8 LBS of AWESOME

26 Sep

Halfway through our trek along the John Muir Trail, we had the opportunity to weigh our packs. It was the heaviest they’d been or would be for the remainder of our journey. We were heading out for eight days without a resupply, and the anxiety of running low on food can make for a pack loaded down with extra beef jerky, whiskey & peanut butter (often consumed in that order).

On a number of occasions, people would comment (and sometimes chastise) that our packs were too heavy.

Really? Thanks. I hadn’t noticed AS I’M CLIMBING UP THE FRIGGIN’ MOUNTAIN!

They WERE heavy. We weren’t pretending otherwise. But we’d made a commitment to document our journey, and that means extra weight: camera bodies, lenses, tripods, batteries, mixer, digital recorders, whiskey, solar charger, cleaning supplies…it all adds up.

For me, one item proved a source of constant internal struggle. I’d purchased the Kessler 26.5” Pocket Dolly with the best intention of carrying it every step of the trip, all the way to the top of Whitney. But with each looming pass more commanding than the last, I kept wondering if it the extra weight was worth it.

It was. And then some.

It was much simpler for me to throw the camera on the monopod and grab a shot. As easy as the dolly is to operate, I still had to dump my pack, offload the rig and do my best to balance it with my clothing and whatever rocks I could find. This usually added an extra 10-15 minutes onto my hike and often found me sprinting to catch up with the rest of the group.

But as was the case when climbing Muir Pass, what I saw in playback blew me away. I had the dolly perched on the crests of two ice patches. In the foreground of the shot was a field of sun cups, and peaking over the distant horizon were Durand & Dave. The shot would’ve been fine static, but the dolly move along the snowy mounds offers the viewer some perspective of what we hiked through, and the camera suddenly becomes an active participant in the motion we were constantly engaged.

I recorded, out of breath and smiling big.

And did the Kessler Pocket Dolly make it all the way to the top of Whitney? Damn right it did. Right along with the whiskey.