[pct-l] beating a dead horse--trekking poles!

["Jennifer R. Doebler" <TUBABABE@psu.edu>]

Dearest Friends,

When I overstrained my left knee and my left quad muscle early on during our thru-hike attempt, I was very forutnate to have a traveling companion that brought trekking poles.  Using his poles like crtuches, I managed to continue at our rapid pace and arrived safe and partially rested in Big
Bear City.  While I continued to use them until the conclusion of our hike--for such things as many have mentioned: fords, decents, holding up the tarp, etc--I do think that I personally came to rely on them waaaay too much.  I began using them as crutches and continued, therefore, to do so
for the remainder of the trip; mainly, I was supporting a large portion of my body weight on them.  Sure, my arms were in monster shape, but I relied less on my intrinsic sense of balance while crossing logs over swift water, while climbing down a rock scramble, and other such normally
self-reliant matters.  Also, I beat the heck out of those "indestructible" carbide tips.  In fact, when I returned the poles to the generous man who loaned them to me, those forever-lasting carbide tips were completely gone and I had started wearing away at the aluminum shaft of the pole
itself.

Poles have their place on a thru-hike.  I truly believe that.  But I do feel that it is how you use them that makes all the difference.

FTK,
Jen "Talus" Doebler, 1/2 of Team 'On Fire'



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