How much gear are you packing? If you are willing I would rather learn from your experience than learn the hard way! lol

I shoot Nikon, I have a D300 or a D100 I would take and for lenses I have 70-200 2.8 and a couple of options in mid-range zooms such as a 24-120 VR.

Do you bother taking larger glass like the 70-200 2.8? Do you hike with even bigger lenses like a 300 2.8?

Wide angle lens is next on my list. My bogen tripod is a pretty heavy duty model, much heavier than I would want to backpack with, but I have a small cheap off-brand tripod that will probably be good for low light shots in the back country.

I figure I'll just have to get my gear on the trail and find wha works best for me but I can see a few options on what to take and how to pack it and I am just undecided on what might work best. Not sure I would like having something strapped to the front of me, but taking my pack off all the time to snap some photos would get old too.

I didn't take my camera on my last trip (first trip in years - getting back into packing). And wouldn't you know it we walked to within 120 feet of a big black bear. So I can see where carrying a camera on your front would be worth the hassle.

Thanks for your input! I am a wedding photographer, so if I can get nature photos even 1/3 as good as what you have on your website it will be worth me hauling around my gear. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />