I use a staff. Have for years now. The current one is about 6-8 years old, it's a "Beaver Stick" (the bark was stripped clean) I found on the shore of lake.

It's about chin high, I have a piece of heavy string on the top for a handle and even one of those tacky NF medallions nailed on it (the Buffalo River one).

I use it much the same as Pika, and to push brush, branches, and bramble out of my way when bushwhacking.

I fashioned a pair of lightweight beaver sticks to use as trekking poles and I just can't get used to them. I want and use that free hand way to much. I am constantly grabbing trees and rocks with one hand while climbing and using the pole for leverage and balance at the same time.

--

Chimpac, I love that dream!

It reminds me of a story about a guy I knew when I was about 15.

Y'all know how I am, so I'm sure you'll pardon my digression while I tell it

This guy was wealthy, his grandfather was Edward Doheny, and my father built cars for him. I won't go far into this part, but he was feeling blue so he decided to take his Greeves Trials Bike and go riding out in the desert on Christmas day. He rode for a few hours and the motorcycle broke down. He dinked with it for about an hour and then got angry and started yelling and kicking the bike till he was worn out with that, and then he sat, hands and head on his knees, and considered what he was going to do. It occurred to him that he didn't even know where he was, or how to get to his car, and that it would be getting dark, and then very cold, soon. He sat there thinking that it would really suck to freeze to death, all alone, in the desert, on Christmas day.

After a few moments he lifted his head and looked around. There, sitting about 100 ft in front of him was a coyote, staring at him. Thinking he'd rather freeze than get eaten alive, he got up and yelled and threw rocks at the coyote. The coyote just trotted a few more feet away and sat down and stared at him. This was repeated several times. Finally the guy gave up and walked back to his bike. The coyote followed him, but kept his distance, and sat back down and stared at him.

After a minute or two the coyote got up, still looking at him, trotted a short distance and stood waiting, then trotted back and sat and stared at him. This was also repeated a few times.

He told me, "It looked like he wanted me to follow him, so I did." He followed the coyote for about 20 minutes, pushing his bike, then resting, then following again, until he saw his car.

He was loading his bike on the trailer as the sun was setting, and the coyote was still sitting there, a couple hundred feet away, watching him.

He actually told me all this to explain why he was going to pour gas on that bike and enjoy watching it burn. I did a whole lot of fast talking, and then a whole lot of sanding on a car, and ended up with the bike

You can see a picture of the car here. I have many memories, but no pictures of the bike