isis
02-24-2009, 02:53 AM
How to Construct a Staff for Hiking
This simple guide will help you to make your own hiking staff before you hit the road:
• First of all, pick and cut a straight 6-foot sapling that is approximately ½” round at the broadest end.
• Then, put the sapling in a cool dry place. Wait for 3 or 4 weeks before doing anything further with the fresh wood.
• Cut the stick to 5’6” long.
• Then, remove the bark carefully. The bark over the second 12” may be left alone to provide you with a better hold on your hiking staff.
• Next, trim off any knots until the stick feels fairly smooth.
• Mark at 1 foot intervals beginning at the top (the thicker end).
• Mark out the top 6” at 1” spaces.
• Finally, treat all of it with oil stain or preservative.
These steps are, of course, rather excessive for a simple walking stick that you employ for a little extr support. But kind of nice hiking around places carrying an interesting looking stick that’s a cut above something you just put together from an old branch in the woods.
This simple guide will help you to make your own hiking staff before you hit the road:
• First of all, pick and cut a straight 6-foot sapling that is approximately ½” round at the broadest end.
• Then, put the sapling in a cool dry place. Wait for 3 or 4 weeks before doing anything further with the fresh wood.
• Cut the stick to 5’6” long.
• Then, remove the bark carefully. The bark over the second 12” may be left alone to provide you with a better hold on your hiking staff.
• Next, trim off any knots until the stick feels fairly smooth.
• Mark at 1 foot intervals beginning at the top (the thicker end).
• Mark out the top 6” at 1” spaces.
• Finally, treat all of it with oil stain or preservative.
These steps are, of course, rather excessive for a simple walking stick that you employ for a little extr support. But kind of nice hiking around places carrying an interesting looking stick that’s a cut above something you just put together from an old branch in the woods.