I too vote for trekking poles as being essential, more so for downhill
then uphill in my experience. We did Trek 24 (78 miles scheduled - 97
miles actual with side hikes) this past summer and I experienced
absolutely no leg or knee problems at all. Contrast this to when my troop
hiked Mt. Marcy (highest point in New York State at 5344 ft - not quite
Baldy.). I foolishly (helpfully?) gave up my poles to another leader and
scout who were having problems. By the time we got down to basecamp I
could hardly walk my knees were so swollen. I had to take the next 3 days
off from work to recover.
On a related subject, I'm a big fan of neoprene knee braces also. They
may not look so swell in the pictures but it's better to feel good then to
look good (to paraphrase Billy Crystal).
Other uses for trek poles:
- Tarp poles
- Camera stand (the handle of my pole screws off to reveal a camera
fitting.)
- Cloths drying rack. (3 upright poles in a triangle with poles strung
between them.)
- Garbage spike
- Splint (forrtunately I've never had to do this.)
Chris Lord
SM - Troop 1
Staten Island NY
Lead Advisor
725L-1 - Trek 24 - 2003
On Dec 30, 2003, at 8:42 PM, chassnow@comcast.net wrote:
> My son and I are going to Philmont in June in 2004 with the contingent
> from the Great Sauk Trail Council. It will be my sons first trip and
> my second (it has been 40 years since I was at Philmont).
>
> I am interested in your opinions of treking poles. Are they useful,
> nice to have or just so much extra weight to carry around? If you
> have used poles, would you recommend two poles or a single staff?
>
> Chuck Snow
-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------
Received on Wed Dec 31 13:02:28 2003
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed Jul 26 2006 - 11:59:37 CDT