We spent about four hours walking around Tunica Falls. Temperature was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, at a rough estimate. I was in full loadout and learned a number of things.
Some preliminary pictures are up, covering the period of time from our arrival by car to when we actually started onto the trail. I'll get the rest of the pictures up eventually, but I've got a severe backlog. I'm still working through the last set of Ensenada pictures.
Lessons Learned
Although it's generally referred to as Tunica Hills by the folks on campus, it's actually called Tunica Falls by the people who live in the area. This can cause great confusion when travelling, since there is also a Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area, which is quite different.
On a warm day under load, I can go through two liters of water in less than four hours.
I'm missing some buckles on my pack, all of which are for 1-inch straps. Getting that fixed is going to be important. I'm missing one to apply tension across the chest straps, and two for compression straps for the tent. I used the quickloops instead for this walk, and discovered that the straps can work themselves loose, which is very inconvenient.
Exact hip placement of the backpack is important. Placing it too low causes far too much weight to be carried on the shoulders. Oddly, carrying the weight on the hips actually hurts more, but the weight on the shoulders quickly saps my energy and leaves me winded.
Getting everything placed correctly can be tricky when you've got two bits of gear that both want to put thick straps around your waist. Start with the large backpack and then add the camera back afterwards.
The LowePro Specialist 85 AW has its main strap below its center of gravity, fully loaded. This means you need to take a second strap (I used the thin shoulderstrap from a SlipLock pouch), attach it to the D-rings on top, and loop that around your body. Tightening that can be tricky; you really have to get the correct length in advance. With this arrangement, I still prefer using the handstrap on the camera to using a neck strap. I don't want any more weight on my neck and shoulders. I'm satisfied with this bag and carrying arrangement for summer.
I'm going to need to find a functioning insect repellent for the summer trip. I've been itching for two days.
Going to one's knees to get under a low-hanging branch (or tree trunk) should be avoided whenever possible. I had the strength to duck-walk through, but not enough to keep my knees from touching the ground and getting lightly scraped. Rising afterwards was also surprisingly difficult.
Even a quick-drying TechWick shirt gets soaked with sweat by the end of the day. The embedded silver actually does work to keep the odor down, however.
Jeremy has a weakness for licorice sticks (the real kind, not the red Twizzler-esque type) and chocolate mints.
