I have found it helpful to hold a short stick at an upward angle in front of me similar to a bowsprit on a boat to catch invisible spider webs before they reach my face! In preparation for my walk I picked up a small stick off of the ground that had a “Y” branch at it’s tip and found it very useful for pushing aside various obstacles. This made my traverse through the woods much easier. The nice thing about a “Y” stick is that it can be easily fashioned from found recources on the forest floor. I find that a 2 -3 foot length works very well.

Next time that you take a stroll through the woods, pick up a “Y’ stick and try it out for yourself… I think that you’ll be pleased at the asset of this simple tool that will make your travel much easier for a more enjoyable journey.

There are only three components to constructing a Shepard’s Staff Sling: a pole, cordage, and a pouch. I felled some saplings that were about as thick as the diameter of a fifty cent piece and cut a five foot length. I had some 550 paracord that I used for straps and a piece of leather scrap that I cut into shape and punched holes for the attachment of the cordage to form a pouch. The top two inches of the staff was trimmed to reduce it’s diameter by about 3/8 inch that resembled a peg when completed. A second 3/8 inch groove was cut three inches below that. The first length of paracord was fastened around this groove and the second length was tied in a loop using a bowline knot that loosely slipped over the top peg portion.

I found that a stone about the size of a tennis ball worked best for me but larger stones can be thrown as well. Rounded stones work best. The action of throwing the stone reminds me of how a lure is cast using a fishing rod: the timing of release is critical but is learned from practice. Another helpful tip is to focus on your target and all of your muscle motor memory will cooperate to deliver the stone to the target. This method works well for anyone who has shoulder injury limitations.

I can see where developing the launching and targeting skills can be addicting and is a lot of fun to learn!

– As a support: It stabilizes you as you ascend or descend. It also provides relief from weight on an injured foot or leg as you walk.

– As an extension: You can reach high for fruit or nuts in a tree or extend it out as an assist when helping someone up a hillside or river bank.

– As a weapon: A deterrent to both man and beast. It can be used either to poke or strike and in the cases of snakes, to pin down or re-direct if needed.

– As a compass: It can be used in the “shadow stick” method. On a sunny day post the stick upright in the ground and place a stone at the tip of the stick’s shadow every 15 minutes. The stones will line up in an West-to-East line.

– As an estimating tool: Used to reference the distance or height and transfer it to the adjoining ground so that it can be measured. See the article “Stick Method for Width and Height Estimation”

– As a scepter: for those who are endowed with a robust self image.

You may have seen these sticks on the trail or at events adorned with stickers, buttons, ribbons, carvings, wrist straps, compasses or whistles. There’s no limit on ways to customize them, but woe to the person who forgets it behind on the trail. As for me, a simple stick will do.