Panasonic LX100 Initial Review

I finally pulled the trigger on the Panasonic LX100 after much consideration. I lugged a GH2, sometimes with good lenses but mostly with a pancake, on many a trip these past few years. Everything is a compromise and I needed a camera with a smaller form factor for backpacking. I'm probably like a lot of users, not quite point and shoot but not real savvy on the ins and outs of manual control. I know the basics of aperture and shutter speed but I'm sure I could get a lot more out of my camera, and consequently a lot better photos, if I spent some quality time with it. The LX100 is versatile enough that it begs further investigation into its guts. A quick search will bring up in depth reviews, but why do I like this camera?
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Camp Muir in 6 Minutes

Continuing this year's trend of hikes with conditions seemingly months ahead of the weather schedule, I left my skis at home to hike up to Camp Muir, the popular base camp for climbers at Mt. Rainier National Park. I wanted to test my legs on a good outing as I just underwent minor surgery and will not be able to hike, climb, or bike for weeks. I also wanted to make use of one of the new mounts I got for my GoPro, clipping it to my pack strap. With the camera set to take one photo per second, I departed Paradise (5400') and did a single push to Camp Muir (10,100') in 2 hours 55 minutes, only stopping once to change out the GoPro battery. Some other new equipment used on this journey: a Panasonic Lumix LX100 camera and a 3 liter Geigerrig pressurized bladder. The weather was sublime and I was comfortable, sometimes even sweltering, in just a base layer and a windshirt. Very much like a hike in June or July. After arriving at Muir I lounged, ate lunch and took photos, chatting it up with a HS friend of my daughter's who just happened to be there with her dad. On the way down the conditions were too sloppy for a good plunge step and I found myself sinking up to my knees on occasions higher up, but this goes with the territory. My footwear consisted of Inov8 running shoes (GoreTex lined) and some gaiters. One might get the impression from the time lapse that this is a benign hike, but the weather can turn nasty higher on this mountain and people have perished on the Muir snow field in years past. Hikers, exercise caution and good sense, especially when it comes to sun protection! But if you have ever wondered what this hike is all about, take the 6 minute journey.

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Return to Enchanted Valley/Olympic National Park

Enchanted Valley chalet rests on new spotA topic of discussion last year was the migrating Quinault River and how it had undercut the foundation of the historic Enchanted Valley Chalet. Read my trip report here on that April 7th, 2014 trip. The chalet was moved about a hundred feet from that position and is now safe from toppling into the river, at least temporarily. With still warm temps and a sunny Sunday (2/22/15) forecast, I decided to pop out to the Olympics and revisit the Enchanted Valley and snap some pix.
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Summerland 2/18/15

Summerland is an extremely popular hike in Mt. Rainier National Park during....the summer. It offers spectacular views and is under 10 miles for the roundtrip. Winter is a whole different animal; usually. The Pacific Northwest is "enjoying" very mild weather and low snow accumulations. I wanted to see firshand what was up so a trip to Summerland was in order. However, access is limited as HW 410 is closed from the Crystal Mountain turnoff, meaning that access to this area of the park is usually limited to snomobiles or people on snowshoes or skins willing to trek 9 miles into the park just to access the trailhead. For me it was a matter of mounting my mountain bike and enjoying snow free roads until less than half a mile from the trailhead. The following shots are frame grabs from video I took a week earlier when I checked out the road with my buddy.

HW 410 gate closurejunction for White River park entrance

 

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DeLorme InReach: Invaluable

position reports sent from the Pasayten WildernessI had been putting off purchasing a satellite communicator for a few years as I just didn't see the need until my daughter and I planned a trip in 2014 to Washington's Pasayten Wilderness for 8 days. My wife would have no contact with us for over 9 days, and questions arise like, at what point do I get worried? At what point do I call someone? What if something happens to you on day 2....by the time I realize you are in trouble it would have been over a week?
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ZPacks Arc Slim review

Arc Slim on the Wonderland TrailA natural tendency when one acquires a new piece of gear is to share one's excitement, perhaps via blog. I try to wait until I have enough experience with a piece of equipment before I do an actual review, and an appropriate amount of time has passed to render an opinion on the ZPacks Arc Slim pack. I've put a few hundred miles on the pack, including a full day of drenching rains. In a nutshell, not too shabby.
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