Intro and Trekking pole question

Newbie here and just starting to move into backpacking from car camping. I have been walking several miles with a loaded pack every evening to begin to get in shape for my first trip in late june.

I just got a set of trekking poles and have a cadence question. Most info that I have found on line seem to indicate moving the poles at the same cadence as my stride. I find this to be a bit awkward. My natural cadence with the poles seems to be about half my walking cadence, but is somewhat independent of my stride.

Should I just go with what feels natural, or attempt to train myself to use them differently?

Sorry for the dumb question, but if I am going to use them, I want them to work for me.

Here is a great site on using trekking poles: Pete's Poles Page Try out the suggested techniques to see if they work for you.

As it turns out, I use my poles the way that the referenced Peter Clinch's site suggests, that approach just makes sense to me, and it's become very natural.

BUT: I know some very very experienced, successful and happy backpackers that use their poles completely differently than I do, so I'd be leery if anyone suggests that any one approach is the only "correct" way ...

It is possible that there is only one way of using poles in any situation that maximizes their effectiveness in that particular situation. But maximum effectiveness is not always required (unless you are an athlete in competition), so, if it doesn't feel natural or normal, then I would say drop back to what might be less effective but comfortable.

Having said that, when I do see hikers on local trails with trekking poles, the chances are about 50% that the poles are adding nothing at all to their hiking experience, except style points. These hikers just sort of move the poles randomly and don't even put weight or stress onto the poles at any point in their stride. They may as well be waving them in the air for all the good it does them.

Unless you are infirm and need the help of poles where its level, they will offer you nothing until the angle gets above maybe 30 degrees. So do you hike mountain sides? If not you may find that you end up carrying them on your pack because it takes less energy to carry them than to pick them up and swing them with extended arms. When its steep enough to lean into them and thereby add your strong chest muscles to those of your legs. It off loads your legs and knees but of course you need the arm muscles to make it work well, but you kinda become a bent over quadruped. You can consider carrying one hiking pole, it does similar things, is lighter, and consumes less energy in the flats.

As far as using a pole for a cane, I found when I broke my leg that you use the cane with and along side the good leg.
Jim

Go with what feels natural. On most trails there is not a perfect place to plant your pole with every single step. Learn to adapt.

I have used poles for hundreds of miles uphill, level and downhill. They can help anywhere if you use them properly. Just make sure they're pushing you up/forward and are not working against you. That being said, I would not use them so much as to be dependent on them.

Thanks guys, I will keep walking with them on my evening training walks and try to concentrate on using them properly. Most of my planned hikes are in Western NC and the slopes, while nothing compared to out west, are still pretty impressive. I am going to do a shake down walk on a portion of the Foothills trail later this month and then will be doing the Art Loeb trail in August.

Another reason to use poles

I'm not sure if I'm using my poles for maximum effect; I've just never paid that much attention. I know they are very useful on uphill and downhill, and they do take some of the weight and effort. However, even on flats, I tend to use them rather than carry them on my pack because the force my hands to do something other than hang at my sides - and as a result, they don't swell up (edema?) in the afternoon, like they did before I started using them.

I'll bet your pack straps cut off the blood return from your arms and the flexing of [your shoulders]using the poles pumps more blood through them. I just hated carrying an unused pole over my shoulder. I guess I don't really carry them much in the summer unless I'm going up into snow or steep non-technical rock, but I carry poles in the winter because I ski camp.
Jim

I think you're right about the blood flow; it's definitely some kind of circulation issue. My fingers don't get numb; they just feel slightly full or swollen, and it goes away if I loop my thumbs into the loops on my load lifter straps for a couple of minutes, or even just remember to periodically squeeze and release an imaginary ball as I walk.

It's an annoyance, not a problem, and I find using poles eliminates it.

All

I'll give another example of how trekking poles can help. When I turned my ankle in rough terrain, trekking poles took enough weight off my ankle to let me haul myself out - w/o having to bag the hike and/or call SAR to haul my overloaded but out of there.

Second example - very useful when ridgehiking, esp. if there isn't anything to grab on to if you slip.

And I hate the things in flat terrain/improved trails - just weight then.

Steadman

my favorite part of trekking poles


"We all need somebody to lean on"


Recent trip to the Kalalau Trail on the island of Kauai, HI

“and as a result, they don't swell up (edema?) in the afternoon, like they did before I started using them.”

Yea, I also noticed poles stop the hand swelling. I can get hand swelling on long walks w/ or w/o a pack. But when I started using my GG strapless poles 5+ years ago, I noticed my hand swelling was totally eliminated.

In fact, if I ever go walking w/o poles and my hands just start to swell, I put my hands into fists (as if holding a pole) and squeeze/pulse them to my walking cadence. And then the swelling never comes. I didn’t know about this trick until I got my GG poles. So I can relate to your “periodically squeeze and release an imaginary ball”

It’s just another bonus of poles.
-Barry

I use my poles as if I were cross-country skiing. They can help on level ground too if the footing is unstable, such as on ice, snow, or mud. If I use them on level ground, I will travel faster because my stride lengthens and I can go faster without as much regard for stability.

Google "nordic walking".

I used to use one pole when out coon hunting. We crossed a LOT of very small creeks, that were often times not much more than a little water flowing over a rock bed. Those type of rocks are VERY VERY VERY slick. There would be times of the group of 5 or 6 of us, I would be the only person to not fall in a creek. We also climbed a lot of very steep hills that had no trail what so ever. I found that as long as there wasn't a bunch of brush/briars in the way or it wasn't a situation where you needed to grab onto the rocks to get over them, the pole was always nice to have. It also made a good shooting stick a few times. In my type of situation I think two sticks would have been a liability, because we were in totally unimproved areas, and often one ahnd was needed to move limbs out of the way and stuff like that, but on an improved trail, two seems like a good option.