A staff is a basic tool for the outdoor traveler. For thousands of years, the walking stick has been symbol, weapon, record, and support for the tired feet and legs of the wanderer. Even today, on the trail or in camp, it has a hundred uses.
For centuries, labourers used the staff to support loads and defend themselves against man and beast. Egyptian hieroglyphics picture travelers with sticks in hand. The Bible is full of references to staffs. The ancient Druids, who believed each copse had its own living spirit, apologized to a tree before cutting it for a staff. Banned from owning conventional weapons, the poor of many countries traditionally turned to the staff for protection.
The staff is also a symbol of authority and power. Moses used his to part the sea and to get water from a rock. In Egypt, the staff and the shorter rod were the Pharaoh's symbols of office. Today, the mace, an ornate and stylized version of a staff, symbolizes the power of parliament. At the same time, the staff, especially a staff with a crook, has always represented the humble shepherd. Truly, this is a stick for all men.
In B.-P's day, the staff was considered an important part of a Scout's outdoor equipment. Today, a stylized figure with a staff marks trails in many modern parks and is often used to indicate the availability of hiking trails in recreation and wilderness areas. In many countries, the same symbol indicates a hostel - a place of rest for a weary walker.
As a weapon, a stick or cudgel was once a match for the sword, at least in legend. Sensei (master) Frank Lee of Martial Arts International says two major forms of the staff are used in modern oriental martial arts, but he also says that "unless a person is trained to know the spirit of the staff, it is just a stick."
Record keeping is one of the oldest uses for a staff. The ancient Norse used a notched stick called a skor to keep track of numerical information, and the word stuck around to become today's "score". Some native American peoples carried coup sticks decorated with carvings and feathers to commemorate victories in battle. My wife and I first encountered a modern version of this kind of record keeping in the Alps, where every town and tourist attraction sells little metal crests to tack onto a walking stick. We came away with dozens of tiny tin memories of the places we hiked. Now, you can buy the same kind of metal plaques in Canadian holiday areas such as Banff.
People tend to personalize their walking sticks. Frequently, they are ornately carved. Many Scouts "keep skor" by carving a mark for every so-many kilometres hiked or inking in the names of trails covered. At the 1971 World Jamboree in Japan, for example, Scouts who climbed Mount Fuji were issued a staff at the bottom. At each checkpoint along the way, it was marked with Japanese characters.
Decorated or not, a staff belongs on the trail. "A hiking stick helps make the miles glide by," wrote Robert Birkby in Boys Life magazine. "It swings comfortably in your hand, offering balance and a rhythm to your gait."
In dense overgrowth, use the staff to push aside brush and cobwebs and to prevent branches from whipping into your face. If the trail is wide enough, slip it behind your hips and hoist your pack to give your back a break. You can lift up underbrush to search for berries or pry up logs and rocks to satisfy your curiosity about what's underneath. When it's time for a rest, put your pack on the ground and brace it with the staff for an on-the-spot easy chair.
On more adventurous terrain, the walking stick is even more useful. It is a handy balance aid when crossing log bridges. Used as a brace to lean on, it can be a life-and-sprained-ankle-saver on hills, rocky ground, and slippery- bottomed streams. Marked with a measuring scale (zero at the bottom), it is useful for measuring water depth and the size of specimens. And, it's much safer to poke into holes and behind rocks with a staff rather than your hand.
A staff is handy in many emergency situations, as well. Two staves make a quick litter or stretcher. One can be a reaching aid for a comrade struggling in the water. It will support you if you fall through ice. You can use it as a crutch if necessary, or make it into a mast for a sail on a canoe. Whenever it saves you the time of having to find and cut a pole, you will appreciate having it handy.
In camp, especially above treeline, the staff can become a makeshift ridgepole or tentpole. It is instantly available for lifting hot pots off the fire or propping up a billy of tea. With a few staves, you can produce a flagpole or a camp gadget. Weighted with rocks, snow, or dirt, it becomes a "deadman" to replace those lost tent pegs.
A staff is fun to play with, too. In winter, slide it along the snow in a game of Snowsnakes. In summer, hurl it like a javelin or build it into a pioneering project. And for sheer relaxation on a rainy day or quiet evening, there is little more pleasant than sitting under a tree or tarp and carving a staff.
My favourite hiking stick was one I started with when I first left home. Carved on top with the head of a bearded woodsman, it recorded my climbs and hikes, went with me on my honeymoon, saw my move into the country, and was hurled into the air at the birth of my first son. Over the years, such a staff becomes very much a part of your life. When our pup chewed it half through, I was sorely tempted to use it on the mutt and, when it broke shortly after, I felt I had lost a friend. Perhaps Sensei Lee and those old Druids were right. A staff is more than just a piece of wood. There is a spirit to it.
You can make a walking stick from almost any type of wood. Green wood is not suitable and sound conservation practices mean never cutting a living tree. Hardwoods such as ash, oak, and maple are good choices if you can get them. Old Robin Hood would have preferred yew or sweet chestnut. Bamboo is light and strong and, in some areas, diamond willow and saskatoon are popular. Poplar, aspen and birch are okay, although I find them a bit heavy. Conifer saplings are usually straight, light, and strong. Use whatever you can find in your area.
Choose standing deadfall that is straight and free from checks (splits) with the bark firmly attached. When you are ready to strip off the dried bark, a draw stroke works best. It isn't necessary to take off all the bark: simply smooth the stick at the handgrip.
The length of your walking stick is pretty much a matter of taste. Some like a short, light stick just above waist level. Others choose one about chin height. For balance and utility, I've always preferred a staff above the level of my eyes.
Your staff needs to be thick enough to be strong, thin enough to be light, and comfortable to carry. A pole three to four centimetres diameter at the base and four or five at the butt (thick end) is find for me (I'm on the small side). I carry the butt up because I find the balance better that way, but some prefer butt down and others whittle the butt so that the staff is of uniform diameter for its whole length.
When you smooth the handgrip or if you personalize the staff by carving spirals or rings, take care not to cut too deeply. I've seen many carved staffs break at a crucial time. It's best to keep the carving on the head only for safety around the top.
You can protect the lower end with a metal ferrule to reduce wear. A short piece of iron pipe works well. Carve the bottom of the staff until it is just barely too big to fit the pipe, then heat the ferrule with a torch or boiling water. Using a glove or cloth to handle the hot pipe, drive it firmly over the end of the staff. When it cools, it will grip tightly.
If your staff wasn't properly dried, the ferrule may loosen. Drive in a wedge or glue it on with epoxy cement. More simply, you can glue on a rubber cane or crutch tip. This is definitely preferred if you bring the staff into a hostel or hotel room.
Those who are not into rough and rustic can sand or plane the staff and add a finish of any outdoor varnish or occasionally apply a coat of stain or oil. But raw wood takes on a beautiful sheen from perspiration, and you may achieve all the finish you want just by handling your staff kilometre after kilometre.
From: jim.speirs@canrem.com (Jim Speirs)
Article #23
From: uj296@freenet.Victoria.BC.CA (Franjo Goluza)
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 1994 02:14:13 GMT
Subject: The Woodland Walking Staff Handbooklet: An Excerpt
Here is an excerpt from "The Woodland Walking Staff Handbooklet."
Uphill, downhill, flat; if it's broken, the terrain marred by rocks or debris such as blowdowns, hazards such as slippery surfaces or fast-flowing streams, a staff that can support your full weight can be invaluable. This is especially true if you're carrying a heavy backpack, where the likelihood of losing your balance and then falling increases with every step. Imagine, stepping over deadfalls and blow downs that are at waist level or better, shoving branches and brush aside when navigating thick vegetation without additional support. Over an ice field, a hiking staff will distribute your weight more equitably, reducing the risk of falling through. And if you do fall through, the odds of escaping are increased dramatically. Eskimos have long used what they refer to as Oonoks (hunting poles) to help them travel the Arctic ice fields. The Oonok would serve the Eskimo as an anchor, holding the hunter's weight over a wider area and allowing him to crawl, or squirm to safety. This technique, developed over thousands of years, saves Eskimo lives every year and it can save yours too. In bog country, swamp, muskeg or other spongy ground, falling into deep, hidden pot-holes poses an extreme hazard. In such cases, the hiking staff will act as a probe, allowing you to circumvent these areas. Also, a hiking staff will allow you to pole-vault the pot-holes you discover and other mounds and obstructions you could not otherwise cross.
The Woodland Walking Staff Handbooklet is a handbooklet about a unique walking staff designed by a publishing company called, PACIFIC QUILLWORKS.
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 23:16:44 -0400
From: Randy Worcester <RandyWoo@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: FREE Patch CHALLENGE #4
As a firm believer in Scouting traditions, I accept Jim Carter's challenge.
What:
The hiking staff, stick, stave, fingerstick. The first piece of Scout equipment.
Who :
The Chief Scout felt that it was an essential tool. Scouts and Scouters worldwide use
the staff while on the trail.
According to John Hargrave in the September 1917 issue of The Scout,
"I was talking to the Chief only the other day and he is very keen that the
picturesque part of Scouting should not be neglected. In the Gazette and on his
"Scout Yarns" page he is urging us to make the staff not merely a broomstick but
a part of the Scouts costume."
When:
In telling of the origin of the staff, Sir Robert Baden-Powell says:
"It was in Ashanti, on the West Coast of Africa where my particular job was to organize and command a corps of native Scouts and Pioneers."
"We were accordingly working two or three days in advance of the main body of European Troops and in the densest primeval jungle and forest, without roads or paths of any kind to guard us. "
"In order to circumvent the enemy much of our advance had to be carried out by night, which meant difficulties at nearly every step among fallen timber, boggy streams, tussocks of reeds and bushes, etc. "
"Without a staff, one could not have got along at all."
Why:
A more useful tool does not exist. According to Baden-Powell,
"I need not say how vastly staves properly held improve the appearance of any large parade of Scouts, apart from the actual individual value of the Scout Staff."
Uses:
To sit upon. As a flag-pole. As a punt pole. As a measuring rod. As an upright for a
hike tent. As a ridge pole for a hike tent. To carry anything over the shoulder. To carry
anything slung between two. With one or more others, to carry logs. As a turning post for
a race. Lashed to trees, as a hitching rail. As a lever. As a ski-pole. To signal with. To
align anything. As a vaulting pole. As a signal flagstaff. A tripod to hold a kettle. To
find North by the Sun at noon. As emergency football goal posts. As a long split for the
body or leg.
To replace a broken pitchfork handle. A fishing rod. Mast for a canoe. Temporary splits. As a broom handle. To make a teepee. To make a light bridge. Handle of a trek cart. To beat out a prairie fire. As a weighing "balance". To practice lashings on. To test the depth of water. Spar for small sailing boat. As a leveling rod for surveying. To feel your way with in the dark. To hold in hands for physical training exercises. Framework for a brushwood windbreak. As a help in hill or mountain climbing. Two, as frame of improvised stretcher. For carrying, crossing dangerous ice. Several, lashed together, as a flagstaff. To discover the nature of a river bottom. For feeling way over marshy ground. Throwing to a drowning person at the end of a rope. To hang clothes on to dry, placed between bushes or trees. As a means of defence against wild animal or vicious domestic animals.
Where:
Anywhere your feet will take you. Across mountains, fields, and prairies.
How:
Grab a sapling and off you go! Again Hargrave said in 1917,
"Put your Sign on it - brand your Mark on it, and make it a record of your Scout life - and if you lose it, if you break it, if you don't carry it - you're a - you're a - a - MUMBLEBUMP!"
The source for this was a posting from Scouting Magazine, 1929 and a posting from several September, 1917 articles in The Scout.
Randy Worcester
Pack 15
Webelos Den Leader
Andrew Jackson Council
Jackson, Mississippi
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1993 17:25:50 -0600
From: "David D. Miller +49 6221 594535" <DDM@DHDIBM1.BITNET>
Subject: Scout Staff (or Stave)
This is what "Scouting for Boys" (Scouts' Edition, 1963) has on the subject of staves. The main section is near the beginning of the book, just after the description of the Boy Scout uniform and signs.
The Scout staff is a useful addition to the kit of the Scout.
Personally, I have found it an invaluable assistant when traversing mountains or boulder-strewn country and especially in night work in forest or bush. Also, by carving on it various signs recording his achievements, the staff gradually becomes a record as well as a treasured companion to the Scout.
The Scout staff is a strong stick about as high as your nose, marked in feet and inches for measuring.
The staff is useful for all sorts of things, such as making a stretcher, keeping back a crowd, jumping over a ditch, testing the depth of a river, keeping in touch with the rest of your Patrol in the dark. You can help another Scout over a high wall if you hold your staff horizontally between your hands and make a step for him; he can then give you a hand from above. Several staffs can be used for building a light bridge, a hut or a flag staff.
There are many other uses for the staff. In fact, you will soon find that if you don't have your staff with you, you will always be wanting it.
If you get the chance, cut your own staff. But remember to get permission first."
"The Scout staff is useful for a great number of out-door activities."
"On steep hill sides the Scout staff will often come in handy for balancing yourself."
"When patrolling at night, Scouts keep closer together than by day, and in very dark places, such as in woods, they keep in touch with each other in single file by catching hold of the end of the next Scout's staff. When working singly in the dark, the Scout staff is most useful for feeling the way and pushing aside branches."
There's also a section about estimating heights (of trees, etc.) using the measurements on the staff.
My biggest surprize on this reading was looking at the illustrations.
Almost all the pictures of people show them carrying something. Scouts carry either an axe or a stave, the native peoples he depicts often carry spears, and the white men have rifles. Two illustrations carry the clear message that carrying a staff while a boy is a sure way to carry a real weapon as a man: one compares the Scout uniform with that of the South African Constabulary (the staff being replaced by a rifle is the main difference), and the other shows the progression from boyhood to manhood in the Zulu tribes: the youngest boy carries a staff; the initiate and the warrier both have spears. "Scouting for Boys" was intended to "sell" Scouting to boys, and it's the small details like this that made it successful in the earliest years of the movement.
And now my personal opinion:
Staves are useful in a Troop setting for some special activities, but I don't think I could cope with every Scout having his or her own personal stave. My old Troop bought enough for the whole Troop, and they came out of the QM store only when the leaders thought they would be useful in the program.
When the staves are out, the temptation is to play at quarterstaff - the sort of fighting seen in Robin Hood movies. While an accepted Scout activity in my father's time, it's now long gone from the program (along with boxing and similar sports).
Our main use of staves now is for indoor pioneering, building 1/4 scale models of towers and bridges before going out and building at full size at the next campout. We also had a very good evening once of long-distance string burning: the string was tied across the meeting room, 5 metres (15ft) beyond a no-go line. Patrols were given staves, twine and a lit candle, and had to transport the candle to the string.
There are some very good games that can be played with staves, developing trust in others and personal agility. However, the throwing and catching of 1,65m (5ft) staves over the heads of the other members of the Patrol is not something I'd attempt with BSA Scouts. Even the games involving balance and teamwork (chariot races, etc.) I'd think twice about.
(My own personal "staff" for winter walking is a mere 65cm (2'2") long, with an adze and pick on one end and a sharp spike on the other. It's not much good for pioneering, but I'd not like to be without it on steep snow slopes. Times change.)
David D. Miller
Scouting in Europe - A Unique Experience
From: hayesj@benji.Colorado.EDU (J Michael Hayes)
Subject: Re: A New Walking Staff Built by You
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 1994 23:25:58 GMT
< . . .
Sounds like a compilation of ideas from Boy's Life, Woods Wisdom, other outdoor magazines etc.
I know lots of people that have been making their own survival/first aid kits on a walking staff for years.
Inset a compass, add an in-line sight, use 12 to 25' of nylon woven cord for ornamentation and extra rope, under the cord goes fish line, fish hooks, piano wire, a couple of cravats/triangular bandages, chain saw, waterproof matches, tin foil, safety pins. A hollow aluminum one can take a pocket knife, mini flashlight, some bouillion cubes, and a whistle. Might even be able to fit a small flare. Can also attach cords as ornamentation with useful items tied to the ends.
After assembly make inch marks from top end for about 12" then foot marks the res of the way. Find the ballance point, mark it so that a cord can be attached, make 3 to 6" marks away from balance point on a line different from your length measuring marks, a gallon of water (US) weighs about 8 pounds, now you can weigh items with your simple balance (weight X distance ratios).
There, that was free.
Teach scouts to use their imagination's not to spend money!
Mike Hayes
Last edited: February 22, 2004
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