Hiking Lago di Barcis, in the snow!

Lago di Barcis is one of those places you just wish you knew about a lot sooner. I had planned a trip to take my girlfriend and our two dogs to the north of Italy so that we could get out of Florence for the holidays, and also visit the Dolomites since she had never been before (The Dolomites, Party of Four, Taking Banksy to The Dolomites). What I didn’t plan for was having this absolutely stunning lake less than a 30 minute drive from the house we had rented for 10 days. Places and experiences like this are honestly why I just love leaving plenty of room for the unexpected when I travel.

For this particular trip we decided to leave the dogs back at the house so we could have some much-needed alone time to explore, and since we really didn’t know what we would be getting into in regards to how far we needed to go, or the depth of snow we needed to walk through – it just made sense to leave the boys behind. Looking back in hindsight, we definitely made the right idea. Banksy could have made it for sure, but Jack would have had to be carried a good portion of the way due to the length of the walk, and how deep the snow was at several points.

I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for taking photos at Lake Barcis, and when we arrived the both of us were honestly shocked with how beautiful it was. I’m honestly in love with how vibrantly blue the water is, and when you add the contrast of the white snow the scene that lay before our eyes was something out of a winter wonderland.

When we arrived we really weren’t sure where to go, or where to park as our Airbnb hosts simply shared the name of the lake that we should check out – so I found what most closely resembled a parking space in a long line of vehicles and committed! Three cheers for a sense of sweet adventure, while parking next to a lake in the snow! Gaby actually had to get out first because I parked with the car almost completely blocked on one side by a snow bank. Talk about committed.

 

 

We got out of the car and I scoped out how far we could realistically get in 3-4 hours, also considering the snow, cold, and the amount of water and Italian salami I had brought (more on that later). The lake ended up being a little larger than I initially anticipated so instead of planning to walk around the entire lake, walking about ¾ of the way down, and then turning back seemed like the way to go. 

 

 

As we started walking I handed Gaby my DJI OSMO Action since she has apparently become my official – ‘Mamarazzi’ – as we call it (Our modified version of paparazzi, in case you’re lacking an appreciation for cleverness today 😉 )

We took a few photos while we approached the promise of a hiking trail and our snow-filled journey began.

For this particular trek I brought both of my Canon 5D Mk IVs, with my Sigma 24-70 f2.8 attached to one, and my Sigma 70-200 f2.8 attached to the other. Pretty much my go-to setup these days when I’m heading into the unknown as it covers the widest range of subjects I usually capture and is very portable for my needs and personal carrying capacity. When we got to the trail head I realized it was mostly entirely snowed in, but I did see evidence of people walking through so we decided to go for it. I can’t tell you how important it is to pack the right shoes for something like this. With the snow sometimes coming up to our shins there was just no way we would have been able to walk very far without proper clothing and footwear.

 

There was no one else outside anywhere as far as the eye could see, so it honestly felt like we had an entire absolutely gorgeous lake to ourselves to appreciate and explore. The low sounds of our feet as we walked, and the sound of my shutters occasionally clicking were all that filled the air and it was honestly so peaceful.

After we had been walking for about an hour, we both agreed that walking without the masks that we’d become accustomed to having to wear outside was much colder than we were used to. I asked Gaby if she wanted a snack – to which she replied “yes”. Huzzah! Cue the Italian salami! When I’m on a hike, one of my favorite things to bring is Italian salami. For anyone curious, we’re talking about the Italian salami covered in white powder (mold). It’s just such a great hiking snack that I simply cut into thin slices with my pocket knife while we walk. I find it to be both filling and a great source of energy. Plus it keeps for a really, really long time. I’m a fan, Gaby is a fan – Jack is also a big fan, but Gaby says he can’t have any. Banksy on the other hand can have some on rare occasions, but I digress!

With our stomachs satisfied, we continued on until we found a perfect view of the town of Barcis, which was located across the lake from where we were standing. For me it was something out of a postcard, don’t you agree? The perfect snow-covered buildings, combined with the mountains, the sky and the lake all in one – I honestly just couldn’t stop myself from just taking it all in. In situations like this my greatest challenge is deciding on how to best frame the image – should I frame it vertically for a more detailed shot, or horizontally for an immense landscape or panorama. What comes to mind isn’t simply the photo I’m capturing in front of me, but what kind of artwork it will result in, and for what purpose. I imagine how the colors of the passepartout or wooden frame I choose will impact the scene, and try to frame the shot in a way that will allow for the piece to breathe and become its own work of art.

Walking back we decided to take a few detours as well to see if there was anything else to explore, and to our surprise we actually found this amazing DAM! (said the fish). Walking around it and even through a tunnel that extended through the mountain was super interesting. The view of the lake from the perspective of the dam was also unique, and the contrast of the structures present also provided for a shot that immediately caught my eye.

As we were heading back from the damn I looked down and honestly stopped dead in my tracks and walked back a few feet. What lay before me was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen – which was a narrow ravine filled with the bright blue water from the lake. The surrounding jagged mountain landscape was mostly covered in snow – all of which created a frame for this perfectly formed subject in the center of my frame. It honestly felt like I had found something that no one was ever meant to see – like a unicorn in a white mist. After taking a few photographs I honestly just couldn’t help but stare and forever commit those feelings of awe and wonder to memory.

There is something amazing about being an artist – and really any individual that exists and lives in the moment. Our ability to understand, feel, and experience widely different things from similar experiences is truly remarkable. I think that anyone who feels a connection to beautiful nature will agree that this image is gorgeous – perhaps if you’re a visual artist you will agree even more – and even fewer of you yet will feel closer to what I feel. I know this is something that I’ve only but captured in a fleeting moment in time, but I can’t wait to frame it so that I can see it in person and hold it in my hands.

Speaking of hands – on the way back to the car Gaby realized that she was missing a glove, and couldn’t remember where she had dropped it. It should be known that I have this special skill of being able to find things like this – usually the wayward earring back or diamond that has fallen out of a small piece of jewelry so I felt pretty confident that I would be able to find an entire black glove. Sure enough, I retraced our steps for about 20 minutes back to the car through our snow covered hiking trail and found her glove that she had already dismissed as lost, and I imagine was already planning to place a new order for a replacement on Amazon. “Not today Amazon”, I said with a very knightley tone – “Not today.”

Thanks for reading about this new adventure! I hope it was entertaining, and hopefully you got a few laughs along the way as well 🙂

Cheers until next time,

Scott