TRIAL TRAIL RUN AT LONE PINE STATE PARK

Yesterday we went to Lone Pine State Park so Kinsey could practice with her Bushnell d-tour, GPS thingy she got for Christmas. Lone Pine named for a lone pine which no longer exists is on a hill overlooking the Flathead Valley. Great view and good place to get some exercise. It also has a confusing trail system, at least, so says Kinsey. Personally, my attention was on the whitetail deer and squirrel activity and I don't need any trail.

It's good exercise because the park sits on a hill and just about anywhere you go you're going to get some great uphill aerobics. Kinsey wanted to try and make a loop, which we eventually did but not without some backtracking. And speaking of backtracking that brings me back to the Bushnell test. The device does point you in the direction you need to go to get back to your marked location but it doesn't tell you which trail to take to do that. I could care less myself. All trails are the right trail in my book.

Kinsey has a good sense of direction but that doesn't help much if you have several trail options which basically take off in the right direction but end up not where you need to be. That actually happened on this hike so we had to retrace our steps and try a new trail. In this case our car was due west of us but the hill was in between. We needed to pick the right trail to take us around it. Our first choice was a mistake. The d-tour definitely would not have helped us last spring on Chief Mountain. Thank heaven for the Chief!

Lone Pine State Park - On the lookout 02-27-15

The d-tour has it's limitations but Kinsey will still be using it when we head out for adventure this spring. The important thing is to recognize the d-tour limitations and use the device accordingly. Kinsey will still be making her little cairns as we go. Unless, of course, she forgets like she did on Chief Mountain. As in that case, it's always best to have reliable spirit guides.

Ciao for now,
Molly Montana

BUSHNELL BACK TRACK GPS - D-TOUR

Ok, some people have expressed concern about poor Kinsey not getting anything for Christmas whilst I made out like a bandit getting several gifts including a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee. It should be abundantly clear who the "nice" girl around here is.

Not to worry though, she did get a present. It was a personal GPS. The Bushnell Back Track GPS D-Tour to be exact.

Bushnell D-Tour Personal GPS

Regular readers may recall Kinsey got herself temporarily lost last spring whist hiking around Chief Mountain. Click here to read her account of the story. She almost never gets lost so this was a little hair raising for her. A good friend who read the story suggested this little device might be helpful. Of course she's going to have to learn how to use it first. So far the learning has been going rather slowly. It took her an hour to figure out how to set the clock! She'll get it eventually I'm sure. Then again, hope does spring eternal.

In addition to finding your way back on a trail you can also find your car in a parking lot. This could also be handy. But, at the moment Kinsey's problem is recognizing her car. There are so many charcoal grey Grand Cherokees around here she keeps trying to get into other people's cars. The Cherokee is a way popular car, around these parts, that's for sure.

Anyway, just wanted you to know not to worry about Kinsey she got hers!

Ciao for now!
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard