Packing for Everything: A Week in North Carolina
I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but one of my struggles as a photographer is packing. While I’m not the biggest fan of “what’s in my bag” type posts - they can feel a little showoff-y to me at times - I do think it could be helpful to share some of the decisions I make when it comes to packing for more complex tips. For instance, in early April we made a trip down to North Carolina for a wedding (or the equivalent thereof). But, being who my partner and I are, we weren’t about to get on a plane just for a party when there was opportunity to explore somewhere we had never been. So, this trip turned into a few days near the Great Smoky Mountains, followed by a drive across the state for the wedding in Raleigh. Doesn’t seem too bad, right? Well, that’s until you realize you need to pack wedding-appropriate clothing, hiking clothing that would account for rain and cold temperatures, a camera cube stuffed with whatever I can manage, and, you know, everything else necessary for a week away from home. All squeezed into a carryon bag because I will do whatever it takes to avoid checking a bag. So allow me to take a few minutes to share my process… and I’ll leave a paragraph or two to talk about the trip as well of course.
First, the pack. This was another job for my Wandrd Fernweh 50L, a pack advertised as a photography backpacking solution, which I have never even remotely considered it for. It’s pretty heavy on it’s own and 50L is fairly modest for any overnight camping adventure, especially when a chunk of those liters is devoted to a camera cube. For those trips, I prefer a 65L+ bag which I then just pack my Wandrd camera cube into. But I digress. For this kind of trip the pack is perfect. Plenty of space for a few days of clothes, and it still fits as a carryon… most of the time, depending on your order of boarding. More on that in a bit. It has side camera access which is super clutch, and there is plenty of space for cold/wet weather hiking gear and clothes, all without feeling like there is too much excess space. Ok, but what did I pack into this thing before leaving for the airport?
Camera stuff: Nikon Z7II, 24-120 f4, 14-30 f4, 50 f1.8, Peak Design Slide and Cuff, polarizing filters, mini tripod (that didn’t make it home), battery charger, lens cloths…
Hiking clothes and gear: Packable down jacket, rain jacket, hiking pants, multiple hiking socks, underwear, shirts, hooded pullover, gloves, winter hat, Filson packer hat, Buff, emergency kit, head lamp, pack towel, maps, trail shoes, water bladder…
Wedding clothes and “gear”: Button down shirt, tie, undershirt, socks, dress pants, dress shoes, belt…
Everything else: Extra pants, shoes, shirt, socks, underwear, book, phone charger, toiletries, Red Wings hat (always)…
You get the idea. That can feel like a lot of stuff for a single backpack, but once you’re committed to only bringing camera gear that you can fit into a single cube, the list seems much more manageable. But that’s always the hardest stuff to pare down. What compromises are necessary for a given trip? To help answer that question, the list above has become my favorite “light” setup. I may swap the 24-120 for the 24-200, or the 50 f1.8 for the 40 f2, but for the most part this is mostly what I bring on shorter day hikes and more complex trips. I had a feeling I wouldn’t need much more reach than 120, and that’s exactly how it played out. There was exactly one day in the park without continuous rain, and even then the visibility was super shallow at elevation because of the cloud coverage… which we happened to be directly in. Without clear skies I also knew there wouldn’t be much opportunity for night photography either, so it wasn’t a difficult decision to leave the 2.8s at home. And I don’t even remember using the 50mm to be honest. The one thing that I didn’t bring that I wish I could have? My Peak Design tripod. Why didn’t I? Wall, frustratingly, the side compartment of the Fernweh isn’t big enough for it. I either had to pack it into the pack itself during travel, or leave it behind. I opted for the latter, which was unfortunate become some of the waterfalls in the Smokies are pretty awesome and it would have been great to experiment with some different compositions with them. The good news, however, is that the vibration reduction performance on my camera (and lenses) is incredible, so I was still able to get some longer exposures here and there. Otherwise, everything else worked out great. The 14-30 was used to capture some waterfalls, while 120mm let me capture the landscape with a little more intimacy.
As for everything else, two words: packing cubes. The wedding clothes in one, the rest of my clothes in another, and the multiple pairs of shoes in their own case. It was tight, but it worked. There’s something, I don’t know, liberating about getting out of the car at the airport for a week long trick and only have a single pack on your back. And while I just knocked on the Fernweh above for one reason, it also deserves a ton of credit for another. The overhead space on the flight down filled up before we could board and our bags needed to be checked. Not ideal. Yet, I was able to quickly pull the cube out of my bag, filled with my most important items, and bring that as my personal item. It only took seconds and brought a ton of piece of mind in knowing the only stuff going under the plane were some sets of clothes and a couple pairs of shoes. All in all, despite the wide variety of things I need to pack and plan for, it all worked out well enough and I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything.
As for the trip itself, I’m glad we saw the area, but it also wasn’t our most impressive adventure. I will say that the aesthetic of the Smokies is unique. I loved the perpetual mist and fog we encountered, the countless waterfalls were definitely worth exploring, and just the general feel of the landscape was special. Appalachia is a dynamic stretch of ecology across the states, and seeing this region and comparing it to our White Mountains was a worthwhile experience. Of course, it is a national park, and the trails were quite accessible - Laurel Falls was paved start to finish - but some stretches we explored still offered enough of that desired feeling of adventure. Alum Cave especially, where the trail alongside a cascading stream was absolutely beautiful… before it gained some elevation and sweeping panoramas of the mountains opened up before us. Even our second day in the park was worth it, despite it being a complete wash out (literally… the road was closed due to high wind and thunder rolled overhead the entire time). We were still able to watch the elk graze in the rain, and it was interesting to visit Mingus Mill and read up on some of the history of the region. So, even if the weather didn’t completely cooperate, it was a visit I appreciated and an opportunity I’m glad we took advantage of.
Not Gatlinburg, however. Screw that place. That is everything a mountain town shouldn’t be - plastic consumerism as far as the eye can see. Gross.
Otherwise, I would have loved to explore the Pisgah National Forest more - a drive through there in the rain was a complete tease - and I would not have complained about another day in Asheville. It’s probably for the best that we didn’t stay in the city specifically during this leg of the trip because those breweries sure are dangerous. They are freaking everywhere. I think we hit about 10 of them, and each one was a positive experience. Especially Burial. So yeah, in all, we did some cool stuff, but I would have loved to do more cool stuff, so maybe our paths will take us back down there someday…
Oh. And Raleigh was fine. I guess we went there too, if only for a day and with minimal time to explore. The Beer Garden next to the hotel was legit. But that’s about all I got. So… Until next time!
