I'll give you a tip from personal experience.
I have done some heavy duty backpacking trips carrying either a canon 20d plus 24-70 and 70-200 and canon 5d with above lenses. I will probably never do this again in the backcountry. I believe if for anything other than a day hike, I will go with a canon g10 and a monopod. If I need a tripod, I will simply use my pack as support on the ground. Even without a tripod, it gets friggin heavy with a pro dslr and 1 or 2 lenses.
My day hikes are different, I take everything.
Carbon fiber is great, but way too pricey unless your making serious dough on landscapes and money isn't a concern. I sell landscapes but don't make the dough to warrant those kind of purchases. If your just feeling slutty, that is a different story.
Seriously though, if your doing some real deal backpacking, go with a semi pro point and shoot with great optics and great manual controls.
Thanks for the feedback. I'm more on the day hike plan. But the shoulder bruises from lugging the tripod and gear add up.
Fact is, the weight savings with CF isn't that significant. 5 lbs legs go to 4 lbs, etc. And I question the lifespan of the adhesives, etc. But the material properties of CF in regard to dampening do seem to be signifcant (that's probably a bigger deal in really lightweight tripods). I expect we will continue to see CF tripod prices decline. I'll probably just pickup the latest version of the old standby - a bogen 055xproB.
Digital is definitely easier because of the IS and the ability to evaluate what you've just shot. With the 67, I'm setting exposure, composing, hoping the light doesn't change, and then releasing the mirror and losing my viewfinder... and then tripping the shutter. Doing that handheld, especially on a moving boat is really tough (but a tripod is generally not viable on the boat because the engine vibrations and the need for pan.. though the boat is bigger this time and I think the bow may be viable for a tripod). And you have no way to know if you got the shot. I should probably rig a wire frame on top of the camera for those situations to confirm I'm still on target after releasing the MLU.. But what I get from the 6x7 transparencies and fixed focal length lenses with 4000 dpi scans is amazing.. Especially for sharp poster size prints. So as long as I have that scanner, I gotta do it...
Last trip, my digital backup was a panasonic lumix. It is a good camera for the size with the 10x optical, but no manual mode and limited bracketing. And it is rather noisy. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap dslr body for this trip but that may create more problems than it solves - the thought of hauling the 67 with two lenses and a dslr with two lenses is really daunting and I would likely cover much less ground. Maybe one lens on the dslr. Last trip, I returned wishing I had shot way more film (though I still have stuff to scan).