5 Reasons I Hike With A Walking Stick

When it comes to hiking - especially on a trail I've never been on, I always make sure I find a thick, sturdy, fallen branch to use as a walking stick - for several reasons:

1. Joint help: I once worked at an outdoors company with a very seasoned hiker (like, mid-60s and still doing chunks of the Appalacian Trail), and he told me that a hiking pole helps take about 5lbs of weight off your body (and if you use 2 sticks it's like you just lost 10 lbs). There's definitely a lot of science to back this up. Having less weight on your body translates to less stress on your knees. It's kind of like carrying your child around (without a carrier/sling) for a mile and he finally decides he has enough energy for you to put him down, and your body breathes a huge sigh of relief....

Okay, so maybe it's not quite that dramatic, but still, your body will thank you.

2. Feeling the burn: In addition to helping your knees out, walking sticks also help burn more calories because of the way it forces your body to move, and in steep inclines, it has beneficial effects for your shoulder muscles as well. (I swear, I'm not making this shit up! Google will back me up...).

3. Steep or slippery terrain: Walking sticks (or trekking poles, if you prefer the store-bought kind) are invaluable when it comes to keeping your balance up a steep ridge, or a trail with a thick mat of fallen leaves and pine needles - which are super slippery! Or, if you're constantly in a battle against Lord Gravity and his henchwoman Balanceatrix, well a walking stick can be your Elder Wand. ;) (Too early in the a.m. for Harry Potter references?)

4. Getting in tune with nature: I prefer to use fallen sticks over store-bought trekking poles because the feel of the wood in my hands as I hike just seems to forge a more organic connection with nature. It helps me keep a steady rhythm when I'm walking in the woods, making it quicker for the stress to melt away as I try to appreciate my surroundings. (Plus I'm a super tactile person - like, have you run your hand horizontally across the bark of a white birch tree? it's like hard, solid silk!)

5. Psychos, bears and rabid animals: I tend to do a lot of spur-of-the-moment hiking, so I'm often alone or just with the Munchkin. Although I always try to remember my pocket knife, it's mainly for cutting stuff, if I'm honest. I really don't want to get close enough to anything that might try to attack me, to sink my 3 inch blade into it. But let's face it: the forest, just like everywhere else in the world, has the occasional psycho in it, so I like to be prepared. And whether I've encountered a rabid raccoon, or a guy in a hockey mask, I'd still prefer to have a long, thick piece of wood at the ready, over a tiny knife I have to fish out of my pocket. Plus, if you're lucky, waving your stick around and shouting like a caveman might be enough to scare away most animals (and maybe even creepy-acting humans).

#hikingwithsticks #walkingsticks #hikingsticks #walkingsticksandpsychos #wanderingmomnh