Air Travel Discount
Links of interest for your travel plans
Hiking
Staff
If you’re
planning on spending a lot of time on the trail, one of the best things
you can do for yourself is to get a hiking staff. Now, this
doesn’t mean that piece of pulpy pine tree that you hacked
off near the trailhead and shaved down. Though that walking
stick may make you feel like a member of the Lewis & Clark
expedition, it’s not going to make your hike easier or more
comfortable; in fact, it’ll probably do you more harm than
good, and you’ll end up ditching it by the second or third
mile anyway. A number of manufacturers make high-quality
aluminum hiking staffs, most of which resemble downhill ski poles
without the basket at the bottom. These hiking staffs are
usually either collapsible, extendable, or both, and can make your hike
much easier and more comfortable.
A hiking staff’s primary purpose is to provide stability for
your body during your hike. Dual hiking staffs, though they
may look like you’re trying to ski your way down the trail,
are actually even better than a single hiking staff. Since
they provide much more stability than walking without a staff at all,
dual hiking staffs can actually take up to 30% of your weight off of
your knees. Since your knees and ankles don’t have
to work as hard to keep you balanced when you’re using a
hiking staff or two, those using staffs will be less prone to knee or
ankle injury and stress. This can make a big difference at
the end of a long day or at the end of a string of long days.
When others are complaining about sore knees or ankles you can stay
fresh if you protect these important joints.
When I was hiking in New Zealand I was reminded a number of times that
river crossings are the number one cause of death in the New Zealand
backcountry. Though often times these deaths were due to
inexperienced parties attempting to cross flooded rivers, other deaths
occurred where people were crossing rivers that should have been safe
to cross when they lost their footing and feel into the water, later
dying of drowning or hypothermia. Hiking staffs are a huge
boon to river and stream crossings, providing a large amount of added
security while your legs are shaking from the cold and trying to find
purchase on slippery underwater rocks. I didn’t
have a hiking staff when I started out, and I ended up borrowing my
friend’s staff anytime we had to cross a river.