Hiking trekking poles.  Never leave home without them.

I wonder how many people remember the old American Express commercial for Traveler’s Checks? Or what a Traveler’s Check is (think before ATMs many decades ago)?  Better yet, who the hell is Carl Malden?

I could talk about hiking trekking poles for hours.  And probably will right now so get settled in.  To be honest, all I need to hike are my boots, socks, low gaiters (high for snow), and trekking poles.  Past that I could be naked and still have all I need for a walk in the wilderness.  But then I would need to add much more sunblock to my gear.  And a lot of it.

Back in the day, the only people with trekking poles were, well, trekkers.  Normally Europeans, and they only used a single wooden pole while following a trail around the Matterhorn or a path thru the Pyrenees.  Maybe even with a little mini compass or a bell attached to it.  After all, If I’m lost with a wooden stick a hundred miles from nowhere, those are two things that I would clearly want.

Thru my early hiking career, I never used hiking poles or knew they existed.  Like every other red-blooded American, I just let my 45lb pack crush my spirit and my back while hunching my way thru many years of misery.  That was just what it was. I accepted my backpacking fate.

When I climbed Rainier circa 1991, it was a very long day, then a long night, and a long day again.  I have also never felt so much pain in my knees.  Hour after hour of bone grinding on bone throughout the entire descent.  I felt it for days later.  Ever since that trip, I would always feel the pain coming on after 8-10 miles on the trail regardless of the elevation gain or loss.  I started using knee braces and athletic raps. Just accepted the fact I was starting to buckle up from the ground up and I still hadn’t scratched 30 yet.  Such is life.

My first ‘hiking’ poles were telescopic. Branded Red Feather made for snow, because…. they were for snowshoeing.  I don’t even know if that brand is around anymore.  But it was the mid-1990s and for some sadistic reason, I was really into working my ass off in the great outdoors by walking like a duck on a pair of trashcan lids in frigid weather.  Better than watching TV I guess.

But I noticed something.  After miles and miles, my knees stopped hurting.   Hmmmm.  So I started using them for non-snow events and trail hiking.  Then probably around 1997 or 98, I bought some REAL trekking poles.  Cork handles, I think they had little shock absorbers in the top section. They came with snow baskets, summer baskets, point covers, and even little boot-like tips that rolled as you hiked. Maybe this was an all-season hiking tool after all.

I attacked the trails.  Hard elevations up, screaming downhills, scary logs, and stream crossings, everything I could throw at them.  Not only zero knee problems but keeping upright on steep inclines help both my back and balance.  And using them to break on the screaming meemie descents when my ears were popping eased what I called the Quad Hammer of the Gods.

For about five years, until the early 2000s, I would get comments from almost everyone I passed on the trail like ‘Whatcha doing?  Goin’ skiing??? Ha ha ha!’  Then around 2003, 90% of all backcountry hikers had double trekking poles.  By 2008, every tourist three feet from their car had them.  What was created by necessity had reached the pinnacle of its market by becoming fashionable.   Cannot tell you how often I have seen this cycle with so many different pieces of gear, equipment, and clothing over the years.

I’ve gone thru around three to four pairs of trekking poles thru the last 25 years.  Commonly I’ll wear out the carbine tips, bend a telescoping section, or wear out the twist cams with grit, or the aluminum just becomes too pitted to lock.  But I never go on the trail without them. 

My preferred brand has usually been Komperdell. Basic aluminum with twist locks.  Cork handles are always nice if available, and maybe with tip/basket accessory kit.   Why?  Because the quality has been consistent thru the years and you can always get a pair from Sierra Trading Post for around $50.  I’ve found the $100 sets out there just don’t provide (me at least) any features I need. 

However, I did pass thru Costco about two years ago and got a FANTASTIC set for just under the $50 mark.  Carbon fiber with external cam lock levers that were adjustable.  Full basket kit AND cork handles.  I used those exclusively on my 450 hiking summer in Glacier 2021.  Except for the marmot that gnawed off some of the cork, they held up great and I think were a real bargain.  You never know what you’ll find at the biggest box stores.

I had someone tell me I was screwing up my body by not allowing my natural balance to properly tune my muscles, and by such would be tearing and twisting up my knees and ankles and tearing tendons and ligaments and blah blah blah.    I don’t think so.  Instead, I argue they were a tool to offset the extra weight on my back, the uneven terrain, and the gain/loss that was unique to my body during intense short-term events.

I’d also counter that there have been many, MANY slips where the planted poles stopped what would have been a horrible fall. Or even worse a fatal twist. One that my younger and now aging body would have never fully recovered from.  The balancing they allow is truly the epitome of Four Legs Good,  Two Legs bad.

Over the years I have only felt those knee issues from Mt Rainer only when approaching a 30-mile day (like when running from a forest fire, another great story).  And that my friend, is why I keep those daily trail miles to the mid-20s.   Know your body, know your knees, and let trekking poles be your friend if they are not already.

Of course, just my two cents (along with a lot of sheep).