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Thread: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

  1. #91

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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings View Post
    Is it just me or.......I find the farther I hike the fewer good images I get and the likely hood of getting a really killer image approches 0 farther than a couple of miles. Its almost a predictable inverse relationship.
    The more I hike the more tired I get. And the more tired I get, the more my photography suffers. Plus the spots I reach often have the wrong light when I arrive. I actually prefer backpacking over long hikes these days because I can stay at a location and divide my days between hauling and shooting.

    Thanks for this post Heroique! It came just in time, reminding me that I need a whistle and some other odds & ends before I head out backpacking again, which will probably be this weekend. I've dealt with knee and ankle issues for over a decade, but my new orthotics seem to be magic and I'm dreaming of 20-30 mile backpacks by mid-July. A return to the Wind Rivers is also long past due.
    Peter Y.

  2. #92

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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    It all depends on the terrain, attitude and lattitude. What is essential in the Mojave Desert likely won't be whats essential in Denali National Park.
    I spent 18 years on a Sheriffs Posse SAR team in the Sierras and I've got a story for you:
    Once on a mounted patrol, there was a group just sitting around banging their spoons against those near-worthless sierra cups.
    "One of our party got seperated and so we make noise so she'll hear us and know which direction she needs to go to find us" They said.
    A couple of miles down the same trail there was a lady sitting on a rock banging away at her near-worthless sierra cup with a spoon. "My party got lost and I'm making noise so they'll know which direction to go so I they can find me."

    Also, lost children nearly always will travel uphill. Lost adults will nearly always travel downhill.

    I've never gotten lost while aboard a horse or mule. Give them the reins and they'll head straight back to camp every time (unless they come across something tasty to sample)
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  3. #93
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    Quote Originally Posted by tgtaylor View Post
    ...But just hiking and hoping you'll run across something is not very productive in my experience unless you're very lucky like Galen often was. The best success comes with a carefully planned trip to a specific location for photography and once there waiting it out for the right moment(s).Thomas
    Luck comes to the prepared, true...

    But for my way of working, I am 180 degrees from "careful planning and waiting it out" folks for some of my work and 82.8 degrees from it for the rest of my work. I don't want to wait for it -- I want to hike out and meet it...maybe walk along with it for awhile before I get out the camera. Or take the 8x10 pack off, lay the pod down and rest -- and enjoy where I am (In my family it is called "Stopping to enjoy the view." I like to pick a place on a map, or to see an interesting area from the road and go see what is there...might as well take the 8x10, too. Might never get back there, or I might return time and time again. I'm out there to enjoy the process, not to be "productive". YMMD...

    John -- Near worthless Sierra Cups?! Mine is gold plated...

  4. #94
    David Lobato David Lobato's Avatar
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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    A lot of times I'm guilty of purposely leaving a flashlight at home. But if photographing during the evening "Golden Hour" one will likely hike back to the trailhead in the dark. I guess that's why I prefer getting up early and stumbling in the dark to hike to a location before sunrise. Btw, has anyone ever made a rudimentary shelter with an extended tripod and a tarp?

  5. #95

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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    Quote Originally Posted by Heroique View Post
    Did everyone else miss this like I did? Here’s a Scout leader who has us all beat.

    Bill, if you carry “10 essentials,” that’s .7 ounce per item.

    Please break this out, so the rest of us can carry more lenses!
    I'll lay it out tomorrow... Please don't be disillusioned, it's not a miracle kit. Like it doesn't include food and water.

  6. #96

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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings View Post
    Is it just me or.......I find the farther I hike the fewer good images I get .
    My seeing definitely gets worse as I become physically tired. That's true 500 yards from my car too.

    But I don't really go on hikes to take photographs, and I don't go back having planned for the right weather and phase of the the celestial clock. The only time I tried to do the latter, when I wanted sunset and the tide and the moon to realign, I found I'd have to wait nineteen years, with no guarantee of clear skies.

    Instead I collect impressions: patterns of islands, trees, rock formations; assemblages of plants or types of geology; atmospheric effects and their times of day. When out with my camera I attend to the specifics of the day, with an attention informed by the list of phenomena I've previously gathered. It's not a shoot list as such, more a mental weighting that helps me decide if a good view will make a good photograph.

    The advantage of a long hike is that it gives me the chance to find new impressions - refinements of the old lists, new configurations of old ideas, and entirely new things to think about.

    I also just like doing long hikes.

  7. #97
    All metric sizes to 24x30 Ole Tjugen's Avatar
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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    1. Topographic map often
    2. Compass almost always
    3. Flashlight/spare parts Not needed in Norwegian summer
    4. Extra food/water/clothing Clothing yes, food maybe, water never. It's a wet country, this!
    5. Sun protection applied before starting
    6. Matches Lighter. I smoke...
    7. Knife Usually
    8. Signal mirror No, there's one on my compass.
    9. First aid kit No.
    10. Emergency shelter No, the map shows the locations of cabins and other shelters

    I've spent weeks and weeks doing geological mapping, so I know how to use a map and a compass. I trust them more than a (battery-powered) GPS.

  8. #98

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    May 2005
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    Olympia, Washington
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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    Kirk, "Is it just me or.......I find the farther I hike the fewer good images I get ..."

    I backpack in the wilderness because I like the solitude, the simplicity of the trail, and the surprising beauty of the wilderness. I bring my gear along because once I establish a camp site and stay there a couple of days I find subject matter that is worth the burden of hauling 30 lb of photo gear and film. I used to try and shoot as I hiked, but it is such a pain to unpack and repack that it wasn't any fun. Now, I wait until I get to a spot I'm going to live for 2-3 days, spend some time getting to know the place and the lighting, and then go out on small side trips with just my photo gear. It's much more enjoyable and I make much better time on the trail not stopping to consider making an image.

  9. #99

    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    Agree with Brian.
    for many of my outdoors adventures its just much more relaxing and lets you get more stuff done to set up a base camp.
    If there is a few people, especially with non-backpacking types on the trip, this is even more advantageous, as the "expert" don't have to do as much work.
    Natalie

    Philly Pa

  10. #100

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    Re: Landscape hikers – “10 essentials” or not?

    Quote Originally Posted by David Lobato View Post
    A lot of times I'm guilty of purposely leaving a flashlight at home. But if photographing during the evening "Golden Hour" one will likely hike back to the trailhead in the dark. I guess that's why I prefer getting up early and stumbling in the dark to hike to a location before sunrise. Btw, has anyone ever made a rudimentary shelter with an extended tripod and a tarp?
    Yes, yes I have!

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