Jeanine joined me this morning for a return to the Middlesex Fell Reservation. We covered 4 miles in 2 hours under grey skies. I spent the balance of the day refining my backpack to optimally carry my tripod and trekking poles. Normally these items are fastened by straps to the sides of the backpack. To access them, you must stop and remove the pack. This not only takes time and energy, it is also unpleasant. During strenuous trekking, the back of your shirt becomes drenched in perspiration. When you remove your pack you get an immediate chill and putting the pack on again is just as bad. By sewing on some additional straps, I have devised a way to carry both items on my chest and above my camera bag. Either can be deployed in seconds and neither prevent me from getting to my cameras without obstruction. This arrangement, although a little strange looking, also serves to place the load I am carrying more directly over my center of gravity, leading to better stability and less fatigue while hiking.