Whenever I get ready to embark on the next trip, deciding what to bring always floats around the back of my mind during the weeks leading up to the departure.<\/p>\n
Yes, that’s right – weeks.<\/p>\n
I’ve got this iterative process that I go through where I think about what I’m going to be doing, what I’ll need and then what I can leave behind to make my bag lighter. \u00a0That process repeats and repeats at first in my head, and then in piles of stuff on the floor, until it eventually comes time to pack and leave.<\/p>\n
There are a few items that I’ll always bring on any trip – belt, hat, toothbrush, etc., and there are others that are pretty trip-specific – hiking boots, down jacket, tent, zoom lens, etc., \u00a0These are the easy things. \u00a0Over the years I’ve taken enough trips to know what I want to bring and what I want to leave behind. \u00a0The difficulty is always in the middle – the big pile of junk that I thought I might like to have along, just in case… And usually, this is the stuff that I’ve just learned to leave at home.<\/p>\n
So in reality, I usually have a good idea of what 90% of what I’ll bring with me is. \u00a0And all I have to figure out is the other 10%. \u00a0But I’ll still go through the exercise of thinking through all of the options, weighing their value (and valuing their weight).<\/p>\n
For this upcoming trip, as with many, where I’ll spend a good amount of time is thinking through which photo equipment I’ll bring with me. \u00a0Will I haul the tripod? \u00a0Which lenses? \u00a0A second camera body? \u00a0And in reality, the computer goes in the ‘photo equipment’ category, since the primary reason I’d bring a laptop would be to backup and review photos.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, all of this, the whole thought process, the exercise of thinking about what to pack, building and tearing down piles – it’s a form of getting excited for the upcoming adventure and extending the enjoyment of the trip to well before I’ll depart (and processing the photos and posting them after the fact is a way to extend the enjoyment after returning).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Whenever I get ready to embark on the next trip, deciding what to bring always floats around the back of my mind during the weeks leading up to the departure. Yes, that’s right – weeks. I’ve got this iterative process that I go through where I think about what I’m going to be doing, what … <\/p>\n