Camping and hiking go together perfectly. A good Trekking pole for hiking can add enjoyment and safety to your hiking.
10 Benefits You Get from Using Trekking Poles For Hiking
By Robin Shortt
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit. -Aristotle-
I remember watching my boys growing up. They would go to their Scout meetings and bring home a pole that they had cut from a sapling. They made it into a pole by stripping the bark and carving different designs into it. They would talk about how they used it for hiking and on campouts.
Today things have changed a lot. The Scouts still make their trekking poles, but more hikers are now going high-tech.
Today’s poles have much of the same benefits the scouts used them for.
Hikers also use two of them for hiking. Which double the benefits.
1. This includes pack weight distribution to the arms, thus increasing endurance.
2. Makes keeping your balance easier as you cross rivers and streams as well as rough terrain.
3. Lowers stress on the joints, knees, hips, and lower back.
4. Gives a more upright, hiking posture. This in turn will make breathing more efficient.
5. Helps you go up those steep inclines. Also helps you keep your balance on the decline.
6. Despite some drawbacks concerning them, the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks.
7. Trekking poles today are high-tech in design and with adjustable telescopic features that make them ideal for summer and winter. Most are made from materials such as aluminum or titanium.
8. Trekking poles have adjustable wrist straps and can have plastic or cork handgrips.
9. How to use your trekking poles is done by keeping your forearm parallel to the ground on flat terrain. If you’re ascending the poles will need adjusting. You will need to make them shorter, so you will not overreach. The opposite is also true as well. When going down a hill you will need to lengthen the poles.
10. It’s very easy to use trekking poles. Just walk naturally one arm forward with the opposite leg. The poles will soon become a part of you as you walk.
As you become used to using the poles you’ll find how easy it has become to hike and how much faster and farther you can travel.
Check out your local Scout Shop for a good quality set of poles. You’ll also be financially helping out the Scout troops in your area.
Val and Robin Shortt are experienced campers and own three outdoor websites
