Today I headed out for a morning walk. Not a lot of bird activity in my neighborhood this morning, if you don’t count the Mockingbirds and Robins! I did manage a nice shot of an Eastern Phoebe siting on a power line.
These past few weeks I’ve been slowly adding all the gear I want to carry into my pack and adjusting Ari’s pack as well. In total, I’m carrying 23-25 lbs of gear (the range depends on the amount of water) and Ari is carrying 2-4 lbs, mainly water. That is roughly 15% and 6% of our weights, respectively.
Eastern Phoebe
Click to Enlarge
I’m carrying (from the bottom up):
- Rain cover (already in a special compartment)
- Fleece jacket
- Thin pair of pants and shirt
- Extra pair of socks
- Rain pants and jacket
- First Aid Kit
- 2nd Camera Body (Rebel T4i for Landscapes)
- Sunscreen & Bug Spray
- Ziploc bags with TP
- Knee brace
- Soft hat
- Kleenex
- Wet wipes
- Gloves
Attached to the exterior and in the hip pockets I have a whistle/compass combo, bear bell, baseball cap, tripod, mace and my Leatherman tool for easy access. Ari will be carrying some poop bags with a larger Ziploc for used ones, 2 water bottles and a cup.
I also have my Cotton Carrier for my wildlife camera set-up. This harness, which allows me to carry my Canon 70D + 100-400L combo hands-free, is amazing! It has taken me nearly a month to get it adjusted for my height and body shape so that it is as comfortable and secure as possible, but making sure it didn’t fit too tightly to interfere with my breathing when I became tired. Well worth the money in the long run.
As I contemplate my strategies for different trails and photographic opportunities I realize that I may not want or need to carry my full pack on all of the trails I’ve put in my itinerary. For this reason, I’ve added a small day pack in one of my car tubs so that I can add just the essentials for short or easy trails.