A few years ago, I set a goal of getting a good bear picture. I quickly learned that one can't get a good close up of a bear with the camera in the back pack. I hiked the Wonderland with my camera on a strap around my neck. I didn't like the weight around my neck. A couple of years ago, I came up with the idea of just hanging a camera case from the straps. I just did a rim to rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon with my camera. It worked well.
You can see my pictures at http://www.davemcclung.com