Exercise?

[psalms 91]

Then why are you so familiar with the area?

 

[tango]

Then why are you so familiar with the area?

Spent a lot of time visiting. My wife has family in central PA and having visited a few times we've made some good friends. I like to hike, so got to know the woods very well (sometimes I hike with my wife, other times I hike solo. When I go solo I strike out further and faster, since I move a lot faster than she does).

 

[psalms 91]

Yes there are some beautiful areas around here, a place called the thousand steps is nearby if you have ever heard of it

 

[tango]

Yes there are some beautiful areas around here, a place called the thousand steps is nearby if you have ever heard of it

Funny you should mention that, I think it was about four years ago I climbed the 1000 steps with a group. I must admit I had assumed that "1000" was figurative rather than literal, at least until I saw every 100th step marked. It was a good climb, got the heart and lungs pumping nicely.

 

[psalms 91]

Yes, a beautiful place

 

[Lamb]

I googled the 1000 steps place and although I like a challenge I would worry about twisting an ankle.

Do you guys use walking sticks?

 

[psalms 91]

I do

 

[tango]

I googled the 1000 steps place and although I like a challenge I would worry about twisting an ankle.

Do you guys use walking sticks?

No. I used to but found i moved more easily without it. The 1000 steps isn't all that different from just going upstairs, other than the number of steps involved.

On my really long hikes my hips and legs are usually very tired by the end but I'd still rather deal with that then having something else to haul around.

 

[Lamb]

Hmm that's interesting about the walking sticks. So many people who hike in say the Appalachians (which is where I promised my daughter I'd take her sometime this summer to hike a bit) swear by using the sticks. They said it stabilizes them? I've never tried.

 

[tango]

Hmm that's interesting about the walking sticks. So many people who hike in say the Appalachians (which is where I promised my daughter I'd take her sometime this summer to hike a bit) swear by using the sticks. They said it stabilizes them? I've never tried.

The best thing to do is try them and find out. For a long time I used one walking pole - for me trying to use two was an exercise in entanglement and frustration. Then I realised that, for the most part, I'd rather have my hands free than fuss with a pole. I don't doubt for a minute that over long walks they do ease the load on your hips by shifting some of it to your shoulders, but personally I'd rather have free hands.

Some day I might look into a way to attach a pole to my waistband so I can use it if I need it without having something else to carry around for the entire hike. The only time I'd want one is on one of my longer hikes, where I'd be carrying a backpack with extra food and water. The hike I do most is about 6 miles or so, and usually all I take is a couple of cereal bars and a bottle of water in my hand. I'd rather have my hands free, but would rather have a bottle in my hand than a pack on my back.

 

[Lamb]

I've seen walking sticks that retract into themselves and even though you don't like backpacks they'd fit into one. I have a camelbak that I love and it has pockets for extra things. I'll have to see if a retractable walking stick fits into it.

I was told by some guys that they use the sticks for stability on the rocky areas. Yeah, I'll have to try.

 

[tango]

I've seen walking sticks that retract into themselves and even though you don't like backpacks they'd fit into one. I have a camelbak that I love and it has pockets for extra things. I'll have to see if a retractable walking stick fits into it.

I have a broad collection of backpacks, I just don't carry them unless I need them.

If you've got a backpack with a waist band (most even remotely decent backpacks will have a waist band) you may be able to feed the walking poles through the loops on the ends of the waist straps. That can work, but if you want to put the pole away for a while you need to put it in the pack. If you can do that without taking the pack off it's a bonus. It's pretty gross having to take off a pack and then put it back on when your back is soaked with sweat.

I was told by some guys that they use the sticks for stability on the rocky areas. Yeah, I'll have to try.

They can help but personally I usually find it's just as easy to walk a bit more gingerly. With a pole you can poke at something to see if it's solid, but more often than not I can do that just by putting a little weight on it.

One thing walking poles are really good for is getting rid of spider webs. If you're walking the kind of trail where spiders spin webs across the path you can hold the pole up ahead of you and it will break up the webs so your face doesn't have to. They can also be handy for whacking a path through things like stinging nettles.

 

[psalms 91]

Pesonally i like them

 

[tango]

Pesonally i like them

My wife likes hers, although the reality is she tends to move much faster without it than with it. I've found I move faster without it. Truth be told the less stuff you haul the faster you're likely to be, although once your hike goes over a certain distance you really need to be taking stuff with you. What "a certain distance" and "stuff" means is individual.

 

[Alithis]

Just wondering if there are other hikers out there. I like to go and get lost in the woods from time to time. I say "get lost" even though I usually have at least one map and at least one GPS, not mention a good working knowledge of the local trails.

I like the kind of hikes where I can just take off and not see another person all day. The woods are so peaceful, once you get well away from the roads and just stop the silence is a wonderful thing. Sometimes you hear nothing more than the wind rustling in the trees and maybe a few animals moving about. On a good day maybe the sound of a hawk or even an eagle.

Come to Nz.. You can stay at mine.. Then you can go hiking .
Picture this... No bears,no bigcats.no snakes..actually no anything, just bush and birds and sea and sky...
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=b...ved=0ahUKEwj9gre0y-nMAhUjUKYKHeTGBecQ_AUIBigB

 

[tango]

Come to Nz.. You can stay at mine.. Then you can go hiking .
Picture this... No bears,no bigcats.no snakes..actually no anything, just bush and birds and sea and sky...
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=b...ved=0ahUKEwj9gre0y-nMAhUjUKYKHeTGBecQ_AUIBigB

Everything I've seen about NZ suggests it's stunningly beautiful. It's just that I don't travel too well and it's a bit of a trek.

If I do end up on that side of the world, maybe I'll take you up on your kind offer

Truth be told I very seldom see bears, only seen a couple of dangerous snakes (two adders in the UK, one rattlesnake in the US), and only ever seen a bobcat in passing when I was driving the mountain roads.

I do like to see hawks and owls. I can sometimes see owls in the UK, but in the US I see a lot of hawks.

 

[Lamb]

We have tons of hawks near my house and where I walk. Hawks, vultures, turkeys, bald eagles. My dad gave me his old binoculars so I can stand out on my back deck and do bird watching!

 

[psalms 91]

Yes I love watching birds

 

[Rens]

Come to Nz.. You can stay at mine.. Then you can go hiking .
Picture this... No bears,no bigcats.no snakes..actually no anything, just bush and birds and sea and sky...
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=b...ved=0ahUKEwj9gre0y-nMAhUjUKYKHeTGBecQ_AUIBigB

I always wanted to live in New Zealand because I heard they had no spiders, but I wonder if it's even true.
I also wanted to live in Canada until I came there once in the winter and wore a ski suit in the mall for the 1 minute walk to the car.

 

[Rens]

Everything I've seen about NZ suggests it's stunningly beautiful. It's just that I don't travel too well and it's a bit of a trek.

If I do end up on that side of the world, maybe I'll take you up on your kind offer

Truth be told I very seldom see bears, only seen a couple of dangerous snakes (two adders in the UK, one rattlesnake in the US), and only ever seen a bobcat in passing when I was driving the mountain roads.

I do like to see hawks and owls. I can sometimes see owls in the UK, but in the US I see a lot of hawks.

If you do make a nice movie from the nature there please, so I can watch it while sitting on my couch.