**Honestly, most of my shots have been handheld, but for Christmas my daughter bought me a Trek-pod with a mag mount and this is the answer (for me). It's a very sturdy walking skick and when needed it becomes a mono pod or a tripod. It has a very strong magnet that holds your camera in place, and for the bottom of your camera a threaded attachment that you leave on, and then it clicks into the magnet when you need support. I absolutely love it!! I have a link here so you can check it out, sorry I don't know how to make it clickable...

http://www.opticsplanet.net/swarovski-trektech-trekpod-tripod.html

It's well worth the $$ and we all can use a walking stick for stability when hiking  for those amazing photos!!!!
**