Rob, I'm sure you deal with the same challenge I do every year trying to train for the Sierra in these much lower eastern mountains - finding some way to condition your legs for the sustained gain you face in the much higher western peaks. All the up-and-down in these eastern ranges just don't prepare you for 3-6K' of continuous gain in the Sierra since your legs are conditioned to getting a downhill break after every 1000-1500 feet of "up".
The best imitation I've been able to find of anything like a serious sustained gain in my neck of the woods is a trail with 2700 vf feet over 5 miles in the Blue Ridge, and I have to drive 2.5 hours north of Atlanta to get to it. I usually hit this trail a couple of times just before heading west, and I sometimes supplement that training with a few days on a treadmill at 15 degrees for several hours. Boring as hell, but reasonably effective.
The biggest frustration is that, after 10-12 days or so in the Sierra, my legs are finally conditioned to the gain, I'm fully acclimated to the altitude, and I'm truly ready to rip - only to have to turn around and head home.
