How do I start and stop GPS tracking so I can save a hike track & stats on my 735XT

Andy, yes the procedure works. Here's what I did today:

Started Hike across the street from my home. Watch display said GPS On.

Watched HR on the phone app but it was yesterday's data. Easy to tell since Rest and High rates were unchanging through pace changes.

Thereafter, I did not touch the Start/Stop button on the Watch until I got almost back home. After a moment or 2 it said Saved and the entire hike displayed on the phone! HR display looked as it should, with several vigorous jogging bursts. Low 109, High 164.

Regarding viewing the hike on the Phone:

After it has been Saved, which is done automatically when Hike is Stopped, there is a red-background panel with some stats and a small-scale trace of the track. Clicking on it presents the track on a Map. The track is blue at slow pace and red at high pace. There is a "menu icon" (vertical lines) at the upper right of the panel. When clicked, a list of all hikes appears in reverse chronological order. Any of these can be selected to view on the phone.

The entire Hike is online at Garmin Connect in the usual manner. Curiously, when first presented on my desktop monitor the track was missing some segments and mispositioned on the map. A little later, it got  better!

Thanks. If I did want my phone during hiking I'd probably just use Google maps. However, I don't want to be holding a phone or have it in a fanny pack in case I fall, so the watch info mainly suffices.

Yes, I used to use Google Maps on neighborhood walks. For hiking I used my Garmin Monterra and used a FindMeSpot for allowing folks at home to see where I was and send messages. More recently switched to AllTrails since I'm not doing wilderness hikes right now. When I got the 735XT, primarily for the HR data, I was hoping to have live tracking for folks at home, automatic email notifications to them, AND ability to see the track on the phone.  I know  the latter is possible since I am able to do it with the right sequence of Stop, Save, Resume. That procedure has some problems though. One is all those button clicks is a nuisance that cries out for a Sync command. Or, is there one there already that I don't know about?  Another issue is it sometimes (maybe always?) produces multiple hikes when viewed at Garmin Connect.

I see you point regarding the awkwardness and vulnerability of dealing with a phone while cross-country running or whatever. I also realize that the 735XT is not well matched to my needs. Since the one I'm using is from a friend who's willing to take it back, I might look into something else, or just go back to AllTrails.

Thanks for all your help.

Andy275 said:

Thanks. If I did want my phone during hiking I'd probably just use Google maps. However, I don't want to be holding a phone or have it in a fanny pack in case I fall, so the watch info mainly suffices.

I was not my intention to suggest to use the phone. I understood that OP wanted to see his activity live on the phone in the Garmin Connect app (and he thought that livetrack serves this purpose), so I hinted a workaround for such use case.

tmk2   I appreciate the work around, and was merely expressing (as the OP has now come to the conclusion) that this isn't the watch I'd choose if live tracks of hiking were my priority mainly bc I wouldn't want to depend on the phone.  

In my quest to see my track on the phone, I've found a procedure that works. The key is to realize the track must be synced with the watch once in a while.

The correct procedure for syncing the phone once in a while is:

1. Click Start/Stop button and select Resume. Soon afterwards, the phone will display the track up to that location. This can be repeated as often as desired.
2. When the hike is over, click Start/Stop button and select Done.

Note that it takes a while for the track to be updated on the phone. Also, note that by following this procedure the hike will be a single activity at Garmin Connect, whereas if the hike is Stopped and restarted the hike will show up at Garmin Connect as multiple activities.