Mountains have always been a source of inspiration for me. Whether it’s traveling or photography, I simply love looking at mountains. Admiring them, conquering them, and anything in between. There’s something incredible about them. A feeling that makes you feel powerful yet powerless all at once. From atop a mountain, you feel like a conqueror. You feel larger than life. Yet at the same time, you realize just how small and insignificant you really are.
In Peru, I was met with this feeling time after time. The high altitudes and jagged snow-capped peaks were a reminder that I was in their territory now. Being at the mercy of nature is an exhilarating feeling. You see it at its unadulterated strength. The whirling clouds and the crisp, thin air bite at you as you trudge ever-forward along the seemingly endless trail.
One trail led me 90 kilometers to the world wonder of Machu Picchu. Another took me 5,000 meters above sea level to a mountain whose surface looked like cascading rainbows. Every step I took in Peru was, quite literally, breathtaking.
