Found a piece of stout bamboo today. Cut it to fit the length of the cockpit so I could lay it down next to me out of the way. Then put whipping on the ends for support. Light weight solution if it holds up.

Sounds like a good idea

Bamboo makes a excellent kayak sail mast also.

I've used bamboo before. Works good to push yourself off the bank. Does not work so good as a stake out pole though. To light and bouyant and does not want to stay stuck in whatever you stick it in.

I just made a push pole myself. I made my first one like this when I was in college in Florida and needed a cheap push pole. It works great, they're fairly cheap, and pretty light weight. It may be overkill for a yak, but works great for small boats. I make the foot from PVC. Drill a couple small holes in the end caps so water will drain out. I attached it to the wood dowel with gorilla glue. The wood dowel is from Home Depot. 14' long, ran about $25. I cut and then sanded the opposite end to a point so I can jam it in soft mud bottoms to stake out. Once you get the hang of it, I think poling is much easier than paddling. Here's a couple pics of the PVC foot and the pole as I was working on it.