Hi,
I would like to know if it is practical to bring a tripod along on a backpacking trip. This will be my first backpacking trip with my DSLR, and i will love to capture lots of pictures..including sunrise/sunsets/night scenery..
the question you have to ask yourself is:
1) is this a photography trip?
if yes, then go ahead, you have to bring a tripod. the first europe trip i made, i thought i could rely on high iso. two years on, i realise that was a bad decision and i missed out a lot of opportunities in italy because of that.
when i mean photography trip, i mean you visit locations just for the sole purpose of pictures. you might spend an hour or two enjoying your meal, especially at mid day when lighting conditions are not good; you might tour a museum for a bit, but your primary purpose is photography. the locations you visit are purely for photography; it isn't "i want to visit this place for its history and it isn't goign to be nice in photographs so i'll snap one or two".
2) how flexible are your partners?
there is nothing that cannot be overcome. i prefer to travel alone, but sometimes you can travel with people simply to drive down costs. a single room is always going to cost a lot more than a double room split up. hostels are an exception.
if your friends are following your plans closely, fine.
if not, discuss with them the possibility of you taking off for a day or two to do what you want to do. no point trying to clash with others and tell them to go to a place that only a photographer would be interested in.
when i went to amsterdam, i wasn't at all interested in amsterdam, more in a lighthouse that was about 2 hours away. so i asked them, do you want to go? they said no, so i said, ok, i'll take off on my own for this day, and i went myself. it wasn't the most fun day in the trip, although it was definitely no less enjoyable; but i remember it the most vividly, and it was photographically most rewarding.
if your friends are not flexible at all, then make do lor. decide whether they will grumble so much that you really won't have time to set up a tripod and shoot, wait for the light.
when you have a clear purpose, do what you have to do.