[at-l] hiking poles' efficiency

[TrailR at aol.com (TrailR@xxxxxxx)]

 I'm saying the damage you
> >perceive, that Leki type poles create, isn't as great as you'd like to
> >believe."
>
>I don't know what you think I believe. I know that some damage is obvious. 
>How
>serious it may be in the overall scheme of things remains questionable. I 
>do
>know that almost all of this damage could be eliminated with rubber tipped
>hiking poles.

*********
Let me start by saying this is just my opinion, and is only based on my 2000+
miles on the AT this year with Lekis. YMMV
Actually, there was a lot of trail damage caused by poles on the AT this 
year. 
I won't say it is a major issue, but maybe it will be someday. The trail has 
lines
on either side of it caused by pole tips digging in.  It is worse on the up & 
down 
hill sections, where people really dig in to get traction. 
As for the rubber tips, I never saw anyone use them on the trail this year, 
and I 
would not use them. The metal tips saved my life (literally) too many times 
to switch 
to rubber ones. 

 I do believe that rubber tipped poles would be 
>equally
>  effective in relieving stress on knees and would almost certainly reduce
>  incidents of falling as compared with sharp pointed poles.

**********
I think rubber tips would relieve Knee stress, but not work as well to reduce 
falling incidents. I had too many steep dirt slopes where anything short of a 
tip 
digging in would not have stopped me. Though rubber may have prevented a 
few of my falls on rock, but that's only a maybe.

Fact is that the first time this came up, I went out the next weekend and 
saw massive scratch marks on the rocks.  Trouble is - when I looked closer - 
they weren't scratch marks.  They were a part of the rock structure.  
Puzzling.  Until an at-l list member pointed out that the so-called "scratch 
marks" were a form of (I believe) lichen growth on the rocks.  That 
explained why there were so many more of them than would have been expected 
or reasonable on a section of the AT that had just been opened 6 months 
before.  It also explained the length, spacing and direction of those 
so-called "scratches".

*********
Not sure about rock surfaces, where I saw all the scratches from 
metal tips that slid (and yes, most were definitely scratches, the natural 
marks 
in the rock looked different ). But only an idiot would use poles in some of 
the places 
I saw scratches, of course the metal tips would slip (maybe the rubber ones 
too?). 

My thru this year on the AT, proved to me the value of my Lekis, I will 
always use them. 
Having said that, there are places they should be put away too. On slick rock 
surfaces, 
over scrambles, through Mahoosic notch, you get the idea. Use them smartly.

hotdog
AT 03