I actually know the man in the photo. He was in our hiking group on the Inca Trail. And I know the spot where this photo was taken, the day, heck the photographer!
But what I like about this photo is you don’t need to know any of that. Without it, you might wonder why the hiking trail is stone and exactly what that ruin is in the mid ground, or where those mountains and waterfall are located in the background. It is all of those elements listed, the unknown hiker staring back at the towering peaks rising over a strange ruin while a waterfall cascades down the flanks, the pattern of the stone hiking trail, the wild plants, and a sky that speaks of fitful sun or potential showers that make this photo stand out.
This one photo captures so much of what I love about hiking. Being in nature while marveling over the lost works of mankind, discovery, a sense of being out of place in time and civilization. I love it so much that I wanted to share it here. And it makes me want to go back out there again. 🙂