Landscapes

The Missing Landscape

To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.

Aldo Leopold

Badlands certainly seem like that: a forgotten piece of geological features in a remote corner of the windswept plains of South Dakota. So much so that until you are right up at it, you never get to realize what a treasure trove of history, geology, and nature this place really is.

National Parks, in that way, preserve such forgotten landscapes, the boundaries selected by not what people would want to visit, but by what the future generations don't even know they would need. Having visited 34 National Parks, I have been able to experience these some of what these diverse landscapes have to offer, and I look forward to getting surprised by more.

This is one such landscape in Badlands National Park, where the windswept rolling prairies give way to rugged hillscapes, and water-carved canyonlands painted with natural colors like no other. The 24 hrs I spent there left me wanting for more of this forgotten landscape

Badlands National Park
SD USA

The Case for National Parks

Why do National Parks matter?

In a digitally connected age, where we are creating a generation addicted the slab of plastic and glass, it is very easy to lose the perspective of reality, and experiencing the present for what it really is. The popularity contests inherent in the digital generation shifts focus away from what is tangible to what is virtual.

National Parks are perhaps some of the few destinations that offer a reality check. It can put you under constraints that requires one to be physically present and think with their feet and not with their phones, and can provide enough of a draw to actually distract a visitor from their phones long enough to pique their curiosity to make a lasting impact.

My personal draw to 34 (and counting) of these unique National parks is the eager inquisitiveness to see what's out there. Exploring the diverse biomes that have been preserved in the different parks has certainly enriched my perspective on the grand ecological balance of nature. And perhaps there is nothing more exhilerating that standing atop a summit, with the world stretching forever around.

This was from one such visit to a local favorite: Mt Rainier National Park in Washington, where high atop one of the lookout points, the glaciated volcanic summit towers above the wildflower-filled grassy meadows and high-alpine atmosphere.

Mt Rainier National Park
WA USA

An ode to the Parks

The parks do not belong to one state or to one section.... The Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are national properties in which every citizen has a vested interest; they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona.

Stephen T. Mather, NPS Director, 1917-1929

As National Park Week rolls around, I reminisced on the impact the US National Park System has had in my life so far. And I have come to realize that without such a system, my passion for photography, my love of the outdoors, and my curiosity to explore, would have all suffered a slow premature death. One of my very first hiking trips in the National Park system was in Yosemite, where I got to see the grandeur of Half dome nestled in its stellar surroundings. Even my first backpack into the heart of its mountainous wilderness, where, camping in the meadows next to a glistening alpine lake, I got to experience the freedom the wild outdoors provide, especially in a protected setting like Yosemite, was unforgettable.

It was these formative trips into the National parks a decade ago that have fostered not just my passion for the outdoors, but also an ethos of conservation of the natural wonders. I am forever grateful for the magnanimity of the National Park service that asks for so little.

Thank you.

Yosemite National Park
CA USA

 

A moment together

Most of the cameras, and almost all the eyes were pointed at the grandeur of nature ahead: the towering brick-red sandstone buttes rising from the rugged desert landscape with the vast sky above breaking out in deep red while the last vestiges of sunlight set the sandstone edifices ablaze. As a photographer, even my attention was directed in that direction, until it was not.

After multiple compositions of that photogenic spectacle, I turned my eyes west, looking back at the rim of the View Hotel at Monument Valley, where I caught a small group of friends standing on the edge and enjoying the evening, whilst the sky behind was taking on a breath-taking crimson coating. I stood in awe enjoying this superb silhouette of a rare perspective in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Monument Valley
AZ USA

 

The Last Vestiges of Winter

The last vestiges of winter are still hanging on through mid-April, leading to plunging mercury lines and people searching for their winter-wear. It brought memories of the cold winter the city went through, as well as my own escapades into the snow-capped cascades.

One such trip was the climb up-to Huntoon point where I was witness to a spectacle of sun and snow like no other. Fresh snowfall from the prior night had coated the ragged peaks with a carpet of pure undisturbed white, while strong winds had created tree-shines on the south-facing slopes. It was surreal to experience the transition from verdant greenery to the refreshing white climbing up from the depths below.

Conditions like these come together perhaps a couple of times a year, and I was glad to experience one of them. Hopefully it will keep me engaged until the next winter.

North Cascades National Park
WA USA

Remnants of Summer memories

We don't remember days; we remember moments

As I made my way into a really scenic section of the Sierra Nevadas one early summer, the crisp sound of gurgling water, the fresh breeze carrying cool air from the mountains, and the beautiful vistas of snow-capped peaks under a picuresque sky awaited me. I may not remember my exact footsteps, but memories of the beautiful scenery, of dipping my hot feet in the cold waters of the creek, and of sitting by the shores of one of the innumerable lakes enjoying the afternoon sun, were preserved in a dream-like state.

Such is the draw of forming experiences hiking in the Sierras

Inyo National Forest
CA USA

Walking the Plank

It was a cold and foggy morning when I awoke that morning in my hotel. My upset tummy hadn't subsided, and the effects of the high altitude were still there. I didn't want to get out of my bed, but I forced myself to and embarked on the 10mi loop of Laguna Quilotoa.

And I was glad I did, for the vistas I encountered were sublime, combining breath-taking scenery, high-alpine atmosphere, and the glistening lake in a volcanic crater. It was a visual treat to see this grand spectacle of geology stretching between the turquoise waters of the lake, the ragged walls of the crater, the tiny farms and fields on the outer slopes, dotted with distant Andean villages getting ready for the morning rituals just as the sun broke through the fog.

As I turn my sights once again towards the volcanic mountain ranges of Central and South America, I was reminded of this trek in Ecuador, and of the other dramatic volcanoes and the Andean range that forms the spine of the continent. And I can't wait to explore more of it.

Quilotoa
Cotopaxi Ecuador

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Blue Hour at the Blue City

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To visit Morocco is like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines

Edith Wharton

Search for Chefchaouen and you get dazzling imagery of vibrant blue alleys and embroidered doorways framing the everyday life of the local community which thrives there. I got very absorbed exploring the innumerable unnamed streets, staring at artwork in colorful cul-de-sacs, enjoying the local children playing games, eyeing the variety of carpets and spices on sale in the souvenir stores, and catching the odd glimpse of feline denizens who seem to have command of the town with a calm demeanor.

I decided to take a step back to see how it was actually laid out, and until I got to that vista point, I never realized the scale of that town. From high above, the medina was a smorgasbord of "blue"-washed concrete buildings smashed together high up in the up on the hillside, with orange street-lights highlighting the thoroughfares snaking up the hills and highlighting the mosques that acted as focal points for the medina.I tried to imagine how it would have been a few decades ago, a thriving community of traders nestled high in the mountains. And how now, we, as tourists, get the opportunity and resources to visit places like these....

The light of Dawn

Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.

Theodore Roosevelt

One of the proudest legacy of the 26th President is the crown jewel of the American conservation era - the National Park system. And while I have been fortunate enough to visit 34 of these memorable places, very few have stuck to my mind and my heart, and one of them is the Canyonlands National Park. And nothing captures the essence of this rugged desert terrain like the view from Mesa Arch at sunrise, an arch suspended over a vertiginous cliff overlooking a vast canyonland.

One of the rituals as a photographer is to make the dawn trip to Mesa Arch, squeeze your tripod in between the two dozen others, and eek out a few shots just as the sun crests the horizon, and one more just as it disappears behind the arch. While it is photogenic place, it was the view that the location presented that I found the most endearing: cliff walls glowing yellow in the morning sun, stupas, stacks, and hoodoos silhouetting in the slanted light, twisted canyon disappearing into the vast expanse of the horizon. The sense of belonging and being humbled by nature is perhaps the primary reason why such regions must be preserved for posterity.

Canyonlands National Park
UT USA

 

Personally to you

"Have you watched the dance of the Northern Lights on a dark winter's night?
Or stood outside in the pure spring air, listening to the melodies of birds?

Have you let the plants be your seat, as you breathed in their scents and noted autumn colors?
Or looked at all the life in the grass, strolled on the shore, skipped stones, caught a trout or petted a soft eider ducking?

I know every inch of this land. I am aware of every elf mound and know where to find pretty lichens and sheltered birds' nests. I have sensed the sea's odour in the spring and lain in midnight fog waiting for the fox. Standing in the hayfield late in summer, when it gets dark early and the terns have flown south, I have felt both gratitude and sadness. There is no end to the signs of people living with the land, generation after generation.

Dear Reader: Please feel heartily welcome. Enjoy your stay here. We are sure you and yours will treat all the land of the Icelanders with consideration. We ask you to show fairness and respect when judging the activities of us residents. Certainly we hope for Strandir to touch you with its magic wand and lead you into the group of the privileged. At the end, have a nice trip home and come back soon."

Found on a remote roadside in the Strandir coast of Iceland

Strandr, Westfjords
Iceland