Unpopular opinion: I thought trekking poles were a scam until I dragged myself up the Eagle Creek trail in Oregon | Backpacking Routes

Barbara Moore · 2026-10-08T02:00:05.358996+00:00

Two summers back my buddy kept telling me to try trekking poles and I laughed at him, said they were for people who couldn't handle their own body weight. I had done the Enchantments and a chunk of the Wonderland Trail without them and figured I was fine. Then last September I did Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge with about 30 pounds on my back and my knees were screaming by mile 4. My friend handed me one of his poles on a steep downhill section and I felt the difference in maybe 10 steps, it was like someone took a third of the load off my legs. I bought a pair that week for 70 bucks and now I use them on any route with more than 2000 feet of elevation change. The weird part is they also help on the ups, not just the downs, which I did not believe until I tried it on a 12 mile day near Mount Hood. So what routes did you all write off as unnecessary until you actually tried the gear?

The Design Community Hub

Loading…

Unpopular opinion: I thought trekking poles were a scam until I dragged myself up the Eagle Creek trail in Oregon | Backpacking Routes - The Design Community Hub