Travis Burke: A Well-Travelled Pack

The crazy thing about the Photo Sport is that I originally picked it up over a year ago to be a simple “day pack”… and never ended up putting it down. The compact design still offers a ton of diversity for me to carry anything and everything I need for almost any type of adventure. I’ve circled the entire country using and abusing the Photo Sport on a daily  basis in every type of landscape and weather condition possible.  Here are a few of my favorite images of the bag and me enjoying some of the beauty that we have here in our own backyard.

Southern Utah has landscapes unlike any other place on this planet. I’ve spent months navigating down the remote dirt roads, staring up at the deep dark skies, and squeezing through its narrow slot canyons.  Having a bigger bag in this situation means I am less mobile and makes it a lot more challenging or sometimes impossible for me to make it to my final destination. The Photo Sport straps onto my back tight and is compact enough for me to take anywhere, allowing me to always get the shot.

The place where tall trees meet cold seas: the Pacific Northwest is rugged and unpredictable. Whether shooting in the dense rainforest or hiking out to the beach for cold surf session I always had the Photo Sport on my back to carry my essentials.

People come from all over the world to see the autumn colors along the east coast.  I spent the fall chasing the colors as they slowly worked their way south through old historical cities, rolling hills, beaches, large metropolitan areas and waterfall-covered  canyons. Pennsylvania stopped me in my tracks with some of the best colors and waterfalls I’ve ever seen!

I used to think Oregon was all just trees and rain, but after navigating in and around all four corners of this incredible state I’ve come to realized it’s one of my favorite places on the planet. The rugged beauty of Smith Rock State Park in central Oregon shoots out above the surrounding landscape, and while most people visit during the day, standing atop these towers at night makes you feel as though you are standing among the stars.

Two million years in the making, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a vivid testament to the power of erosion, where water is continually carving through and exposing some of the oldest rock on Earth! Standing here among the tallest cliffs in Colorado you get an incredible sense of how small we are in this vast world of time and space.

Extremely dangerous yet beautiful! The fact that there are such  incredible ice caves in the US still blows me away. Less than two hours from Seattle, Washington, this easy day hike has become quite popular in the summer months. Entering into the caves can be extremely dangerous but we took all the safety precautions possible and were able to enter through the mouth of one of the large blue caves. Water was dripping and pouring out from the ceiling everywhere and it was one of the many times I was thankful to have the all weather cover easily accessible on my bag to keep my gear dry and protected.

The raw untouched beauty of British Columbia is apparent everywhere. This moss-covered slot canyon leads back to a hidden waterfall oasis where the water then trickles down into the Pacific Ocean just a few hundred feet away. It’s places like these that I believe should be kept secret, protected and preserved for the next lucky adventurers who stumble upon them and have the experience by themselves.

Kauai, The Garden Island is the least commercialized of the Hawaiian Islands and offers an incredible array of activities. We circled the island, jumping off waterfalls, backpacking the coast, swimming through underwater caves, slacklining between palm trees and camping under the stars…the sunsets weren’t bad either!

Amanda Pollard

About Amanda Pollard

Amanda Pollard is the WW Communications Manager for Lowepro. She's a drone enthusiast, who not only loves aerial photography but FPV as well. You can usually find her lurking around Lowepro's social media, writing blogs, and trying to find ways to give bags away. You can reach Amanda at apollard@daymen.com

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