Non-trekking pole PCT hikers: do you think trekking poles are actually justified in the Sierra?

"I appreciate any first hand experience, especially from you PCT hikers out there that aren't necessarily drinking the trekking pole kool-aid already, so to speak."

So, you're calling on folks who don't buy in to using poles to validate your view that poles are not useful….

That shouldn't be too difficult.

nm

I am kinda known for sneering at trekking poles most of the time. Off track in our Australian bush they are a total pain and inconvenience. Yes, we (my wife and I) have several sets of UL carbon fibre ones, and yes we have tried using them. We don't.

However, we often carry one of the CF poles which comes in 3 sections (so it collapses quite short) if we are expecting to be going across much snow in the European mountains. Yes, a pole can be very helpful on frozen neve.

Stream crossings – well, I guess one could be useful, but then you have to carry it the rest of the time. IF we need something we find a stick or two, otherwise we lock arms and support each other.

Cheers

nm

There are people that hike the PCt at every year that don't use poles and they manage fine. In fact some of the best known hikers on the trail don't use poles. as for whether they are helpful. I hiked in '11 and had hundreds of miles of snow ranging from soft to rock hard and it would have severely limited my mileage if I didn't have poles. I was able to start earlier in the day because poles kept me from falling. Also, I used to use stick for stream crossings before starting with poles. I much prefer the lower drag poles to a stick. But again this is preference. There is also a middle ground of one set of poles between the two of you. that could also give you shelter flexibility.

If you have one item that could be your shelter pole, your defense (beating off someone's aggressive dog is easier with something that isn't your flesh), extra arm length (reaching that item dropped downslope into scree without having to climb down there), cobweb clearer (okay, hiking through the morning strands between the branches ooks me), a makeshift fishing pole (you can catch trout with just a fly on four feet of line tied to a stick if you're stealthy and there are large boulders to lay behind), a stream crossing helper, a splint in case you sprain/break something (bandannas and a section of trekking pole on each side), and oh yes, trekking poles – well.

I like mine. I don't take them on day hikes, but they have saved my face multiple times in the rocks, and kept me upright in early season deep water. The only times mine have broken have been my fault – in the trunk of the car, after stupidly letting stuff pile on top of them.

I did the PCT in a very low snow year without poles (you'll get lots of comments!), but I do hike year round in NH and Maine so take my experience with a grain of salt. I have also hiked a lot with and without poles, and think they're useful sometimes but I usually leave them at home.

If there's a lot of snow, an ice axe works as balance and you're better off holding it instead of a pole if there's risk of a slide. If you find you want something longer, there are trees in the Sierra which drop branches that can be used as hiking sticks/staff. The major stream crossings are all in meadows, also with trees. If you find you still really need poles, there's a great outfitter in Bishop, which you can reach either from Cottonwood Pass or Kearsarge Pass further north.

I can't give advice on the PCT, but I've found that one pole seems to give 2/3 the stability of using both poles. Perhaps just a single pole might be a good compromise for you.

If I know that there is some major stream crossing, I carry one aluminum pole to use. If I think that there are no major stream crossings, then I carry none. If I am surprised by a stream crossing, then I look around for a big stick to use, and typically there are none. If I have my pole to use, then typically there are big sticks laying by the stream. I can't win.

–B.G.–

"So, you're calling on folks who don't buy in to using poles to validate your view that poles are not useful…."

Actually, I'm calling on folks who don't generally buy into poles to invalidate my own view so far that poles are not that useful.

If they can do this, then I am all the more convinced.

I already know what nearly all regular trekking pole users will say, and that is that they love their poles and they find them very useful. Point noted, a thousand times over.

Great input from everyone so far. I have toyed around with the one pole idea, and perhaps I will consider this more seriously now. It would certainly be cheaper and lighter, and still give me one free hand. One pair of adjustable poles would cover both my wife and I, which I like.

I am not yet decided on my shelter. My current default option is my TT Double Rainbow for my wife and I, which doesn't require trekking poles.

A second option (that I don't currently own) would be a tarp with an inner net tent. My wife is extremely sensitive to bug bites of any kind, but especially mosquito bites (they look like bee stings on her), and I need to have very good bug protection for her during the whole trip: for psychological reasons if for nothing else.

The tarp + inner net tent shelter combo is more versatile, and could certainly benefit from trekking poles, but it's also more involved to set up, and I wonder if we would value having an easy setup set up every night over more versatility on the few nights that we could use it. I'm not sure. I also don't currently own a tarp + inner net tent shelter combo, so I'd have to buy that (always a downside) and money is very tight right now as we save up for the trip and plan for our lost income for 5 months and more.

Sorry, didn't mean to derail my own thread!

I don't use poles. I've tried them and don't like them. I would rather not carry something in my hand(s).

They are however useful when crossing streams. I do use one or find a stick if possible. When my wife is with me she uses poles (she needs to keep her left arm elevated/working to reduce edema), so I "borrow" one of hers for stream crossings. Otherwise I look for a stick or go without.

Snow I can't comment on. I've never had poles with me in the snow.

My very (rare) occasional use of one hiking pole (GG4), but never 2 unless on skis, was guided by an awesome piece written by Roman Dial. He was guest 'posting' for hendrik on Hiking in Finland. Basically I remember he wrote an almost stream-of-concious interview he had with Andrew Skurka while they were walking in Alaska. Andy used two poles, Roman one. He wanted to know why. Great insight to two of our communities' legends.

Sorry, not going to look for a link but shouldn't be hard to find. 2-3 years old.

On established trails hiking at an honest 3 mph I think they (even 1 pole) are a nuisance. When climbing or descending passes with looser footing I like to use one. But more and more poles aren't being considered as my base weight goes down and fitness keeps speed up.

Do some 2-, 3- and 4-night trips between now and the big event, both with and without poles, with mileage and conditions similar to what you anticipate during the big trip.

It's helpful to hear about the experiences of others, but all the advice in the world is nothing in the face of personal experience, and surely you are going to do a few 'shakedown cruises' to tune your kit in advance of such an extended trip.

I recently did a backpack high up in the Sierra with two friends… one person used two poles, the other used one, and the last used no poles… we were all happy and all managed fine…

You started off by saying you don't like them… so… don't take them. Many thousands of people hiked the JMT and the PCT before trekking poles were even invented :)

billy

Derek, trekking pole kool-aid? Really, that's a little insulting, especially from one seemingly not confident enough to make his own gear choices :) You do know some out here in the land of Oz have no choice but to use them.

HYOH man, but please do it with respect to others.

jimmyb

I don't use poles – well, I use one, I've always liked a walking stick and have used one for forty years of backpacking, only now it's a "trekking pole" instead of an old golf club shaft like I started with. I guess I just like the syncopated rhythm it gives me. But I never use it for dayhikes, just backpacking. I don't know why.

When I have to walk in or out from a ski tour I find myself with two poles and I don't like it except for really steep uphills where I do rather like the four-wheel drive aspect.

On steep snow I have definitely found that even one pole adds a significant measure of security and confidence. After all, three (or four) legs are more stable than one. It can be the difference between feeling really scared about crossing a slope and just feeling like you better be damn careful.

Oddly enough I don't always find my one pole to be helpful on stream crossings – it can be hard to get it down to the stream bed in a strong current – though taking off the basket helps in that regard. I think if you are traveling as a pair, then the linking arms and crossing together strategy is the way to go.

jimmyb,

"Drinking the kool-aid" is simply an expression, and where I'm from it is not meant to convey negativity, as you took it to mean. Maybe it means something different in Australia? No offense was intended, as should have been clear by the tone of my post.

Thanks nonetheless, for following up my completely uninsulting post with an extremely insulting one of your own, describing me as:
"seemingly not confident enough to make his own gear choices"

So everyone on here seeking advice from others is not confident enough to make their own gear decisions?

You recently authored a thread seeking advice from others concerning the current options out there for down parkas…

Are you not confident enough to make your own gear choices, jimmyb?

I wouldn't accuse you of that though, because it's rude, and it's almost certainly wrong.

My guess is that instead, you were simply seeking out additional information to make a more informed decision on your own. That is certainly how I use this forum and presumably how everyone else does as well.

Perhaps next time, you should take your own advice, and treat others with a little more respect… Just saying.

Lots of opinions already, but I'll add mine: Stumbling through suncupped snow without a trekking pole sucks. I speak from experience. You'll waste a ton of energy on snowy sections without at least one pole. I've gone without poles in the early season before and ended up with freezing hands from stabilizing myself with my hands directly on the snow. If you're doing anything remotely steep and suncupped (think Forester or Glen or Muir) poles are indispensible. Plus, you should be using a lightweight shelter that sets up with trekking poles, so bringing at least one pole saves you from bringing a dedicated shelter pole.

An ice axe is a perfectly good substitute if you're bringing one.

You're unlikely to find a sturdy stick you can use for river crossings too. The types of trees you'll be walking through in the Sierra aren't conducive to good walking sticks. Can't tell you how many times I've thought I've found a good one to help in pitching a shelter and had it disintegrate as soon as I weighted it due to dry rot.

Edited to add, hiking the PCT through the Sierra is a very specific set of conditions (lots of snow and big fords) so Derek's question shouldn't be treated as one just about trekking poles in general, but rather for that specific set of conditions. If it weren't for that fact I'd say do whatever you feel like.

drinking the Kool-aid is blindly following and doing what you are told without thinking for yourself. Expression founded in Jonestown when the Reverend Jim Jones convinced his followers to drink poisoned Kool-aid.

I use Trekking poles most of the time. The times when the trail is really steep and I need my hands and arms to pull me up, I can always throw them ahead of me. I like the fact that leaning on my poles on the downward slopes takes the strain off my legs and knees. My feet aren't taking the brunt of my 200 pounds, plus pack weight on every step. On the mostly Rocky and rooty trails I hike on, they are a third and fourth balance point to help me from land on my ass or face. Yes, they are sometimes a pain, but so is lugging 2 liters of water and carrying a pack and food up a mountain.

When I do forget my poles, I miss them. At the very least they keep my hands elevated so my hands don't swell and they give me something to lean on when I get dizzy.

Try them yourself and see if you like them. No one says you have to have them, but they do have other uses, like pushing snakes off the trail

Ya but I added a smiley face, doesn't that make it OK?

"A reference to the 1978 cult mass-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Jim Jones, the leader of the group, convinced his followers to move to Jonestown. Late in the year he then ordered his flock to commit suicide by drinking grape-flavored Kool-Aid laced with potassium cyanide. In what is now commonly called "the Jonestown Massacre", 913 of the 1100 Jonestown residents drank the Kool-Aid and died."

Pole users as far as I know are not miss led sheep.

jimmyb

Ah, so this is all about the particular expression that I used?

In that case, I suppose I should have said something else that didn't involve a connotation for blindly following something else. That's not how I meant the expression, but clearly it can be interpreted that way, as you pointed out.

What I meant to say, just to be clear, is that I'd particularly like to hear from people who aren't already fully on board with using trekking poles, since this stance mirrors my own situation.

I already know the reasons why many people use trekking poles in most hiking situations, and that's not the information I was seeking.

As Andrew F rightly pointed out, I am specifically asking about the utility of trekking pole use on the PCT in the Sierra, even for people who don't otherwise like to use trekking poles.

Hope that clears this all up.

I tried trekking poles for a couple years and generally vehemently dislike them.

I often take a hiking staff, usually on more leisurely trips. Really doesn't help, except when I substitute it for a tent pole.

Almost all backpacking trips are sans poles of any kind.

I usually bring a pair of poles when snowshoeing, but I will not try to pass myself off as a snowshoe expert.

When using crampons or micro-spikes an ice axe is usually a better tool.

I can usually find a suitable stick when crossing water, but often have the same problem as Bob G.

Only you can answer the question for yourself. Everyone's opinion really won't be helpful.

"I can usually find a suitable stick when crossing water, but often have the same problem as Bob G."

There will be sticks at the stream crossing, but they will all be on the opposite side from where you are. Sticks migrate in the direction of travel of the crowd.

–B.G.–