From: Johnlebl@aol.com
Date: Wed Dec 11 2002 - 16:05:17 CST
I'll attempt to expand a bit on Al's comments to my original post. It just
gets more complicated, but it does illustrate how different degrees of
something can be good, bad or indifferent for different people.
I appreciate his comments and the opportunity they afford me to further
refine some of the things one must look for in selecting gear.
If there were a "best" item of gear, all the other companies would go out of
business. Gear evolves slowly over time. Sometimes we get a spurt when a
new material is made workable, but that does not happen often.
First I want to tell you I am a detail person and of a scientific and
mechanical background with professional training in the biological sciences,
so there isn't much that zooms over my head unnoticed. Maybe not understood,
but hardly ever unnoticed.
Al Thomson, Troop 236, Schooley's Mountain, NJ wrote:
<<He speaks of how he loves the spring-loaded anti-shock feature of his.
I hate what I perceive to be the "mushy" feeling of that feature - I like
that when I plant my poles, they are planted, not that they have another
fraction of an inch to travel.>>
Loves is not my word, it belongs to Signe Rogers. She knows it is in jest
when I say "I love my trekking poles or my SmartWool socks" and she knows it
is directed straight at her. Let me correctly say, I love my wife and
daughters, appreciate my dog and enjoy my spring loaded trekking poles.
OK, antishock. Leki Super Makalu has three settings. Soft, more firm and
none. With them set on soft, they remind me of the old spring loaded jumping
jack. Absolutely useless when hiking. Al's comment above is valid to me
also.
With then locked, the shock is felt with every plant through my wrists, the
lower arm, elbow and all the way to the shoulder. Not an enjoyable
sensation.
However, with them set on the medium setting they are JUST RIGHT. For me
that is. For the amount of power I want to put into the poles with my arms.
For the amount of force I want to put into them when coming downhill. They
are firm with just a little padding. Sort of like having soft heels on
running jogging shoes. And they pin Prairie Rattlers on the Tooth of Time
very well too. But that is another story.
Anyway, I've tried some with only spring-no spring settings that were
entirely too soft, so I tell you shop around and try them out to find what
works for you BEFORE your 65 mile hike, not after.
I'm tough on gear, I demand a lot from it and use it often so I usually get a
cut above what most do, but that's just me. That may not work for you, but
mine will still be ticking when I'm kicking daiseys. My descendents can
fight over it if they want to.
If I told you how much my solo canoe paddle cost, you would probably have
heart failure. Let me just say I keep it in a polarfleece sleeve behind the
bedroom door, hanging from two pegs made for that purpose. It weighs 13 oz.
And I only use it in one of my 8 canoes. I own different paddles for each of
those. Enough said.
<<. I use them religiously now - they are invaluable. The only downside is
keeping track of them when you are stopped.>>
I am reminded of a hunting trip I took into the West Elk Wilderness area in
Colorado a number of years ago in pursuit of a big bull. I was sitting on
the side of a grassy slope covered with an Aspen grove consisting of 8-10
inch trees about every 15 feet overlooking a small creek in the valley.
After about an hour sitting against an Aspen tree, I spotted several elk
along the creek. I thought I saw antlers, so when they got into the bottom,
I slipped out of my daypack and belly crawled closer to take a look. After
watching three cow and no bull elk for over two hours, they walked off and I
decided it time for my sandwich.
I stood up, turned around and wondered "which tree is my pack beside". There
were literally thousands in the 10-20 acres on that hillside. I could not
pick my path back to the tree. Finally after a few feudal attempts, I tied a
fluorescent tape around an Aspen and started a grid search from that tree as
the center. A full hour later and some 250 yards from the tree I started at
I found my pack complete with water bottle and lunch, map and compass and
other essential items I pack along.
That was a lesson I'll never forget. Had I taken just 14 seconds to tie that
surveyors tape on that tree, I could have found it much easier.
I do understand the feeling of not being able to find something you were sure
you could easily find when you left it earlier.
Here is what I do with my trekking poles. Remember that if bent even the
slightest bit, they will NOT telescope, adjust or shock. Take good care of
them.
Makalus willsnap together, but not firm enough to suit me.
Upon reaching a campsite, first the bear-muda triangle is defined and tent
sites are chosen well away from it. Preferably as far as possible. I then
select "my tree". It is usually away from the triangle and tenting area off
by itself.
My tree is usually selected first for overhanging branches that will shed
rain or snow. Now Pholks, I'm not talking just Philmont, but everywhere I
backpack or canoe.
I prop my pack against the tree carefully. That is where it will stay rain
or shine until I leave the next day. A pack cover protects it from what the
overhanging limbs don't.
I hang my 3 liter Unbottle water reservoir on a stub of the tree so I have a
water fountain when I want it. I loop one trekking pole loop through the
other and then take the other and thread it back through the first. This way
they don't slide down on the other. I hang the loop of the TIED TOGETHER
trekking poles on another stub of a branch on the tree. I then hang my hat
by it's chin cord on the trekking pole handle. I do this EVERY TIME the same
way and have for forty+ years. MY stuff never walks away or gets lost. I
then spread my Crazy Creek chair on the ground in front of the pack to act as
a table top to set stuff on while I'm looking for what I need. On canoe trips
my paddle goes in place of the poles.
I don't know how many times this past summer trekking poles got stepped on
and came crashing down from pack lines. How they were not destroyed is a
mystery to me.
That is how MY TREE works for me. A place for everything and everything in
it's place.
When we climbed the tooth, I hung mine just like described above because when
scrambling up steep slopes, the last thing you need are trekking poles.
John LeBlanc
Eagle Class of 1959
Phirst Phil Ptrek 1959
PhilTrek 2002 630H2 Trek 16
My latest adventure was yesterday,
Today is not over yet!
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