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I have just relearnt how to walk at the age of 62.
Recently, I was struggling to keep up with a friend striding down a hill; when I looked carefully I realised she was walking differently. It’s Trekking 2.0, she explained. It was new to me, and to judge by what I saw in the Pyrenees this summer, will be new to many people. I learnt the technique in a couple of hours and practised it over the following weeks. As a result I no longer have problems with my knees. 800km of testing seems pretty conclusive to me.
The new technique is Nordic walking. I had already bought into the technology, walking poles, but poles on their own do not constitute Trekking 2.0. I was still using them like antennae, tickling the ground, only really bringing them into play if I tripped. 21st-century technology but used in an old-fashioned way, rather like my approach to smartphones. It was high time I discovered Trekking 2.0.
My friend quickly told me the main idea. A significant part of the weight of the body, a significant part of the weight of the rucksack is transferred to the ground through hands and poles rather than through feet and boots. Hence less pressure and fewer shocks on the knees. The poles don’t tickle the earth, they stab it. The most useful technique for mountain walkers is double poling on steep downhills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_K6p_zUdA&feature=youtu.be&t=2m06s
Now, when my feet are tired I use my hands.
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Footprints on the mountains