I purchased a set of trekking poles this weekend, and will use them as soon as I get a chance. I always used a simple walking stick before, which I found helped, but sometimes the tip would be slippy. The ones I found aren't bad; expandable, cork grip, removable sand/snow disc, and a removable rubber foot. Was only $16 each, so around $12 US.

The one thing I notice around here is that people walking (not hiking) always seem to use 2 poles. I've only ever used 1, but I did buy 2. Are 2 pole hikers more common that 1 polers?