Hey Rick and Kent!

Rick, I know it is a pretty hefty load to carry, but since photography is the main reason I am heading out to the wilderness (aside from the obvious peace and quiet and enjoying nature), I have resigned myself to the fact that a large percentage of the weight I will be carrying will be from my equipment. I'm leaning towards a chest bag mostly because it seems that it will not only be the most comfortable, but will also be accessible and the most balanced overall. Kind of like the military style of carrying the majority of their gear in a large pack on their back and then a smaller backpack on their chest. (I guess it's not really a backpack if your wearing it on your chest huh? ) While the M9 and Nex7 both look like really nice cameras, especially the M9, using one would require a complete system change which would end up being very costly.

Kent, what keyhole system do you use? Where did you buy it? Do you know if it can be fitted to fit most backpacks? I do have several waterproof bags that I use to pack all my gear in, I separate it into categories like clothes, food, first aid/survival, etc so that I can easily identify which bag I need and snatch it out instead of unpacking everything just to get one item out that was stuffed somewhere in the middle. And I also wrap my lenses/flash in socks and shirts to protect them. Since I usually only have 2 lenses I need to have accessible while hiking, the rest gets packed away until I get to a pre-planned destination for photography.

Thanks again everyone!