Treking Poles & Managing the GPS

[+markp99]

I've been using my new treking poles on my most recent hikes. I started with one, but I think I prefer to use two. I am slowly getting a natural walking/poling rythym and I am finding good pole lengths for flats/ups/downs. I really do enjoy the added balance and powerboost these things provide. Traction of the carbide tips on rock fields and even flat faced granite surfaces is quite nice. Using the poles as poking tools comes in very handy!

 

On longer hikes, the GPS is referenced at the start and then only periodically along the way. I keep the GPS teathered to my belt loop with a long lanyard and in my cargo pocket. When I get within range I like to keep the GPS in my hand, but this causes a problem with the poles. I hate to stop and pull the gps from my pocket every time I want to take a look.

 

I've found a way to grip the teather between my first and second finger with the gps sitting on the back of my hand, while I grip the pole. This seems to work, but the gps can get a bit floppy. I was thinking of making some sourt of mount (or velcro) on the top of one pole, but I'm not sure this would work well.

 

Question: How do you manage your GPS while also holding 2 treking poles?

 

Any suggestions?

[+wiseye]

How about doing it the way you are, but add a velcro wrist band to your hand?

[+Bear and Ragged]

How about doing it the way you are, but add a velcro wrist band to your hand?

 

Same thought, wear it on your wrist like a watch, as you get nearer to the cache site?

[+The Leprechauns]

On long hikes when I use my trekking poles, I clip my GPS onto my pack's shoulder strap, far enough down my chest that I can turn my head a bit and see the screen. I can peek at the distance while hiking down the trail, or even reach up with a pole strapped on, just enough to tilt the unit to see the map or the arrow. When I get a few hundred feet from the cache, I'm going to be moving slower anyhow, so at that point I collapse one or both poles, attach them to my pack, and unclip the GPS for navigation to ground zero and the search for the cache. I'll also unclip the GPS when I reach a trail junction or other decision point where I need to look at the map screen. That's a good time to unwrap the trekking pole and take a sip of water anyways.

 

Somewhere north of 1,000 caches, I learned that the hike is a lot more enjoyable if you don't keep your nose buried in the GPS, and instead concentrate on the scenery (and the conversation, if hiking with a group). I've been using trekking poles since April, and have found that they help keep me from being too focused on the electronics. A few times, like on Sunday, I'll make a bad navigation decision, resulting in a bit of extra hiking. Big deal. By not following my GPS, I got a nice view of a lake that I wouldn't have seen if I had beelined directly to the cache.

 

EDIT to note that a Green Jeep Travel Bug is still in that cache, 48 hours later. God forbid! A 2.5 mile hike!

Edited August 8, 2006 by The Leprechauns

[+Team Teuton]

RAM Mount make a GPS mount for trekking poles - walking sticks. Works great.

 

[+The Leprechauns]

I thought about shelling out $$$ for a RAM mount, but for me, half the value of trekking poles is for use as a weapon against spider webs, thorn bushes and thick undergrowth. I worried too much about snags, scratches or even separations. Perhaps in a different environment, I'd come to the opposite conclusion.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Make a hands-free unit like mine! I hike on crutches and so have to stop to free a hand to read the GPS.

 

To solve this I took two coat hangers, straightened them, twisted them together, covered them with a tube of heat-shrink plastic. I then bent them into a tear-drop shape to hang around my neck.

 

The ends of the coat hangers are attached to a suction-cup dash mount - the cup rests against my chest, the GPS protrudes out in front of me. The dash-mount is angle-adjustable so I can tilt it down flat or at any angle for easy readability.

 

Voila - a simple, cheap hands-free unit!

 

I showed it to a fellow in PA some years ago and he started making and selling them on the internet - don't know if he still does.

 

This hands-free unit has the added benefits of keeping the GPS parallel with the horizen and always pointed in the direction I am traveling - meaning the GPS is not constantly recalculating as it swings on a strap or is taken in and out of a pocket - I consistantly get more accurate and faster readings than my companions who hand-carry, pocket or dangle their GPS.

 

Many of the cachers I cache with hold theirs in their hands, turn this way and that, wave the unit around - the GPS is constantly having to reorient itself! Having it on my chest and walking in straight lines as much as possible has, I believe, given me consistantly better results. I can walk along on my crutches and every now and then glance down at the screen to see my distance and direction.

 

Don't try this at home, but with my handsfree chest mount I have only to glance down while driving to see my route map!

 

Ed

Edited August 8, 2006 by TheAlabamaRambler

[+Team Teuton]

I thought about shelling out $$$ for a RAM mount, but for me, half the value of trekking poles is for use as a weapon against spider webs, thorn bushes and thick undergrowth. I worried too much about snags, scratches or even separations. Perhaps in a different environment, I'd come to the opposite conclusion.

 

They also make the pole a little top-heavy, which takes some of getting used to.

[+briansnat]

For most of the way I have the GPS on my belt clip and the trekking poles in each hand. I check the GPS peeriodically. If I get close enough where I need to have the GPS out the entire time, it usually means I'm close enough to put the poles down along with my pack.

 

On the rare instances where I'm still walking and want to have the GPS in my hand I just collapse one pole and stick it inside my pack.

Edited August 9, 2006 by briansnat

[+Mike McLaughlin]

Make a hands-free unit like mine! I hike on crutches and so have to stop to free a hand to read the GPS.

To solve this I took two coat hangers, straightened them, twisted them together, covered them with a tube of heat-shrink plastic. I then bent them into a tear-drop shape to hang around my neck.

The ends of the coat hangers are attached to a suction-cup dash mount - the cup rests against my chest, the GPS protrudes out in front of me. The dash-mount is angle-adjustable so I can tilt it down flat or at any angle for easy readability. [ ... ]

I showed it to a fellow in PA some years ago and he started making and selling them on the internet - don't know if he still does.

This hands-free unit has the added benefits of keeping the GPS parallel with the horizen and always pointed in the direction I am traveling - meaning the GPS is not constantly recalculating as it swings on a strap or is taken in and out of a pocket - I consistantly get more accurate and faster readings than my companions who hand-carry, pocket or dangle their GPS. [ ... ] with my handsfree chest mount I have only to glance down while driving to see my route map! Ed

 

Sounds great! How about some photos?

Edited August 9, 2006 by Mike McLaughlin

[janx]

or try walking without the aid of sticks like the rest of us bipeds. (barring the guy with crutches who obviously needs them).

 

When I remember, I just bring a walking stick. And I just use it when prodding for caches, or other things that having a stick is handy for.

[+OHMIKY]

I can appreciate your problem - I use only one pole, but I am also juggling camera and water bottle. There are times an extra pair of hands would be convenient. The hands-free solution discussed here seems like an elegant solution.