The group I was filming got off the trail about 2pm today. And just in time. As we were getting in our cars at the trail head, the winds started picking up and the clouds grew dark. We drove to a nearby bar and grill for lunch. It was nice to not have a camera in my hands and be able to kick back and relax.
I awoke this morning at 5:30 feeling pretty wrong. Big headache, quesy stomach, all the symptoms of a proper hangover but in my case it was altitude sickness. In all my running around filming, I wasn’t drinking enough water, and I have not been sleeping much over the last few days. I grabbed some water and headed to the nearby meadow to check on my camera which was taking photos every 30 seconds for a time-lapse of the stars. The camera battery was dead as expected. I had to restart the time-lapse after a couple hour attempt a few hours earlier because I forgot to turn off the autofocus on the lens. If the camera can’t autofocus (which it can’t when its that dark) then it won’t take a picture. Bonehead move- I learned my lesson. I blame it on my sleep deprivation. The results from my second attempt look pretty cool because it shows the full moon moving across the sky behind the trees and it looks like the sun. The only bummer is the batteries died a little earlier than I would have wanted them to- making the shot shorter than expected. But it’s definitely something I can work with. I’ll attach one of the photos here. Might be hard to see in the conversion.
A few things I’d like to improve upon next time:
- I have to lighten my pack load somehow- although I’m not sure how.
- I have to take better care of myself next time (BTW, I felt pretty good a couple of hours and liters of water after waking up.) But need to sleep more and fuel my body better.
- I need to figure out a more comfortable way to carry my monopod with camera. It’s about 10 pounds and really drags on the arms with each mile. I didn’t weigh the pack, but I would wager it’s well over 40 pounds. Thinking of having a fast release clip from my belt to take the weight off my arms. Another idea from one of the people I was filming (Paul), was to create a big neck strap similar to the way a machine gun is carried. He used to be in the Marines. He said my monopod was about the same size as a machine gun (or army rifle- my apologies for lack of firearm knowledge). Regardless, the caparison between my camera set-up and a machine gun made me feel cool.
I got to use a bunch of cool new items for camping so I’ll share some thoughts on a couple here. When I did manage to sleep, I slept really well. So I’ll focus on my sleeping stuff. I wished I had taken a photo of my tent set-up but I forgot so I’ll post links and to the product page if you want to check it out. Here’s my new sleeping stuff:
- Mountain Hardwear Sprite 1 Tent http://www.rei.com/product/810016/mountain-hardwear-sprite-1-tent. An awesome tent that weights about 3 pounds and I loved the little side nook near my head for storing my cameras and such. I love the easy access side door that unzips down most of the side of the tent. I set it up in the dark with a headlamp- which was pretty quick and easy. Love the screens all around in case I ever want to keep the fly off and gaze up at the stars.
- Mountain Hardwear Ultramina 15: http://www.rei.com/product/747894/mountain-hardwear-ultralamina-15-sleeping-bag. It did it’s job, was light weight, warm and compacted easily- but the thing I wasn’t crazy about were the two short side zippers that only ran about a third of the way down the bag. Made getting in and out a bit of chore. Also the hood design was sort of funky. But it was fluffy and comfy and since I am a side sleeper, it was a bit wider than my last bag and more comfortable.
- The Exped SynMat Air Pad http://www.rei.com/product/811907/exped-synmat-ul-7-air-pad.> – Smartest. Purchase. Ever. If you are like me and don’t sleep well in a tent, check this little baby out along with the pillow that’s next on the list. Amazingly comfortable and so lightweight! I love it! Didn’t slip off like I do on others. And it packs down to the size of a nalgene bottle. Highly recommended.
- Exped Air Pillow – Okay, so for many years backpacking, I just used my clothes for a pillow and I didn’t sleep all night and my neck was sore in the morning because that’s what I thought real men do. But I was just young and silly back then. This pillow is light, super comfy and packs really small (about 2 by 5 inches).
As I write this, I am bringing the footage of the last couple of days onto my computer. I shot about 2 hours worth and it looks great. I’m off to shoot some B roll tomorrow (which is additional footage to help tell your story). On Saturday I’m filming a group of volunteers from Volunteer Outdoor Colorado on a trail service project. There are expected to be over 100 volunteers broken into 8 person crews- so it should be fun.
That’s a wrap for today. Keep on the sunny side.
- Larry