Poles/staff/stick

[blazercoach]

On previous hikes in my youth I used a 6 ft. staff. This was fine for locations like Yellowstone. However, I wanted to ask if something like this would be practical/impractical for the AT. How much climbing with your hands needs to be done? Are poles an obvious better choice? Are they necessary? Thanks in advance.

I'll go NOBO in 2016, Springer to however far I can get in 50 days. Me and a 12 year old.

[BirdBrain]

Many will say poles are useless up north. That is the only place I hike. Stow them on the really steep stuff like Wildcat E. Stow them in the funnest mile (Mahoosuc Notch). I think you will be pretty proficient with them by the time you get to Moosilauke. Absolutely necessary.... for people like me. One way to find out if it is for you.

[Uriah]

On previous hikes in my youth I used a 6 ft. staff. This was fine for locations like Yellowstone. However, I wanted to ask if something like this would be practical/impractical for the AT. How much climbing with your hands needs to be done? Are poles an obvious better choice? Are they necessary? Thanks in advance. I'll go NOBO in 2016, Springer to however far I can get in 50 days. Me and a 12 year old.

Poles are a better choice: for one, there are two of them, so balance is easier to ensure, and you'll need to worry about balancing on the trail more often than you might imagine. They're also light and collapsible. But they cost a fair penny (or can...check Costco for a solid, light carbon set made by Mountain Cascade Tech...$30/pr) and aren't as easily replaced as a stick might be. I carried poles, as they were needed to set up my sleeping contraption, but when one broke, I used a stick pilfered from the woods, and for about a hundred miles. It worked fine. I saw others who went the distance with their trusty staffs too, so there's certainly no "wrong" choice in the matter. Certainly others had gone with any sort of pole or stick as well, so no, they aren't necessary by any means.

I will say that while a couple of blind men have hiked the entire AT, no one--NO ONE--could possibly hike it without the use of their hands or arms or prosthetic arms. Footpath, yeah right.

A year and a half later and I'm still recovering. Physically, anyway.

[Uriah]

Correction to the above, since I can't edit posts just yet! I meant to write that others had gone without any poles just fine...

[glenlawson]

I'm a fan of poles because they let me transfer 25 - 30% to my arms and that takes some pressure off my knees. I find them helpful on the uphill, essential on the downhill and handy to lean against when I need to catch my breath.

[BirdBrain]

Oops.... did not notice the 50 day limit. You won't make it to the hard stuff.

[Lone Wolf]

On previous hikes in my youth I used a 6 ft. staff. This was fine for locations like Yellowstone. However, I wanted to ask if something like this would be practical/impractical for the AT. How much climbing with your hands needs to be done? Are poles an obvious better choice? Are they necessary? Thanks in advance.

I'll go NOBO in 2016, Springer to however far I can get in 50 days. Me and a 12 year old.

i've hiked thousands of miles on the AT and never used poles, staffs or sticks. works for me

[lush242000]

I started using them to help on the downhill sections. Do I need them? No. Do I like them? Yes.


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[Roanmtnman]

I really like the trekking poles, I tend to look off trail a lot and they help me keep my balance.

[bemental]

I used a single staff I found in my basement to get feel for whether or not I would enjoy using something in my hands or not, and when the tip broke off of it, I moved into a single hiking pole (I hike with a service dog, it's just easier with one pole).

It's proven extremely valuable for balance and weight transfer, and light enough to carry or stow if need be.

Give it a shot, a true legitimate shot, and I'm sure you'll make the call on your own.

[Walkintom]

I use trekking poles. Last September when I was on Isle Royale, an old ankle injury flared up pretty badly on the 3rd day of a 12 day hike. By the 6th day, when I was setting out to head east on the Minong trail the ankle was swollen enough that most people would have called it quits.

By using my poles judiciously and taking my time I was able to get in my miles and still finish my planned hike. The ankle was fine after a few weeks of recuperation and I didn't have to abort.

Wouldn't have been possible with a staff or no poles. You won't catch me hiking without them.

[Dr. Professor]

I love my pacer poles.

It it comes down to this --
1) Poles decrease wear and tear on joints, especially going downhill. You may or may not feel it yet, but the cumulative wear and tear will be a big deal to you some day.
2) Poles decrease the risk and severity of falls. There is no question that an ankle fracture is one of your biggest risks on the trail. Poles can prevent this.

[TNhiker]

And poles, staff or stick helps with water crossings......

[illabelle]

I love my pacer poles.

It it comes down to this --
1) Poles decrease wear and tear on joints, especially going downhill. You may or may not feel it yet, but the cumulative wear and tear will be a big deal to you some day.
2) Poles decrease the risk and severity of falls. There is no question that an ankle fracture is one of your biggest risks on the trail. Poles can prevent this.

We ran across an older guy while we went SOBO through NJ last spring. He was completing the final section of an aborted hike from two years earlier. He had attempted a thru in 2012, and turned it into a flip flop when he encountered 105* in Duncannon. On his way south through Maine, he slipped on a bog bridge and broke his lower leg. SOBO thrus were long gone. NOBO thrus were still weeks away. He was alone. I feel certain that he was very glad to have his trekking poles handy as he hiked 7 miles over harsh terrain to the nearest road.

We used to hike without poles. Until we learned.

[Lyle]

Over the past 38+ years and 10's of thousands of miles, on all kinds of trails, I have hiked with:
- no poles
- temporary single staff picked up along the trail
- long-term fancy single staff
- single ski pole
- conventional grip trekking poles
- unique gripped PacerPoles.

Any/All of the poles or staffs helped tremendously for easing downhill beating of knees and feet. Any/All poles are extremely useful for stream crossings. Any/All are very useful for all kinds of extraneous other tasks while hiking.

That said, my current choice for the past 9 or 10 years have been PacerPoles. They are head and shoulders above all the other options I have tried. I do not anticipate that I will ever hike without them, or change to something different in the years that I have left hiking. VERY highly recommended.

[tim.hiker]

I have never used them before but I am going to get a pair this year, good info on here

[Ground Control]

A trail angel took one look at how I was walking and told me I needed poles.

She was right- by adding trekking poles I was able to increase my daily mileage significantly: 40-50%!
Much less sore by the end of the day too.

[blazercoach]

Thank you, all! I think you've sold me on poles. Two year ago I was told that I have no cartilage in my right knee and now my left is acting up. So I know I need something to help the joints, and at worst I would have carried a staff for the purpose mentioned above of stream crossing. The advice above about how much poles have helped joints and to transfer the weight is quite convincing. Again, thank you all!

[Dr. Professor]

We ran across an older guy while we went SOBO through NJ last spring. He was completing the final section of an aborted hike from two years earlier. He had attempted a thru in 2012, and turned it into a flip flop when he encountered 105* in Duncannon. On his way south through Maine, he slipped on a bog bridge and broke his lower leg. SOBO thrus were long gone. NOBO thrus were still weeks away. He was alone. I feel certain that he was very glad to have his trekking poles handy as he hiked 7 miles over harsh terrain to the nearest road.

We used to hike without poles. Until we learned.

Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about the fact that poles can help you hike out if you do in fact get a lower extremity or in some cases -- God forbid -- a pelvic or lumbar spine fracture although that is certainly correct.

For myself, I've caught myself with poles when otherwise beginning to fall on any number of occasions -- sometimes with my foot or ankle in a potentially precarious position. When hiking with poles, I almost never have a complete fall.

The obvious reason to use poles is to increase efficiency by taking some of the effort with the upper body. This does increase mileage for many hikers, and most like it. I would argue that the wear & tear and fall risk reasons for using poles are less obvious but ultimately more important.

There's no doubt that one can have a great hike without poles. Many, many hikers have. As for me, I like decreasing wear & tear and decreasing risk. That aside, I will add that for me hiking with poles is also substantially more pleasant. That however is a completely subjective observation and will vary from one hiker to the next. Most prefer poles. A few like to forgo them, each for their own reasons.

[Namtrag]

My poles have saved me several times from falling and doing who knows what to my body when I landed...it's a no brainer for me to use them. Not to mention it gets my upper body doing some of the work.