30 Jun 9 reasons why you should hike with trekking poles
Confession: I used to think that trekking poles were for old people. I incorrectly assumed that the only reason that people needed poles for hiking was to compensate for their lack of fitness and ability. I thought of them as, "crutches for the weak". I saw myself as the ideal specimen of hiker: the speed of a gazelle, with the stability and surefootedness of a mountain goat - surely I didn't need the help of overpriced carbon-fiber sticks. I was wrong. So, so wrong. My very first backpacking...