I do a lot of day hikes in the Swiss, French and Italian Alps, and other parts of Europe. This summer has been difficult, partly because of the heat, but also because I had shoulder surgery earlier in the year, and it's been painful to carry the pack for long. Fortunately my son has been able to do this for me a few times, and I've been enjoying the hiking more as a consequence, and even discovered that taking simple panoramic photos on a phone is good fun! Because it's day hikes, sometimes via huts with food & water, there's only a need to carry enough water and a little food, a map & phone, and a light jacket in case it rains.
I have a McMore pack, in which I carry a Sinar F with bag and normal bellows, a spot meter, a couple of filters, loupe, darkcloth, notebook and about 8 film holders at a time. Current lenses carried are a Rodenstock 75mm, a Schneider 180mm and a Nikkor 300mm (which also requires an extension rail to be carried - it's such a good lense, however, that I'm loath to leave it out). That's about it. Other lenses occasionally displace the standard selection, notably a 58mm lense which is small and light.
I've been back in Europe for about a year, after spending a couple of years in Brazil. Now that is a challenging environment for LF photography, especially in areas like the Amazon or Pantanal where most of what you see and experience is from a small boat. Generally, I found it better to give up on the LF, and just enjoy what was around me. Nevertheless, there were times when the nature of LF photography really did complement the day, especially when we were able to spend several hours or most of the day in one location. You've got to take special care with your pack, though. On more than one occasion I found enormous spiders lurking in my pack after I had taken it off to concentrate on a photograph. Not recommended, and I tended to keep the pack on my back at the end.
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