What I take with me to take pictures during my hikes in the Wilder Kaiser region.
You have a hike in mind where you want to shoot a lot with your camera? But you do not want to march too heavily packed into the mountains and still be well equipped? Well then I recommend you to read through this post. Don't worry, on the one hand this is not expensive equipment and on the other hand it's not a sponsored post. Here I only show what works for me. In addition, the season must also be distinguished.
Table of Contents: Click here on the chapters that interest you
1. What do I value in my equipment?
For me, when hiking in the mountains with my photo equipment, three points are especially important:
Compactness
Lightness and utility
Safety
I would like to place particular emphasis on these three points, as combined they produce the best fun/benefit effect.
Compactness of the photo equipment - everything has its place
For me it is important that I am not restricted in my movement and weight. So I walk according to the motto: As little as possible - as much as necessary But that's up to you to decide, because every photographer has different priorities. For me, however, it is important that everything I pack has its place and I know exactly where I can find the respective part.
A photo hike should be fun, and you can only do that if you don't feel like you're marching off with a backpack filled with rocks. Always consider whether you really need the respective piece on the hike. Example: If you're going on a three-hour hike, you don't need to pack for a six-hour hike. I know we are often very picky and make our meal dependent on our mood. However, our mood also automatically worsens when we feel like a mule lugging hundreds of pounds up a mountain.
Where I don't cut corners, however, is on safety equipment, as you'll read in the next section.
Safety - You never know what to expect
To make my fun on a hiking tour complete, I always take enough safety and also survival equipment with me. Here I also have a motto:
Better to have and not need than to need and not have!
Even if most hikes are harmless and you go through the hike without any problems, it only takes one time to go wrong and then you have the salad. From permanent damage to loss of life, anything can happen in the mountains. There have been several moments when I have had to treat other hikers who had no equipment with them, but not myself.
In addition, I have basic survival gear with me such as a knife, lighter or paper. The next village or the next hut can often not be far away. But if you are wounded or can't get off the mountain and the weather conditions are too bad for a rescue, you are much safer that way. But more about this in the chapter "Safety equipment".
2. Photo equipment - what I take with me for photography
3. My food and clothing - calculation by preparation
Small bars with a big effect
You don't want to be hungry on the mountain. I especially not, which can become quite moody and impatient when hungry. That is for photographing, one and all fellow hikers then always dangerous (ask my girlfriend or parents).
But I do not want to invest too much space for it. My solution for this are the CLIF bars, which can be bought in supermarkets. They contain a lot of fiber and saturate long before you get to a mountain hut. So I always have 1-3 bars with me. They are small but enormously effective.
Temperature maintaining drinking bottle
Smart water bottles are extremely practical. While in winter the thermos is with me, I always have this cold-holding bottle with me. They are a bit heavier than normal PET bottles, but keep the drink cold throughout the hike.
When you're really craving refreshment, you can count on the bottle even after several hours.
Alternatively, you can also buy a bottle that you can hang outside the backpack.
Clothing and spare clothes - Always shoot in dry conditions
The Wilder Kaiser and its surroundings can get very cold and windy. In addition, the terrain is steep, slippery and also dangerous in some areas. Depending on the route, I therefore put on the army shoes (Swiss army combat boots) for more difficult terrain and my Salewa tracking shoes for normal hikes in the summer. In winter, however, it is always the army shoes in the mountains. Pants I wear in the summer mostly shorts and additionally take a pair of training pants. In winter, on the other hand, it's navy pants, because they are water-repellent and regulate the temperature well. As I said, everything has to be packed according to the weather.
But what I always have with me are spare shirts and a windbreaker. Even when it is slightly cloudy, it is there because you never know how quickly the weather changes at the Wilder Kaiser.
I am very sensitive on the back and therefore always have to keep it dry. From time to time, a light kidney belt is also with me to be completely safe.
However, I am also aware that I do not have the most professional equipment but here it also shows that it does not always have to be the most expensive.
4. Safety equipment - For harmless or more extreme cases
5. Summary and conclusion
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