[pct-l] DSLR Camera

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I'm a point-and-shooter all the way. I like a tiny camera I can just  
whip out at a moment's notice, no fussing with lenses or settings. I  
made a pact with myself that any time the trail made me go "Wow!" I  
would stop right then and there and take the picture. Not try to find  
a better spot, not hope it will have a better view just up ahead,  
because there never was a better view than right where I went "Wow!"  
I got great pictures.

I went through 2 point and shoot digitals and 2 disposables. The  
first point and shoot would not take pictures above about 9000 feet,  
so I had to use a disposable in the High Sierras. My pictures sucked  
royally. My 2nd digital was killed when I rolled on it in the night.  
I had to end my trip through Glacier Peak Wilderness without a camera  
and finish to the border with a disposable. The best views of the  
whole trail missed on camera. The picture of myself at the border is  
awful because disposables have no self-timer. All that is to tell  
you, get a sturdy camera or consider your camera a fungible item and  
be prepared to go through them. Maybe even keep a back-up in a bounce  
box or something.