Camp 5
Still in the Inner Gorge, we made camp early enough that I could get out all of my gear: D700 for most everything, D2X as a back-up and for wide angles (I don't have a full-frame wide angle yet), D70 for remixed IR stuff, and a review model of a Canon D10.
Not much happened with the light, win some, lose some. It was a great evening even so. I used everything in the bag, just to say I had. Actually, there was more than a bag, and despite the complexities, carrying it around was a managable bother.
Securing gear on a Colorado River trip involves as much protection from impact as from water. Those rapids toss stuff around, even if well-secured, and there's always a chance that a shipmate is going to take a tumble right onto your pack. My lo-fi strategy I used in 2006 on the Nahanni River trip wasn't going to be suitable. I debated and optimized, and ended up with a hybrid system that worked for 3 DSLR bodies and about 5 lenses (biggest was my 70-200VR).
The D700 went into a Pelican box, along with its battery grip and a flash. Later on the trip, I reverted to my standard 5 liter drybag for the D700 (without grip). From years of practice in my kayak, I can stuff a camera into a drybag really fast. (Make sure your drybag has a hard loop for a carabiner, and use this method at your own risk.)
The D2X, D70, a back-up flash, Pocket Wizards, 12-24 DX lens, 50 mm lens, Lensbaby Composer and miscellaneous junk went into the bottom of a borrowed Lowepro DryZone Rover. This bag seals with zippers like those found on drysuits, and I read about issues with the zippers not closing properly in the field, so I double bagged everything in ziplocks. This bag is not the kind you open and shut thirty times a day. The zipper worked properly or speedily, but not both at once. So the lower compartment stayed shut on the river. But it did not fail once I got it sealed correctly.
To carry the rest of my stuff, I redeployed the the DryZone's non-waterproof upper section. Intended for hiker comforts (snack, hydration, clothes), the bag's top half seals like a regular pack. I packed my 70-200 in its soft case, then stuffed that into a 5 liter drybag. Another small drybag held batteries, CF cards, and other necessaries for shots during the day. It all got through 11 days of sand, rapids, water and elements just fine.
I resisted buying a specialty pack for this trip, but liked the DryZone Rover well enough that I am replacing it for the person I borrowed it from. The dual sections made it work for me. Either of LowePro's other waterproof bags would have been too cumbersome for my shooting style, but I intend on using this bag often on more placid adventures as well as future whitewater trips.
