavers were introduced outside North America!
Like the glaciated landscapes too. Definitely a summer trip, by the look of it.

Thanks. Yes, Patagonia is really nice... and kind of cheap for you right now. Winter is a total different landscape and much harder...

Looks like a great trip, it looks like some awesome scenery. Look at all those nice ponds the beavers ae making for you. Great fish habitat. Up here the wolves catch them, we could send you some. But a very large number of beavers die when a tree they're cutting falls on them. They don't really need predators.

haha, Never seen or heard of a beaver busted by a tree!

[pixie]

What a trek, nicely done and thanks for sharing your photos, I would love to see it with my own eyes one day.

[Sailor]

Wow - what a delightful series. Terrific photos - you guys must be a hearty pair.

Jer

[seventysixersfan]

Wow! Extremely beautiful pictures of your trip! Thanks for sharing.

[geedee]

Great picture. I love Tierra del Fuego. Reminds me of my trip in 2003 with some friends in a Daihatsu Jeep and a ME Super...

[carrrlangas]

What a trek, nicely done and thanks for sharing your photos, I would love to see it with my own eyes one day.

You definetely could... Thanks

Wow - what a delightful series. Terrific photos - you guys must be a hearty pair.

Jer

Thnaks Jer, She isn´t used to this kind of demand (lots of weight, lots of walking) but she plays lots of sports so she is fit.

Wow! Extremely beautiful pictures of your trip! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the comment!

Great picture. I love Tierra del Fuego. Reminds me of my trip in 2003 with some friends in a Daihatsu Jeep and a ME Super...

Awesome, I´d like to see more from that trip

[gda13]

A beautiful area of that country for sure! TFS, very enjoyable and informative.