The Trekking Poles My Son Said He Would Never Use: A Story

Last spring, after a steep descent at Lost Maples State Natural Area left my knees complaining for two days, I bought myself a pair of Cascade Mountain Tech aluminum trekking poles. My son Caleb, who is 16 and has never once admitted to being tired on a trail, watched me take them out of the box and said, 'Mom, you are not going to use those.' He said it the way teenagers say things they are absolutely certain about. I told him we would see.

Those poles sat in the back of our SUV for a month. Every weekend trip to Garner State Park or Padre Island, they stayed in the cargo area next to the dog water and the Sawyer Squeeze. I kept meaning to use them, but on flat trails my knees felt fine, and dragging them out felt like admitting something. Wyatt, who is 14 and complains about his feet on every hike, called them old people sticks. Ray said nothing, which is his way of saying he agreed with the kids.

Then came the Saturday at Garner State Park when we took the steep loop up to the top of the bluff. I finally pulled the Cascade Mountain Tech poles out of the SUV and used them on the climb. On the way down, my knees felt steady for the first time in months. Caleb watched me for a while, then asked if he could try them. I handed them over. He took two steps, looked at the grip that runs halfway down the shaft, and said, 'Okay, this is actually kind of smart.' From a 16-year-old, that is a speech.

Wyatt still refused, so we finished that hike with me and Caleb passing the poles back and forth. Biscuit and Pepper, our two French bulldogs, were done about a mile before the car, so they rode in the pack on Ray's back, which is its own kind of workout. I thought about the poles the whole drive home.

The next weekend, Caleb grabbed the poles out of the cargo area before I could reach them. He said he was just carrying them for me. He used them the entire hike and handed them back at the car with a shrug that meant thank you. That was the weekend I realized the argument was no longer about whether the poles were useful. It was about who got to use them first.

He took two steps, looked at the grip that runs halfway down the shaft, and said, 'Okay, this is actually kind of smart.' From a 16-year-old, that is a speech.

That summer, we took the family trip to the Smokies. I packed the Cascade Mountain Tech poles, and Caleb packed his own attitude about them, which he dropped somewhere around the third mile of the Alum Cave Trail. He used them the whole way up and the whole way down. The extra tip kit that came with them meant we could swap in fresh tips on the rocky sections, and the grip that runs down the shaft meant he could choke up on the pole for the steep parts instead of grabbing bare aluminum. Somewhere near the top, he said, 'These actually help my legs.' I did not say I told you so. I am saving that for when he is 30.

The day Wyatt finally tried them was that fall at Lost Maples, on the same steep descent that started all of this. He took the poles without being asked, planted them on the switchbacks, and did not complain about his feet for a full forty-five minutes. For Wyatt, that is a record. He handed them back at the bottom and said the hike was fine. He has not admitted anything since, but he also has not called them old people sticks again.

The honest part: the twist locks need a firm hand, and I check them a couple of times on a long day. The wrist straps took me one hike to figure out, because I had them backwards the first time. And the poles do nothing for two flat-faced dogs who are done at mile two, but that is what the pack on Ray's back is for. They are not a fix for everything. They are a fix for steep descents, for knees that complain, and for a 16-year-old who would rather admit a pole is useful than admit he was wrong.

They live in the SUV now, between the dog water and the Sawyer Squeeze. I have stopped being surprised when one of the boys grabs them first. The poles my son said he would never use have become the thing we argue about at the trailhead, and honestly, that is the best outcome I could have hoped for.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

What I'd tell you if we were sitting at my kitchen table: you do not need to be a serious hiker to get something from a good pair of poles. I am a 44-year-old mom who packs the snacks and the dog water. I bought these because a downhill at Lost Maples hurt, and now they come on every trip. If you have a teen who rolls their eyes, leave the poles where they can see them and let the trail make the argument. It worked on mine.