re: Walking/Hiking sticks, useful or not ?

I’ve found that they are helpful when going up the mountain, but they are critical when going down it.

Going up, you can use them to help “pull” you up the hill using your arm muscles, reducing the amount of strain on your leg muscles.

Going down the hill, the big difference I’ve noticed is the reduced impact on your knees and ankle joints. Without the poles, stepping off a big step, all the impact of the ground and your weight is all absorbed by your joints. However, if you’re using the poles, stepping down off a steep step can be controlled more by your arm muscles, thus lessening the impact in your leg joints with a softer landing on the ground.

The poles also help with balance if you trip on a root, if your sliding in mud/ice, or you could use them very quickly as a weapon in the case of a wild animal/human scallawag charges you suddenly.