[at-l] New Leki poles - YEA!! - but help, please?

[Debbie_Smith@millipore.com (Debbie_Smith@millipore.com)]

Delita asks:
<<But - what a newbie - I have never seen anyone actually *hiking* with
poles.  How does that work?  Is there a preferred way to move the poles in
conjunction with your legs, or does it work best to just swing them
alternately, not in sync with your legs, as you do your arms?>>

I've seen people doing it several different ways, but always the way their
arms swing - opposite their feet.  Some folks use a pole for every
footstep... so right foot and left pole go forward, then left foot/right
pole.

I found that too frequent and distracting for me.  I 'pole' every 3rd step
- also opposite the feet.  It sounds confusing but for me it makes a nice
rhythm (I actually had to sit down and think about it before I could write
it down).  Right foot/left pole forward, then pole stays planted and left
foot steps, right foot steps and when left foot steps again the right pole
goes forward.  Of course this changes when you're doing steep up or down
terrain and you just plant poles as you need them for support.

After just a few days it becomes a internal, subliminal rhythm and you
really stop thinking about how and when you're planting your poles. You
only notice it when you need to plant them deliberately, like crossing
water or bog bridges, or steep terrain.  Hope this helps :-)

Twilight
GA>ME '98