hiking sticks

Good point Philip, and don't forget Omega 3 fish oil and glucosamine supplements (which I take daily mainly due to my wrist problem).

I'm NOT gainsaying the value of walking sticks, (Anyone else miss an edit function here?)

Vit D...anyone who lives in Canterbury or further south will be deficient during the winter months and half the population are deficient all year round (including me). Get tested (about $40 in Chch) and get a script for Vit D from your GP who will be delighted to have you as a 3 monthly cash cow for charging you for scripts. The actual Vit D prescription only costs $3 per month to get filled. Yeah, I'm on the nutriceuticals cited above and also use linseed oil as a salad dressing with cider vinegar and have a dessertspoon of chia seeds daily (soaked which is optional)for omega 3. separate post re walking sticks follows...

I developed knee pain where the quads insert into the upper knee and had to learn to change the way I walk and move: particularly as I like to tramp most weekends and do a 200m walk up and down the Bridle Path mid-week. I hyperextend my hip flexors when I step down to use a different muscle group to bear the load. Hip flexors are very strong. I exaggerate the outward knee flexion on the weight bearing leg for big step downs. A lot of the time I jump down and land on both feet or skip down if the foot placements are good i.e. no steep and narrow tree root-ridden track. On a gentler downhill I do massive long strides with my hip flexors well extended. I wear 4 point crampons on greasy downhill terrain to avoid the lethal position of forward bending and guarded, sustained weight bearing. Planting a pole in front of my supporting leg is particularly bad as this makes me flex forward, bringing weight bearing onto the lower thigh which causes soft tissue wear and tear which is very slow to recover. Instead I plant the walking pole behind my supporting leg and extend that hip flexor. I don't use trekking poles, instead I use a walking stick. I chose this as I transitioned from using an ice axe and the pistol grip is the same. Using these strategies, I've pretty much kissed the knee pain goodbye. Occasionally if I'm on very slippery terrain especially at night I'll do that wrong move and activate it again. I've noticed that some people have long trekking poles dangling from their wrists when they need to grab the vegetation or use the rock for grip and it is very ungainly due to the length of the pole and slows them down. Just saying...

I use one pole and its mostly for balance, rock hopping, stepping down, and to steady myself when the climbing steps that are at madpom hieght. The knees wont take running and jumping now mostly cautious pacing. And as long as I medicate at the end of each day 6 to 8 hour days are ok for up to 5 days then I need about a week to recover. Used judiciously dyclophanac is great stuff. wouldnt go anywhere without my leki pole anymore

you got me infected with the leki pole! Today I took a look at the somewhat limited range of hiking poles in Te Anau. They had several cheap ones I didnt like, some where already overscrewed in one direction and you couldnt unscrew them anymore to change the length. Plus I didnt like the anti-shock thing they have. It kindof felt wobbly. Then I put my hands on a lonely Leki pole that was on sale. It fits my hands really nice and it felt right from the weight and all. It was the last one, a two year old model. I want a second one, even if I will mostly use just one, I guess, but thinking of the way down from the Kepler I really would have liked two. Their computer system tells them they have two, but the second is nowhere to be found. I come back half an hour later and they managed to get hold of a pair of this model in another store and I will have my hiking poles in a week! So now I'm really exited to get them and test them :)

Anyone tried the Pacerpoles that Aarn Tate sells? http://www.aarnpacks.com/products/pacerpoles.html They look tempting... even to a confirmed sceptic like me.

Pacer Poles - well, of course there's Ray Goldring who gives them the celebrity endorsement and I've got a mate in the Peninsula Tramping Club who's bought them. It was early days for him and I think he was at the stage of just getting used to them. I think they're a much better idea than the long trekking poles but then, I'm biased using the walking stick. They're not cheap but are designed by a physiotherapist. As a rule of thumb, if Aarn thinks they're a good idea than I'm sure they are. His background is gear design and I've done a few trips with him and never seen a whisker of silly ideas.

I got my hiking sticks!!! Today we did a 12 km walk, Te Anau Control Gates to Brod Bay and back and I got used to them really quickly. They dont actually feel like something brand new that I'm using the first time.

I own 2 fairydown hiking sticks but usually only use one. I dont use them all the time as sometimes I am carrying a rifle while hunting and I definitly notice the difference when going up and down hills with stability and the strain on the old legs. Would recommend to any tramper to at least give em a try out to see what they think.