During the last week in February, I did some day hikes in the Rockfish Gap area, between Meadow Mountain south of Reeds Gap (milepost 832.6) to the Wildcat Ridge parking area (milepost 865.8). I have never tried trekking poles, and on these day hikes, I never felt I needed them. Are there other sections of the AT where the need for trekking poles is more obvious?