Hi all, relative newcomer here. My boyfriend and I attempted to hike the main trail three years ago and had to turn around at Trail Crest. Before the hike, I read this forum religiously and learned alot from everyone--it's great!
Since then, we have been dreaming of trying again--and now I have an overnight permit for August! So excited! I know it's a long's way off, but I want to start training.
We live in the Bay Area and are avid hikers anyway so I know some spots for altitude training. What I would love suggestions on, is training for terrain.
I am a bit affected by fear of heights, and so am hoping I might get more comfortable hiking where I will need to maneuver narrow granite trails.
Clouds Rest comes to mind--which I have hiked three times from the Tenaya Lake side. I walked across the ridge one of those times, and was petrified(strangely, it didn't bother me on the way back, maybe because I knew I was getting off the thing). I refused to cross it the other two times I went up. Strangely, I have no fear at all on the staircase or hump going up Half Dome, and people have told me that disconcerts them. Of course it isn't a narrow ridge, but there is a great deal of very real exposure. I'm able to concentrate on blocking everything out better on this than on the Clouds Rest ridge.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give you an idea of my background. Any places I should tackle to get used to what I might experience on the "windows"? Or maybe I just need to mentally psych myself up?
Any advice is appreciated!
