[pct-l] trekking poles

[Bighummel@aol.com (Bighummel@aol.com)]

I've been just pickled happy with my $5 used ski poles for use as trekking
poles.  Yep, they don't telescope (read: saves weight of the joints and
locking mechanism) and so are hard to store when you don't want to use them
(I haven't found a time yet!).  They look kind of stupid, but then I've
looked kind of stupid on the trail for years and aren't really into looking
stylish, so?  They might not last very long, but then at only $5 per pair, I
can buy alot of them before getting up into the cost of Leki's.  They have
never bothered my elbows or wrists or palms.

Great discussion on tent vs tarps.  Has anyone tried the new Golite Hex 2?
It is a pyramid-shaped, single pole, four season, silnylon, no floor, 2 lb.,
13 oz., tent-tarp.  It goes with my argument that the most efficient design
of shelter is a sharply peaked or pyramid shape.

Regarding bad gear -good gear:  All of my gear is bad gear, except for the
really good stuff.  All of my gear is sentimental, which has been shown in
clinical tests to lighten gear by 13.4%.  Will I ever buy or carry a lite
weight ice ax when I have two beautiful, heavy, wood-handle ice axes at home?
 Hell no!  Sentimentality wins over weight in many considerations of what
goes into the pack, including sometimes the pack itself.

Greg "Strider" Hummel