Q- "1. What mount are you using for you POV shots? I presume those are all done on the GoPro? I've only recently bought one and I'll be using it for the first time on an upcoming trip which I'm thoroughly looking forward to."
A- I hate to admit it, but for those shots I just gripped the tripod mount on the bottom of the GoPro between my teeth. I do have a head-strap mount, but since I have a QR plate on the bottom of the GoPro tripod mount (I use a Gorillapod Original tripod) and I can bite down on it securely, I just do that for the quick POV shots when hiking.
Q- "2. Assuming most of your POV shots are done on the GoPro, are most of your tripod shots of you from a distance done on the P&S?"
A-Yes. The telephoto and self-exposures are done with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20.
Q- "3. What is that inflatable raft? Looks really cool! Does it weigh much and is it relatively durable?"
A- I have an Alapacka Raft Yukon Yak. The Alpackas are sized according to inseam. I fit nicely in a Yak based on my 32" inseam. The boat weighs about 7.5 pounds. The paddle is a Lendal Kinetic Touring in 4-piece with an MCS bent shaft. Lovely paddle. The raft and associated crap (inflation bag, PFD, etc) adds about 10 total pounds to your base weight, so you had better really want to do some boating to drag all that extra junk along. They are really amazingly durable. You can slide over any number of smooth river or ocean rocks, though I recommend you are a little careful around sharper stuff. I wouldn't claim they are indestructible, but with some care they will survive more than you would think possible.
A few people have asked about the bears. Kodiak is a pretty safe place to be around bears. In modern history on this island, only one person has been killed by a bear, and it was not a predatory attack- the bear had claimed a deer a hunter had killed and left behind for a while, and when the hunter returned he got mauled badly enough to die of the injuries before getting to aid. Every couple of years someone gets slapped or chewed, but it is usually not too bad. The bears here are truly wild, wary of humans, and if you give them the chance they will leave you very much alone. There is a bear for every 1.5 square miles of land throughout the archipelago, and they add an amazing element to our landscape. I have solo sea kayaked thousands of miles and hiked many hundreds of miles around here. I have had a few tense moments with bears while waiting for them to decide what they wanted to do next, but invariably they exited expeditiously. Bottom line = you will eventually die, but from something else. Cherish the ability to share the Kodiak backcountry with the planet's largest land carnivore. :^)
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