Originally Posted by
StephenH
...in all my hiking, I don't know if I EVER saw anyone more than two miles from a trailhead with this kind of stuff...
I see them quite a bit here in California (yes, a heck of a lot further than a couple of miles from a trailhead) and I've used them a heck of a lot further than a couple of miles from a treailhead. I use one pole and it makes a huge difference on ascents/descents. I messed up a knee in a fall skiing moguls in the late '70s and using a hiking pole has allowed me to keep up with my teenaged boys on the trail.