Location: Mount Timpanogos

The meadow full of wildflowers below the summit of Mount Timpanogos

We finally made it to the meadow, sweaty and exhausted. The hope of wildflowers was met with patches of blue and red below the summit of Timpanogos. We found a spot to pitch out tents and quickly crashed after setting up our beds. My sleep was interrupted throughout the night, by hikers getting an early start (as early as 2 am) and coyotes howling under the moon. My lack of sleep and excitement for the photo ops in the early morning light got me up before dawn. The views were right outside my tent door, so I didn't have to go very far to get what I wanted. I opened my tent and started setting up my gear when three deer casually walked just eight feet in front of me. The first one heard me and froze. I tried taking a shot, but hadn't realized the lens cap was still on. Oh well. They probably would have only been a blur, anyway, with the predawn light. They left as quickly as they came and the sun was starting to rise. I grabbed my gear and started scouting sunrise shots with overwhelming opportunity. 

Lupine wildflower in the basin of Mount Timpanogos

Lupine in the foreground of the summit

Camping under the moon and the stars at Mount Timpanogos Wilderness Area

The next morning we decided to relocate our camp and head towards Emerald Lake to filter some water. It was hard to put a heavy pack back on and climb further up the mountain, but it was worth it. The area surrounding Emerald Lake offers 360 degrees of beauty. Mountain goat were abundant and wildflowers were scattered throughout the area. We headed to the summit in the afternoon and made it back to enjoy some pasta salad with some friendly fellow backpackers. I soaked a sore knee in the icy glacier water and caught some sunset light on our camp. We packed up the next morning feeling rested and successful and started the long hike back down the mountain. 

Mount Timpanogos shelter near Emerald Lake

(Clockwise starting from the top left photo) Hiking to the top, camping under mountains, mountain goat family, Emerald Lake, Lupine and Indian Paintbrush wildflowers, Mount Timpanogos Wilderness

Hiking to the top of Timp

Emerald Lake and the Timpanogos shelter

Moose on the hike up Mount Timp

Timpanogos shelter and our camp near Emerald Lake

Lupine and Indian Paintbrush in the meadow of Mount Timp

View from the summit

Lupine and the Timp shelter

Timpanogos Wilderness

Backcountry Pack List

I'm headed off into the backcountry, and with a backcountry adventure comes meticulous packing. Every ounce counts, and as a photographer that can mean leaving most of your gear home. Any extra weight is just that much more you have to carry up the mountain, adding more stress to your neck and back and bringing less enjoyment to what should be an amazing experience. I already know going in that I'm going to have to sacrifice some equipment. But what if I want to take night shots? I will definitely need my tripod. And I know there is going to be wildlife up there. Don't I need my zoom lens? Perhaps when I get everything packed up and on my back I'll be thinking otherwise. But I do want to shoot some night photos, and I know there will be wildlife. I may have to choose between one or the other. Or maybe I can sacrifice some socks and underwear in order to bring both. Or maybe not... For now, this is how my pack list is looking:

Camera Equipment
Canon 5D Mark II (1)
Canon 24mm TS-E 3.5 (2)
Canon 70-200mm 2.8 (3)*
32 GB of CF cards (6)
2x Batteries (9)
Warming Filter (on the 70-200)
Singh-Ray ND graduated filters (5 stops total) (4)
Shutter release remote (for bulb exposures/time lapse)
Lens cloth and 2x Zeiss lens wipes
Rain cover (weighs next to nothing, but is invaluable in wet weather) (7)
Gitzo GT 2531 tripod (5)
Kirk BH-3 Ballhead


Camping Equipment
Backpack
Tent (11)
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad (12)
Optimus Terra Cook Set (13)
Sea to Summit Spork
Optimus Stove
Lightweight meals (2x breakfast, 2x lunch, 2x dinner)
Water
Knife
Toiletries (14)
Headlamp (10)
Epi Pen
Seat to Summit 13L bag (just in case I need to keep the electronics dry)

Clothing (16)
Columbia shorts
Lightweight pants
3x T-shirts
Lightweight sweatshirt
Columbia lightweight rain jacket (15)
3x Undies
2x Wool socks
2x Sport socks
Hat

*This one is still on the fence. We'll see if it makes it into the final cut...

Edit: I ended up bringing both the 70-200 and the tripod. I just couldn't bear leaving one or the other behind. I may have been cursing them on the way up, but I was satisfied and happy to carry the weight coming back down. I wouldn't have gotten some of the imagery I ended up getting without them. However, it made me rethink a lot of the other gear I was hauling up, such as my old inefficient sleeping bag. I will most likely be revising this list as I continue to head into the backcountry. In the mean time, enjoy my next post on the imagery I captured in the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness.