[pct-l] 45 Uses for Trekking Poles on the Trail

[Tortoise]

more uses:

Poke or probe items on the ground and at a distance to investigate the items.

And aid to retrieve items in a stream or a short distance uphill or downhill.

Put in the picture with items you're photographing to give a sense of scale.

Tortoise

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Dictated / Typoed on my iPad.

> On Oct 26, 2013, at 9:44, Eric Martinot <eric at martinot.info> wrote:
> 
> Upon my completion of the entire PCT last week in Ashland (OR Section B,
> but no sign of Reese Witherspoon on the trail filming Wild), I thought
> to offer the following to the PCT community. This is not to say that
> everyone should use poles (HYOH, YMMV, etc), and many through-hikers
> don't.  Indeed, times were when I didn't want to use poles either, being
> so exhausted that even small pole-swinging energy seemed too much, or
> just tired of the things.  But mostly poles became a natural extension
> of my body, an integral and indispensable part of me. And as with most
> hikers, I found many uses!  And can attest to all of these personally
> except those with (*).
> 
> --Eric / Double Zero ("because one zero is never enough")
> 
> P.S. I started the PCT in 1997 so it took me 17 years to hike the whole
> trail, although I only hiked 9 of those years. I consider myself a
> "Multi-Year Through Hiker" (MYTH) because "Section Hiker" to me just
> doesn't convey the requisite dedication to the endeavor of finishing the
> whole trail, a goal I set after hiking that very first section in 1997
> and falling in love with the trail.
> 
> 
> 45 USES FOR TREKKING POLES ON THE TRAIL
> 
> SPEED, ENERGY, EASE (THE USUAL)
> 
> Get less tired when your feet can just focus on powering ahead and don't
> have to do the continual work of stabilizing yourself side-to-side that
> your arms and poles do instead.
> 
> Establish a more regular cadence and rhythm that keeps you at a constant
> pace even as you're getting tired -- your feet follow the cadence set by
> your arms.
> 
> Reduce wear on your knees from the constant jarring of multi-mile
> multi-hour downhill sections, by absorbing some of the energy of each
> step down with your arms and body.  (And 17 years later my knees thank
> me.)
> 
> Hands feel better, less bloated, when kept at a higher level than
> hanging by the side, and also more active, hour after hour. 
> 
> Put power into pole plants to push yourself along when very tired at the
> end of the day.  ("Balance of power" shifts from legs to arms.)
> 
> Keep balance when walking on slippery or submerged rocks across a stream
> or when fording deep swift water (most valued of all uses to me). Also
> when crossing stream on a log using high-wire balance (looks good,
> anyway).
> 
> Semi-pole-vault across narrow deep streams without rocks to step on.
> (Easier than a run-and-jump approach.)
> 
> 
> TRAIL INDIGNITIES ("WHAT'S IT REALLY LIKE TO HIKE THE PCT?")
> 
> Push away bushes overgrowing the trail, sometimes with both arms
> extended ahead. (Sometimes just to be able to see where you are going.)
> 
> When trail is overgrown and bushes are soaking-wet-dripping with dew in
> the morning, hold poles outstretched to shake off dew before passing, to
> reduce getting drenched. (Only works for short sections otherwise a
> loosing battle.)
> 
> Swing up poles to clear away spider webs across your trail. (Whether
> real, imaginary, or figurative.)
> 
> Swat those huge ugly 5 oz. bugs that circle around you at 50 mph, to
> convince said bug to circle around someone else. (Actually did connect
> with one in midair.)
> 
> On narrow eroded trails with a steep drop-off on one side, especially
> when overgrown or covered in snow, pole plants serve to continually
> probe the downhill side of the trail as you walk, to continually (but
> without conscious thought) confirm to your brain the edge of
> terra-firma, so as to avoid slipping off into the void. 
> 
> Push yourself up to get over a log blocking the trail, and ease yourself
> down the other side, or simply stabilize a step-over. (One early season
> after a windy winter, encountered and actually counted 800 logs across
> the trail in northern Oregon over a 3-day period of hiking.)
> 
> When stepping down into a morass of broken pine tree branches from atop
> a log blocking the trail, or when wading through said morass on the
> ground to get around a fallen log, use pole to judge depth of morass to
> solid footing below, so  foot doesn't plunge deeper than expected,
> potentially leading to disabling injury.
> 
> Swat your legs to futilely push away biting flies in northern Washington
> before they have a chance to bite your exposed legs. (Shorts were a
> mistake that drove me to tears.)
> 
> Push away all those trail-crowding Poodle Dog bushes in California
> Section D to avoid getting too much of their nasty toxins on your
> clothing.
> 
> When inquisitive and swarming wasps/bees (encountered rarely but
> particularly in CA Section N north of Belden) start to congregate in
> large numbers on your blue Nalgene water bottle caps or your clothes
> drying on bushes (seemingly very selective), inconveniently only midway
> into a lunch break, use a pole to jar the item slightly, such that the
> wasps/bees fly off of it momentarily without feeling threatened, so you
> can then grab said item(s) along with pack and run down the trail
> without being stung. (One hiker who just grabbed items with wasps/bees
> still on them was indeed stung.)
> 
> 
> SNOW
> 
> Measure snow depth for reporting trail conditions on PCT-L, or bragging
> to friends how deep the snow was, or deciding whether yes, its really
> necessary to stop and put on those gaitors.
> 
> Allow a much faster pace of travel when walking on slippery or packed
> snow so effort and time is not wasted by the feet on balance -- the feet
> slide and go wherever they go, and the arms/poles keep it all together
> and moving forward. (Great fun.)
> 
> Use pole to chip away at offending ice or snow to open up a clearer
> path, such as in and around streams or other obstacles.
> 
> Use pole to probe depth of snow bridge over creek before walking across.
> (Still nervously no matter how deep.)
> 
> On steep snow traverses, with or without uphill ice-axe in hand, the
> downhill pole serves the very important function of keeping the body at
> the correct angle to the slope to minimize the risk of slipping sideways
> and sliding off the trail or just falling down.
> 
> If sliding sideways off a steep trail without an ice-axe in hand, pole
> handles with hands together provide a larger object to punch into the
> snow to arrest slide, provided conditions are not icy. (*)
> 
> Use one pole with special "Whippet" end to provide self-arrest in lieu
> of (or in preference to) an ice axe. (*)
> 
> 
> EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL
> 
> Legs and arms swinging simultaneously can create a zen-meditative state
> with exquisite body-mind balance. (Actually the main reason I started
> using poles.)
> 
> The power, protection and larger "physical swath" brought by poles can
> engender a "Master of the Universe" attitude to help cope with being
> absolutely alone in a huge wilderness.  (OK, whatever gets you
> through...)
> 
> When cowboy camping (no tent or tarp), place poles lengthwise alongside
> sleeping bag to ward off evil spirits and strange animals.  (Very
> effective, and surprisingly works just as well as a tent for these
> purposes.)
> 
> Stomp ground hard with both poles in tandem as you walk to vent anger
> when something has enraged you, possibly the insects, or perhaps the
> trail builder's notions of what constitutes the best route, or
> whatever/whomever else you blame for your misery of the moment. 
> 
> Increase significance of gesture when praying for even a single day
> without rain, hands outstretched to the sky, in carefully chosen moments
> while traversing the state of Washington.
> 
> 
> CAMPING
> 
> Use to hold up a tarp in lieu of having a tent or dedicated tarp poles.
> (A nice example of "multi-functional" equipment use but a pain to
> re-adjust pole length every day--I prefer to carry dedicated
> carbon-fiber tarp poles, perhaps to the horror of ultra-lightists.)
> 
> When cowboy camping in a bivy sack with mesh over head for bugs, make
> tripod with poles and a stick from which to hang cord to hold mesh above
> face. 
> 
> When bear bagging using the counter-balance method, use pole to hook the
> loop of cord you have carefully made near the bottom of the food sack,
> to pull down the sack.
> 
> To stretch out your sleeping bag as horizontal as possible to have it
> dry in the sun without putting on ground or bush, and when two
> suitably-spaced anchor points are not available, anchor one end of pole
> on ground and tie sleeping bag between other end of pole and a bush or
> branch. 
> 
> 
> PEOPLE
> 
> Use to wave to someone else far off by waving poles over head.
> 
> Write messages in sand or snow on the trail for those following behind
> you.
> 
> When stopping to chat with a passing fellow hiker, lean on poles to rest
> feet.
> 
> Impress passing day hikers with your "professional approach" to hiking.
> (Not that impressing is needed, but sometimes it feels good.)
> 
> If hitchhiking to a resupply town, poles serve as one more visible sign
> to potential rides that you are a real hiker in need of a short ride
> rather than a homeless person or worse. (Signs with "PCT Hiker" also
> recommended by many.)
> 
> 
> ANIMALS
> 
> When hiking at night in dense forest around sharp turns where your
> headlamp may not be visible from a distance, click poles together to
> give extra warning to a bear that you are coming.  (Singing probably
> works better, but sometimes when I sing while night hiking, it makes me
> feel like I'm simply succumbing to fear of the dark rather than
> providing an effective warning to bears.)
> 
> Allow yourself to maintain the fantasy that if a mountain lion attacks,
> you will have the time and presence of mind to yank off the rubber tip
> of a pole (which I use to avoid clacking noise in contact with rocky
> ground), collapse the pole to a stronger, shorter length, and then use
> the sharp tip to stab lion like a spear during the attack.  (*) (Good
> luck. But a better use of your brain is to be rationally clear that no
> hiker on the PCT itself has ever been injured by a mountain lion
> according to what I've read, and there should be no worries as long as
> you don't appear as prey, such as as run away or crouch down.)
> 
> Use to poke at mountain lions who may be prowling around menacingly
> outside your tent. (*) (This was an actual self-video story by one PCT
> hiker during the 2013 season, who survived intact a scary night in her
> tent with a pair of lions outside for some time.)
> 
> Swat away a charging snake.  (*)  (Apparently, someone actually did
> this.)
> 
> Normal use makes sharp thuds in the ground (with rubber tips on) that
> continually warn snakes of your approach better than just footfalls. 
> (Speculative, maybe I saw very few snakes in the desert because the
> snakes just didn't like me.)
> 
> 
> HIKE DANCING
> 
> Enhance "hike dancing" with music along the trail, swinging arms/poles
> and moving body rhythmically from side to side, especially on rocky
> downhills where going around obstacles timed to the beat is akin to
> slalom skiing, and pole plants become part of the dance. (It's not
> always about getting from A to B. Make sure to do this in ultra-light
> trail running shoes for "quick feet" rather than heavy hiking boots!)
> 
> 
> END-OF-HIKE COMPLETION
> 
> Wave outstretched poles high into the air in a victory gesture when
> completing the entire trail.  (For many, this will be at the Canadian
> border, but for me was near Callahan's in Ashland after hiking my very
> last sections, Oregon Sections B and C, in mid-October. Imagine, Oregon
> Section C without a single mosquito! Spectacular!)
> 
> 
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