My trip to Mori Point the weekend before last was a bit experimental. Although a lot of reviews of the place mention wildlife, I wasn’t getting a big wildlife vibe from it, maybe because I expected it to be kind of crowded, so I decided I was going to “hike light”. Over the years, I’ve come up with a set-up I am comfortable with and nearly always go out with, which is essentially my DSLR + 400mm lens and a pair of binoculars, each clipped to the hip belt of my backpack, and a compact camera in a backpack side pocket for landscape pictures. This works very well for me and makes me feel “safe”. But it’s also overkill if I’m not expecting to see wildlife. The problem is wildlife might show up whether or not you are expecting it. Ever since I found a compact camera I really like, I’ve barely taken the 400mm off my DSLR, but I’m gearing up for a European trip this fall with my brother and father, and I’m probably only going to take the DSLR and the 24-105mm – I’m definitely not taking the 400mm – so I feel like I should really go back to practicing landscapes with that camera and lens. SO, I took a risk and a) left the binoculars in the car, and b) left the 400mm in my backpack, and fitted the DSLR with the 24-105. I know that’s not really taking a big risk, but as soon as I parked I was confronted with all these “coyote country” signs informing me there are a lot of coyotes in the area, which made me real nervous at first. Not nervous for the reason most people might be nervous reading such signs, but nervous that I’d see a coyote and NOT HAVE THE RIGHT LENS READY. So I was feeling real uncomfortable at first and kept wondering if I should go back to the car for the binocs, and swap my lenses out. But gradually I got swept up in beauty of the area and I stopped worrying so much about missing coyotes, and there was only ONE time when I wished I had the 400mm on the camera. I am brave!
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