Trekker’s third leg – the energy-saving staff

Trekker’s third leg: An energy-saving staff

By Mike Lomas

Trekking up Gatineau Park’s long, steep trails? Crossing a slippery stream or traversing a beaver dam beside the Rideau Canal? Climbing a slippery grass hill in Rockcliffe Park? Wearing a heavy packsack?

Wherever you walk, you can go sure-footed with the balancing, stabilizing effect and energy boost of a staff. It’s your “third” leg. Call it what you will (walking stick, stave, finger stick or pole), it amounts to the same thing: a friend you can lean on, and never hear a protest or complaint in return.

In dense brush, or steep, muddy and irregular terrain a sturdy staff will give you extra balance, agility and energy. Even on a straight and level path, a staff will add extra “push” through your arm, contributing a pleasant balance and rhythm to your stride.

Aside from the energy you gain from using a staff, you may tune into its mystical vibes; there’s a profound aura of history embodied in this humble limb. For thousands of years the staff has been a tribal and religious symbol. The stone was not human’s first tool. It was the staff, used to lever out that stone.

Images of staff-wielding leaders abound through the centuries: Moses, Pharaoh, Cleopatra. From Shakespeare to Hollywood, the walking stick has risen to a symbol of high office and authority.

Travellers’ tales attest to the staff as effective for work or self-defense. (Picture Robin Hood and his Merry Men, staffs in hand.) Or take a pilgrim’s hike through France and Spain along the 1,700-kilometre trail of the Camino de Santiago; you’ll see plenty of staffs at work.

For thousands of years they served as weapons in war and then to commemorate the battles. In a more peaceful role, they continue to serve as crooked tools for shepherds. Eskimos refer to staffs as “oonoks” – their hunting poles.

On the trail to adventure

Staff firmly in hand, you can boldly go forth with confidence. Crossing a narrow bridge without rail supports? The staff serves as your rail. Sprained your ankle? Here’s your sturdy crutch. Somebody too sick to walk? A longsleeved garment (turned inside out and threaded on two staves) makes an emergency litter or stretcher. Not sure if the early winter ice will take your weight? Carry a staff. If you fall through, use it to bridge over an ice hole, and then gain leverage and escape from the deadly, chilling water. (Caution! Never venture out on ice if you aren’t confident in its ability to support you.)

Canoeing or kayaking? Voila! It’s your depth gauge, mast or a punt pole – even a Huckleberry Finn-style fishing pole. Facing a stream, almost wide enough to jump over? Here’s your vaulting pole. Got three staffs? Make a tripod

over your campfire.

No wonder people grow fond of their staffs. A personalized staff embodies the travelling, adventurous spirit of its owner. It becomes your witness to journeys, perils and encounters. Your hand knows its knots, grooves and bends. It is like the security blanket you dragged around the house as a kid – a dependable friend.

If you consider a walking staff just another unnecessary weight to carry, think again. According to some authorities, a walking staff or two trekking poles distribute the weight of a heavy pack to your arms, thereby increasing your endurance. A walking staff also reduces pain in joints, and increases your power on hills. When you’re descending, a staff reduces stress on thighs, legs and feet.

Some studies claim that using a staff during an eight-hour backpacking trek, while carrying a medium-heavy pack, can save your legs the equivalent of 75 tonnes of pressure. Using two trekking poles can double this!

Good reasons to carry a walking stick

A walking stick:

Helps you maintain balance when crossing streams, hillsides or slippery rocks. Reduces stress on your back, knees, legs and feet.

Helps you maneouvre over obstacles on the trail (e.g. a fallen tree), or break a fall. Makes an excellent place on which to lean for a short break.

Doubles as a crutch, or even a pole for a tarp.

Buy or make one

You can buy an excellent staff in an outdoor store for $20 to $200. Or, if you have time, why not make your own? Almost any type of wood will serve, but hardwoods, such as ash, oak or maple, are probably best. Bamboo is strong and light, but for some, bamboo doesn’t “feel” strong.

Where do you get the raw stick? Never cut it from public parkland. Obtain permission from someone who has farmland, a private woodlot or a garden, then find a straight limb growing in a thicket. Or, locate a deadfall tree.

If you cut a living branch it will still contain sap. Dry it slowly for several months in a damp-free environment, and you’ll find it much lighter. Can’t wait? Then be sure to wrap wire tightly around it, a little way in from each end. The wire reduces its chance of splitting as the wood dries during use in fluctuating temperatures.

How thick a stick should you choose? Find one about 2.5 to 4 cm (1 to 1½ inches). Your staff should be fairly even through its length, tapering towards the bottom. If you can find a stick with a knot at the top (widest end) it will fit nicely in your hand.

What about length? Although tastes vary, for good leverage, find one that reaches about eye-level. Once you find a good staff, whittle anything you want

into it (your name, animal figures, etc.). Some people use their staff as a portable diary. They carve into the wood the names of places they’ve visited. Finally, to secure your grip, drill a hole near the top of the staff, and thread a leather bootlace thong through it.

Then head out on your favourite trail. Happy trekking. — Mike Lomas often takes off for a quiet day hike with his staff in hand. He wouldn’t be seen on a trail without it.

The All-terrain walking staff

Glen Chafe of Baie D’Urfe, QC, provides this interesting idea for an all-terrain, every-situation walking staff. Glen says he has lots of fun experimenting with “survival” gear additions to staffs.

Note: Park officials don’t like metal base tips on staffs, which can erode trails.

The staff can be as heavy as you want it. (Someone suggested adding a global positioning system.) Just make sure that if you make one of these staffs you attach all items securely. Otherwise, the path behind you will be littered with outdoor paraphernalia.

If you want to make your walking staff more interesting, use a sharp penknife to remove some or all of the bark. A soldering iron is great for burning intricate patterns into the wood. Some people decorate staffs with ribbons, strips of leather, coloured rope or string cords, strips of fir, even embedded stones or beads.

If the bark has a pretty texture, don’t remove it. Just smooth it with sandpaper around where your hand grips the wood. The oil from your hand will naturally smooth and lubricate the area of the staff where you grip it.