lighten up

lighten up

with a backpacking trip impending (as in, probably next year), i have been thinking about what to pack and what not to pack. obviously, a lighter pack is a better pack when you’re carrying it on your back while hiking up and down hills for 10 miles a day.
one thing i keep coming back to: my camera. i would LOVE to bring my camera and a couple lenses. unfortunately, my camera and two lenses i would bring weigh a TON in the packing world. like, we’re talking ounces when you’re speaking with an appalachian trail through-hiker. every ounce counts.
but part of me is thinking, i can’t NOT bring my camera. it just doesn’t make sense to not bring it. my phone camera wouldn’t do anything real justice, and i just can’t justify buying a specific, lighter, not-quite-as-functional camera for a trip. 
so what do i not bring? do i get a kindle so i can leave a couple paperbacks at home? make sure all my clothes are ultra light? buy a new, lighter nalgene? or do i say, this time, no camera? me without a camera on a trip like this is probably like me without a limb. do i just suck it up and carry the extra two pounds? i think i do.

4 thoughts on “lighten up

  1. You can’t not bring your camera. Start practicing now and carry is around with you everywhere from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. That way you won’t notice the extra weight when you do hike.

  2. Jane has the winning idea here.
    In any outdoor activity, the biggest and best way to save weight is to lose weight. If you weigh two pounds less by the time your trip comes around the camera will be non-consequential. Imagine if you weigh 15 pounds less by next summer! You won’t even notice the pack your carrying! 😛

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