Stave or Stick: Call it What You Want

“How you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top.”

Yvon Chouinard was hinting at both form and style, at least, that is what I believe. You may know him as founder and leader of Patagonia. Chouinard is also a rock climber, environmentalist, and billionaire. Of course, he was going for a deeper meaning involving grit, smarts, teamwork, Leave No Trace and tons more.

My interpretation involves a hiking choice. It concerns poles. Hey, I know, they take pressure off the legs and help balance. However, there is not a set of telescoping poles, I didn’t break. They look awesome strapped on your pack, but are too unreliable when the terrain gets tough. 

I rarely use poles but when I do, it is 25-year-old solid ski poles. There is a bit of nostalgia attached to them. They're the pair used when I got my Level II as a Ski Instructor. They have been bent but never break. I have heated them back to straightness. They are great companions (and I never put my hands through the straps, that makes a fall worse).

Mostly, I use a hiking stick. It is personal preference but give a stick a try. One hand free is smart in many situations. The stick is always in the downhill hand which is better than two equally sized poles on a slope. Early hikers swore by sticks. 

I collect sticks on hikes and bring them home. These are cut to size, sanded, painted and varnished. They can be used hiking or as rustic décor when arranged around the fireplace. More and more, I am using one that is a brand new industrial wooden broom handle, I painted up. This was bought, just the handle, at a local hardware store. It is durable as sh*t.

I know, I am selling them hard but cannot sing loudly enough the praise for sticks. A buddy sent me this site, the tactical walking stick looks like a prop from The Walking Dead. I am too old-school for this particular innovation and always doubtful when it comes to multi-purpose instruments. Despite those objections, it is still interesting.

There is going to be a whole bunch more on hiking sticks on this site, as I am obsessed. Let's end it here with the most amazing retro infographic. Consider this a tease for a future post!