I will be flying to Arizona in Sept. for 9 days of hiking / backpacking, is there a way to take my hiking staff? If it matters, it's ~5-1/2 ft in length.

shouldn't be a problem. It is considered a mobility device so it has little restrictions:

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/can-walking-stick-plane-106847.html

Thanks, I was hoping I wouldn't have to pack it and pay the $40 baggage charge.

Rats. After reading the article I called American, they consider it a sporting device unless it is a medical need, so checked and $40 to ship.

For not much more, you could probably pick up something collapsible (say, REI brand, single or pair) and stow them, collapsed, inside the pack? They'd work for one trip, then you could go back to your old reliable.

Are you staying at a hotel the day you fly in, or with friends?

They have 5' wood walking sticks on Amazon for $20. You could buy one just before your trip and have it delivered to a hotel or friend in the area - cheaper than paying $40 (each way?) thru the airlines.

A) I have a hard time believing American will challenge your medical need for the walking stick.

B) You shouldn't have any trouble getting the walking stick to the gate. If they want you to check it at the gate they most likely won't charge you.

C) If you don't want to play games and risk paying the fee/losing your stick, some excellent ideas were presented above.

You can, of course, locally source a new stick while hiking.

You might have a look online for folding staff options. I know that Cabelas makes a 4-1/2 foot folding "wading staff".

I've also seen oak staffs that screw together in sections, though perhaps not as long as what you use.

You might try going to one of the larger hardware stores or looking online for hardware designed to give a strong screw-connection to thick doweling and just make your own.

This assumes that you were planning to check baggage anyway and were just concerned about the oversized aspect.

I've decided to give it a try, see if they stop me at the boarding ramp. If they do take it, maybe (like said above) they won't charge me.

You can do like I did for years and just find a straight tree branch of the right length and diameter. Not as nice as a commercial one but has worked for hundreds of years. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right one. I have tried and replaced them on a trip a few times when something better becomes available.

That's what mine is, but there are two problems. I've had this stick since my days in Scouting, and it comes from a tree near where I camped the last time I taught advanced skills; second problem is that I'm going into the desert SW, no trees, and they frown on using a saguaro for a hiking stick. ;-)

If it has sentimental value I sure would not take a chance on it being confiscated at the airport. Go to a local hardware store or lumber yard. Even a piece of PVC pipe with foam pipe wrap would work for one trip.

I agree with Gord--I woudn't risk losing something with sentimental value! Either get a collapsible or folding staff, or (as suggested) look for doweling or PVC pipe when you get there. I once used a broom handle (with worn out broom removed) as a hiking staff! I agree that desert flora, nearly all of which is prickly, will not make a very good hiking staff!

That's what my kid does, but he can't resist the siren call of playing with sticks.