Trekking Poles or no?

[AnnaBanana2]

Hi!
My friend and I are thru hiking the long trail in August. I am wondering if it is a good idea to bring trekking poles. Is there enough scrambling that it wouldnt be worth it?
What do you recommend?
Thanks

[MuddyWaters]

How much of the trail to you think is scrambling?


Do what you prefer. Collapsible poles you can stick in pack are good.

[Don H]

I'd take 'em but I need at least one anyway to hold up my tent.

[DuneElliot]

I love my trekking poles, and use them on all but the flat parts of the trail...they are useful for anything up or downhill, and especially along rocky trails

[Lone Wolf]

Hi!
My friend and I are thru hiking the long trail in August. I am wondering if it is a good idea to bring trekking poles. Is there enough scrambling that it wouldnt be worth it?
What do you recommend?
Thanks
i've hiked the whole LT. i didn't use poles. never have for any trail walkin'

[Sarcasm the elf]

I happen to be on trail right now on the A.T./L.T. Nearly every L.T. Hiker I've met this week has had trekking poles.

[cliffordbarnabus]

4 points on ground two times better than 2.

[NHWhites]

Trekking poles...never leave home without them

[Slo-go'en]

There is a good argument to be made for using just one pole, which leaves one hand free for clinging to rocks, roots and trees when going up or down the more insane climbs/descents. Which are mostly north of the AT/LT junction.

[fastfoxengineering]

When I thru hiked the LT... My trekking poles saved my life once or twice..but im that guy that always ends up on his ass

[Engine]

They are mandatory gear on our list for a bunch of reasons. Knee savers, tent holders, bear bag lifters, steep climb boosters, etc...

[Hang R]

Depends if you are used to using them bring them along. If you don't normally use them this would not be the trail to experiment with them. Collapsible ones are the best because there are sections like Mt Mansfield where you will be climbing and not hiking. They would just be in the way at times. If it is a wet year some of the wet areas will swallow up a pole very easily and put you off balance pretty quick.

As I have gotten older I do use them at times depending on the terrain. I did use them on the northern section of the LT and they were useful to me. I also use them to put my tarp in porch mode and as a spreader bar on the hammock tarp to give more room when sleeping so it does not bother me to carry them and not use them all of the time while hiking.

[JC13]

They can also be helpful for night hiking, not sure how much if any you plan on doing but the poles saved my wife and I several times.

[hepatica]

I always carry only one (old habits I guess), and that worked well for me on the LT. There is some very slippery rock in Vermont and the pole came in handy. There are a few places where I put it away and used my hands, but not too many places.

Anyway, you need at least one pole to check how deep some of the mud pits are.

[bigcranky]

We got a LOT of use out of our poles on the LT. Yes, there is some scrambling when you'll need to drag them behind (up) or throw them down (down), but they saved our butts many times. When we got home Dragonfly sent off to Leki for replacement bottom sections, as they had bent from all the falls and would no longer collapse all the way. Leki sent her two new sections. :)

[WILLIAM HAYES]

I always use trrekking poles they have saved me from falling several times

[jeffmeh]

Only if you want to extend the useful hiking life of back, knees, and ankles. :)

[Christoph]

I never would have made it as far as I did without mine.

[Vegan Packer]

After skipping using my poles one time, I'll never do it again. They provide so much extra stability that they are entirely worth carrying.

[DuneElliot]

I never would have made it as far as I did without mine.

There are so many times this has proven true for me

[Yukon]

When I'm day hiking with a lighter pack I never use them. But long distance backpacking I always do. Just having them on downhills alone is worth it. Plus I use them at night with my tarp for "porch mode".

[fghester]

Just finished Springer to Bly Gap. My trekking poles were a life saver. I cannot imaging hiking the trail without them. Especially on the descents. I know they prevented several falls. Mine are light weight, collapsable Cascades. Not very expensive and really do the job. Love them.

[North Star]

I can't imagine doing the Long Trail without poles. The only time I stashed them was climbing up the Forehead of Mansfield. They saved my knees, kept me from falling many times, and generally made it easier to hike. I don't recall seeing another thru-hiker on my trip that didn't have them.

[Scotsman]

I never used poles until during my recently completed SOBO Long Trail thru-hike. The Northern section has terrain that was more difficult than I had ever encountered and the poles helped especially on some of the downhill steeps, which were more difficult for me than the comparable uphill climbs. I can probably count on one or two fingers the number of people that I saw on the Northern part of the LT without poles. On the AT there were more pole-less hikers but still only a small minority. If it's raining you will fall, but how (and how hard) will depend.

[AnnaBanana2]

Okay, so it sounds like I should bring them.
I'm young so I have not used them in the past, but the only reason I was considering not bringing some was because I was afraid they would end up on my back most of the time. I have hiked on the LT, but mostly the northern half, which is quite scrambly.

[Odd Man Out]

Did any one point out they keep your hands from swelling. Maybe that's and old person's problem.

[-Rush-]

I wouldn't go on the trail without poles. Way too many uses for them out there. They can save your limbs every day and your life from time to time.

[bigcranky]

Okay, so it sounds like I should bring them.
I'm young so I have not used them in the past, but the only reason I was considering not bringing some was because I was afraid they would end up on my back most of the time. I have hiked on the LT, but mostly the northern half, which is quite scrambly.

There's a lot of very steep (very very steep) trail on the northern end that's not quite scrambling, and the poles really helped me especially in the rain. There are also many places with short, steep scrambles in which poles are useless, but I never collapsed mine and put them on my pack, I just tossed them down or carried them up.