Training Reno to be a better hiking buddy. What to work on?

I'd like to do more hikes with Reno as the weather continues to get nice but frankly, he's a sucky hiking partner. 
 
I always spend the first 45 minutes of a walk with him wondering why I brought him at all, because he's just such a spaz.  I mentioned in my other post that he has 2 speeds: stopped and full-tilt.  He seems to believe that if walking there is good then running must be better so I spend at least the first half hour--usually more--just managing his spazziness.
 
What I would like is to have him tone down his enthusiasm for every little thing, and pay more attention to things like me, his surroundings, footing etc.    Our general breakdown is this:

• we leave into the car and he's all happy about life
• I stop somewhere to run him first and try to blow of some major energy before we walk (this sometimes backfires as his reactivity manifests into overtired=more spastically energized)
• we get "there" and he's unbelievably happy about life and living and breathing and hey what's that....and I spend 10 minutes working on attention and random turns etc (I wonder why I brought him again)
• I run him a bit
• we start walking on flexi or flat leash attached to collar.  Leash is 20 feet...at 18 or so I give the command that tells him "slow down" he does for a milisecond then is back at 19ish feet repeat, repeat (I wonder why I brought him)
• I get annoyed (wondering why I brought him again) and just start doing random turns, as much as you can in the woods.  He gets stressed that I'm upset and starts getting bouncier, more random in his turns and then usually starts heeling beside me on his own for a time
• this continues for about an hour.  Finally he starts finding a medium trot pace that puts him at about 15ish feet away from me consistently and I remember that I do love him and he's such a happy goof and I'm glad I brought him but jeez, why couldn't he find that pace somewhere near the beginning of the walk, and not just on the way back?

 
Ok.  What would help this?  It's not that he's ignoring me per se,and he's very much aware of where I am.  I don't trust him off leash (he would come back to me, but would explore some first I think) so the leash is a must.  But, what now?