[pct-l] GoLite umbrella

[Maxine Weyant]

This year I used one for the first time.  I put a Sym-blissity water bottle holder on my shoulder strap and stuck the handle in there, then used a couple of velcro straps to anchor the stem to a higher place on my shoulder strap and to part of my backpack above my head.   To get a better grasp of the skinny stem, I used a piece of foam pipe insulation, about 6-8 inches long.  If I'd had more time to plan it, I'd have sewn or used a pouch more firmly attached to my shoulder strap than the symblissity thing which kind of flopped around a bit.  Though it did allow me to swing the umbrella over to my other shoulder easily.  

I LOVED having the umbrella in the desert.  If the wind picked up a little or if I hiked through a narrow space, I could just let the umbrella close a bit and collapse over my head--it was still way cooler than a hat.  If it got a little windier,  I could stabilize the edge of the umbrella with my left hand and still keep a hiking pole in my right.  Of course, if the wind really picked up I had to put the umbrella away.  I also used the umbrella when I helped rescue a hiker who was lying in the middle of the trail suffering from heat cramps.  It did frighten people's dogs and I always lowered it around horses, just in case--a shiny silver dome bobbing along the trail is a very scary thing to animals.  

Another method of attaching the umbrella I heard of is to insert a post or stick into the bottom of the umbrella, anchor that post to your hip belt, and have the umbrella go diagonally across your front, lashing the stem to your chest strap.  I think there was a description of that on the Go-lite website or somewhere else online.

Dys-feng shui-nal