What to take on an all day nature hike?

Hi All!

On Friday, I am taking an all day trip to central Wisconsin to go to the Horicon Marsh ...33,000 acres of nothing but nature & the only place in the US that has been considered home to over 290 types of birds over the years! I know now is not the best time to be going but once I learn my way around, I may go back in the fall.

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/wildlife_areas/horicon/

I have never been there and am not quite sure yet where exactly to go for the best shots but I am hoping to leave home around 3:30 a.m to catch some sunrise photos and then proceed to walk the trails and maybe hang in there for some sunset shots!

Usually when I go for all day trips like this I tend to over-pack my bag and it makes for quite an uncomfortable end to the day!

For lenses, I know I will take the100-400mm & 1.4ex II

Debating on ...

Canon 35mm L or the Tamron 17-50mm ...of course the 35mm is better IQ but the zoom may come in handy and it's lighter.
Canon 100mm L IS Macro or Sigma 70mm Macro
Canon 135mm or 200mmL II
Sigma 85mm??

Tripod or Monopod?

See, there I go ...overpacking!

Lately, I have been reading a great deal of conflicting information on filters. It is suppose to be mostly sunny on Friday ...should I bring mostly UV, CPL or ND filters? I am worried about blowing out the white birds and I am hoping I won't be dealing with a great deal of sun ...shade ...sun all day!

Other than that, I have 2 batteries, 3 CF cards & Deep Woods Off!

Any suggestions would be extremely appreciated!

Denise

Food and water.

Now the serious stuff. You said birds, so the 100-400 and 1.4. I

Will you have room for a banjo? :-D


I think your two zooms and one of your macros. If there are heaps of birds, there should be heaps of bugs. Take your filter wallet with filters for sunrises and if you take your 100mm, it would be perfect for stitched panoramas as well. So you will need a tripod for sunrise, you might be able to get those shots done before you get too far away from your car, then double back switch and grab the monopod. If you are hanging in for sunset shots make sure you take a torch.


On a serious note, you should find room for a basic first aid kit with a compression bandage and a silver exposure blanket and a whistle and a companion would be handy. I would volunteer, but Friday is too short notice for me, sorry.


I know you are hiking but the canoeing option sounds great and in that case you probably should take Brant, next time. :)

I

100-400 and 17-50mm a ND filter is a good idea. I hate over-packing with camera stuff... it makes the hike less pleasurable. I usually just bring a camera with a lens attached.

If you take too much stuff, you

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

See, there I go ...overpacking!

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I always take too little of the important stuff like food and water and too much camera gear. Don't do that [;)] Make sure you have plenty of food and drinks and a first aid-kit with some anti-mosquito and after-bite stuff.


As far as camera-gear goes: I'd take the 100-400, 17-50 and the extender, some filters, memorycards and perhaps some other attributes I'm forgetting.


About the macro lens: I've read a bit on the website you're referring to and it's mainly wetlands as I can see. Unless you are certain you're going to see special flies/bugs etc, don't take a macro lens. My experience with macro photography in a wet area/swamp-like area is just bad. There are plenty of bugs around, but they're often hard to reach due to the water or it will get you in an uncomfortable position where you'd need a tripod or flash...which doesn't seem like a good option.


If I were you, I'd pack the things I've just mentioned and if there's any room and you feel like carrying some extra weight, take a tripod.


Oh and something to sit on(chair, plastic bag or whatever) would perhaps be nice as well. You've got to rest from time to time and perhaps your chances in some wildlife photos would increase as well when you'd remain at one place for a while.


I hope you have a great day friday!


Jan

Why not just get a porter carry everything? Maybe a mule? Do you have a wife/kids? ;D

17-50mm


One of your Macros.


100-400mm


CPL and ND Filters


Tripod for sunrise shots, but then maybe you can leave it in the car.


Sunscreen, power bars, water, flashlight, fire-starter, knife.


Sounds like a great day. Can't wait to see the shots. Enjoy!

Wow! Am I glad I posted this! You have gotten me thinking of stuff that never entered my head since my head was so wrapped around the photography! I mean you are talking to a complete city gal that never camped a day in her life nor spent an entire day hiking!


Jan - you do have me thinking about how much macro shooting will I really be doing? I am hoping I will be spending more time photographing birds I have never seen before! It

Have you got a mate going with you?

Warning: be very careful with bugspray (deepwoods) it melts plastic could do some harm to your camera. So try not to get it on fingers and the palms of your hands.

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Originally Posted by icanon

Warning: be very careful with bugspray (deepwoods) it melts plastic could do some harm to your camera. So try not to get it on fingers and the palms of your hands.
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WHAT!? SERIOUSLY?! [:|] I'm putting stuff on my skin that melts plastic!!!?? Now my daughter wants to go around the house experiementing since she just looked it up online! Since I didn't know how windy it would be with the spray, I also bought the kind that is a lotion! And all I thought I had to worry about was coming home with it on with the dogs around me!

What kind is recommended that doesn't melt plastic? I could return this stuff!

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Originally Posted by Steve U

Have you got a mate going with you?
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Yeah, I would never think of going this alone! When I saw someone posted photos online that they took and they were of muskrats &amp; bears &amp; wolves...that's when I became not so sure about this! I just want to see pretty birds! [:P]

That

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

I saw someone posted photos online that they took and they were of muskrats &amp; bears &amp; wolves...that's when I became not so sure about this!

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A monopod can be a nice weapon to have with you. [:P]

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Originally Posted by Steve U

A rolled ankle at 4:00 pm when you still have a 3 mile "hike" back to the vehicle, makes you appreciate torches, $3.00 emergency blankets, compression bandages and mobile phones and so on.

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LOL. Several years ago, my wife and I decided to take an 'all day nature hike' from the Yosemite valley floor up to the summit of Half Dome and back. 18 miles round trip from our camp site, and 4,800 feet (1460 m) of elevation gain. The hike up was great, but tiring, especially the cables. Picnic with a nice Nalgene bottle of red wine at the top, then the trip down. About 5 miles from camp and long past dark we'd had it - we did have torches (of flashlights as they're called here, 'torches' sets off fears of forest fires and now that I'm in New England, witch burnings), but no emergency blankets. So, we planted our backs against a rock face to sleep for a while...just before turning off our lights, we saw a gleam on the trail - which turned out to be a group of scorpions approaching. Adrenaline took us back to our tent, but the blisters took a few weeks to heal.


Sorry, Denise - have a great hike! [:#]

SCORPIONS!![:|]

My wonderful daughter just said to me, "Well, if all goes wrong you can give your own horror story"! Maybe I don't want to be out there at sunrise?!

I am going with one other person that doesn't know anymore about wilderness survival than I do and that person doesn't even like photography! I DO NOT want to see anything furry (I'm eventerrified of little mice), anything crawling or anything slithering unless it is a worm! I just want to see pretty birds! [:'(]

My oldest daughter is the outdoorsy type and has gone mountain climbing up Mt. Rainerand come home all battered up, she camps and comes home with all bug bites. Man, this sounds like heaps of fun! [8-)] Boating and fishing is more my thing!

Photography is opening up a whole new world for me!

DD, I don

Wish I could go too! You

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

After reading this thread at work, I picked up the deep woods extra strong OFF, bottled water, sanitary hand gel and a small first aid kit after work. Tomorrow I'll pick up the power bars &amp; sunscreen (although I plan on staying pretty well covered most of the time to avoid ticks although it is going to be 80 degrees)!

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Don't forget the most important item, toilet paper. Poison ivy and oak can give a terrible rash.


I try and stick with this principle when packing in. Pick a task and pack for it, say bird photos. Pick a secondary thing if you want, take one other lens but not all the accessories, just what you need if a situation arises. Never try to do three things, like bird landscape and macro all together. I find I just end up wearing myself out carrying stuff. After I get there I find most of my pictures are of what I came after.


Leave the other gear in the car, if you decide to go landscape instead of birds, readjust your gear accordingly.


Deep Woods off get the wipes instead, why carry a can around, it is extra weight.


Sanitary hand gel? seriously. Sounds like my wife packing :P


Weight matters with hikes, thats why people pay hundreds of dollars extra to get a tent that is just a few ounces lighter.


Good Luck

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Originally Posted by HDNitehawk

Sanitary hand gel? seriously. Sounds like my wife packing :P

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LOL! Well, that was for after I get all this plastic melting OFF on my hands! Thank goodness I don't wear fake nails!

Poison Ivy &amp; Oak!? Thank you for reminding me about that ...I guess I better look up what they look like!

This is getting more exciting by the minute! [:S]

Sounds like a good trip....When hiking someplace for the first time, I carry the least amount of photography gear as possible. Sometimes only one lens, but usually two. I would recommend no more than the 100-400L and the 17-50. Macro is always tempting....but it is hit and miss, so I typically don't bother.


My typical non-photography gear includes a map of the area, a compass (even if you are on trails, now and again, it is just nice to know which way is North), a flashlight/headlamp, a knife or multipurpose tool, first aid kit, extra pair of good socks (always the first to get wet, recommend wool if you have them), waterproof matches , a cell phone (it is goofy how many places have coverage), and cloths that can be layered. I echo the comments on bug spray, but once it has "dried" it isn't a problem. So, take all plastic things off, spray on, let dry, and you should be fine. I think sunscreen was mentioned. Snack foods, water are a must....I find that gatoraide or vitamin waters really do help if you are doing anything strenuous.


Have a great hike.


EDIT: Not only do we have disappearing photos, but text too. I had edited this post and the edit is gone.


Anyway, I was thinking about this more and just wanted to mention that I often have 2-3x moregear in mycarthanI plan to carry. For example, I havemultiplejackets and rain gearin thecar that I may or may not pack with me. Sometimes a change of cloths. The other thing I wanted to mention, but for blisters, try moleskin. You'll need scissors/knife to cut it to shape, but if you have a hot spot/blister forming, slapping some mole skin over it should really help.

What a day and what a place!! This place is huge! Thousands of GBH, Great Egrets and Pelicans! Not to mention the other birds that I don