On my first mid-century hike (MY mid-century), I found the most amazing stick in the woods near our place; I brought it home. I had my husband do a bit of work to it; saw it off to the proper height, nip off the offending (and dangerous) jagged top and I’ve used this very sturdy hardwood walking stick for my two ‘official’ hikes.
My stick is almost perfect as it is. It has a crook in the top and a smooth spot hollowed out as if by God’s hand, a notch was made for MY hand.
Today on my second (and longest) hike, my trail buddy made the great suggestion that I ‘notch’ my stick for each hike that I complete. What a wonderful idea! Following that train of thought, I googled walking sticks and . . . what cool things I found.
My plan is to:
*Sand my stick to remove the gnarly little spots;
*Polish and or stain my stick;
*Fit stick with cooper coping at the bottom to prevent splitting;
*Notch my stick with a wood-burning tool, for each hike;
*In future, consider adding medallions of longer hikes-I’d need to set a high bar so as to not crowd it w/too many medals. Perhaps a medallion for every hike over 5 miles or 10 miles (set some criteria).
What fun this will be! My little one has a stick of his own and I know he’ll enjoy working on this project as well.
