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Walking Sticks

© Kelly Winters

When I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1996, some hikers (including me) started out with one hiking stick. Very quickly, though, we reasoned that if one stick helped ease the load on the knees and gave an upper arm a workout, two would be even better. Many hikers picked up a second stick--either a wooden staff found along the way, or a more high-tech--and more expensive--trekking staff from a gear store. Walking with two sticks, we looked more like skiers than people's idea of a hiker, and dayhikers often teased "Where are your skis?" This joke was funny for about the first fifty times, and after that I told people that I was a member of the U.S. Olympic ski team, hiking on the Trail as part of my summer training. Try this sometime. You will be amazed at how many people believe you.

Why Use Sticks?

Hiking with two sticks has several advantages: it takes some of the weight off your knees and hips, gives you a great upper-body workout to go with that strenuous abuse of your legs and feet, and helps with balance. The sticks also have many other uses: a few include wedging one between rocks to form an impromptu seat; fending off vicious dogs; using one reach your too-high bear bag when it's up in a tree; using two as supports to make an a-frame tent out of a tarp.

The main disadvantage of hiking sticks is in extremely rocky terrain, where you must climb up and down using both hands and both feet. The northern parts of both the Appalachian Trail and Vermont's Long Trail are famous for their rock-climbs. In these situations, it's often best to toss the poles ahead of you and then climb up, or down, without them, or to hand them to a hiking companion while you climb. If you're hiking alone, you'll have to toss them ahead. In some cases, after hurling my long wooden sticks overhead, they have slithered back down like arthritic snakes and slammed me in the head, so caution in this is always recommended.

Wooden or Metal?

Some hikers swear by the traditional wooden staff, either prepared before the hike or found during the trek. Carving, beading, and other decorations are optional but encouraged. On the Long Trail this summer, I met a hiker who had carved the word "LEKI" (a leading manufacturer of high-tech metal trekking poles) in his wooden sticks. Other hikers carve their names, the name of the trail, animals, or faces on their staffs, making them instantly recognizable. On the Appalachian Trail, if I went into a resupply town and saw a collection of sticks and packs outside the general store, I immediately knew which hikers were inside, by their sticks.

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