[pct-l] Suggestions on considering the use of hiking poles

[cmkudija at earthlink.net]

Spirit, I respectfully beg to differ with Pea on this one.  Ski poles are
FINE to see if you'll like hiking with poles.  I hiked with ski poles for
YEARS before finally breaking down and buying Lekis in 1997.  Of course, the
telescoping feature of a trekking pole is hugely advantageous - but hey, I
was cheap and used old rental poles because they were cheap and convenient.
They are balanced for swinging back and forth (pole-planting in downhill
skiing) and although the soft aluminum tips won't grip in the same way as
the hardened carbide tips of trekking poles, they will still do for a trial.

I hiked 1500 miles of the PCT in 94 with ski poles, and got lots of stupid
questions, especially in the desert (hey, lady....where's the snow???Har,
har etc).  That was long before trekking poles came into popularity in this
country.

Mike Saenz said it well: "trekking poles are like handrails on stairs: they
make climbing much less demanding on my legs."

As for me, poles make going downhill, crossing streams and going
cross-country less demanding on my PSYCHE!   I have a particular issue - I
do not have binocular vision, although I can see with both eyes.  As a
consequence, I don't have ANY depth perception.  It makes me very amusing to
watch as I cross streams or descend talus slopes....I look like quite the
cautious novice, I think, but I've been hiking and climbing for 30 years or
so.  Those poles help.

I'm now on my second set of Lekis, and prefer them to Komperdell - I think
that the adjustment system is better designed.

As usual - ymmv, hyoh, ponp (poles or no poles!)  Good luck on your
decision-making!

Christine "Ceanothus" Kudija
PCT partially '94

www.pcta.org
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Ceanothus (see-ah-no-thus) or California lilac:  Shrubs or small trees,
often with divaricate, sometimes spiny, twigs...[flowers] small but showy,
white to blue or purplish, sometimes lavender or pinkish, borne in terminal
or lateral panicles or umbellike cymes.
                                                               Philip A.
Munz
                                                               A California
Flora, U.C. Press, 1973