The Conditioning Phase:

Conditioning was one of the biggest obstacles during the planning of the trip. You start off in November saying that you have plenty of time, but as everyone knows, the time flies by very quickly. I have done many day hikes, walks around the block, bike riding and swimming. Living in Southern Nevada has its advantages and disadvantages to getting into shape. During the winter my wife and I almost froze to death trying to walk around the block. It even snowed on me a few times. Living in the high desert can get cold in the winter! Ever come back from a walk around the block only to have your legs itch like mad because they are thawing out?! Now that June is here so is the heat. Over 105 today so hikes and walks are an evening thing or first in the morning. Swimming is where the exercise is, but you still need to condition the legs and feet. We have a mountain outside of town that has beautiful day hikes where the trailheads start at 7,000 feet and can take you as high as 11,000 feet. That is where our day hikes have migrated to. Hiking in aspens, pinion pine and even bristlecone pines is better than 105 heat with the cactus. Don't get me wrong, in the late winter and early spring there is nothing so beautiful as the desert in bloom walking and hiking around the red sandstone cliffs. We have a beautiful sandstone park within 30 minutes of the house and the National Parks of Zion and Bryce make for some very spectacular hiking as well. But once it starts to heat up, I'd prefer to go somewhere a little cooler to get conditioned. One of the things about living in the high desert is that my house is at 3,000 feet. So hopefully it will be a little easier to get adjusted to the altitude than at sea level. But there is still concern over the 13,000 foot passes to come early in the trip. At least I can get in some 7,000 to 10,000 foot hikes into the scheme in the coming weeks.

Many of the exercises you do will condition or tone certain aspects of your body. Swimming will help with stamina and upper body strength, while walking and hiking will give your legs and feet conditioning. Bike riding will also work your legs and stamina, but in different ways. I chose all of these to get into shape (or at least attempt to!). Much had to do with travel and living in the high desert. It's not much fun riding a bike in 105 heat or even doing short day hikes. You tend to pick and choose your conditioning based on the weather. Doing a lot of day hikes seemed to be the best source of exercise so far as it has given me an opportunity to work my legs muscles as if we were backpacking and also allowed me to try out various pieces of equipment. I also load my day pack with as much water as possible to get used to carrying weight in the pack. The pack felt rather light until I actually weighed it at over 25 pounds! Then it felt quite heavy! So much for mind conditioning! The other thing that day hikes has allowed me to do is get my feet in condition and try out different types of socks. From last year's trip, I found out how painful walking with blisters can be. After awhile you tend to tune out the pain, but they are still there. The day hikes allowed me to try out the different wicking socks (so far I like the Smartwool Adrenaline socks the best) and get the feet toughened up. I also read a book on someone else's conditioning for the trail and they suggested Tuf-Foot, a product used by athletes and pet owners to toughen up the feet. Smells like crap but seems to work. Who knows but he swore he never got a blister the entire trip and so far even though I feel the hot spots start, I have been lucky to avoid the actual blister. If you get some, make sure you apply with rubber gloves and disposable swabs as the odor is an acquired scent to take!

Many of the day hikes my wife and I have done are up and over rocks and the sandstone cliffs here in the desert and Zion Park. The steps can be painful at first but have given us the conditioning to deal with the various types of trails we should encounter. At least it will get us ready for the last few miles of the trip into Yosemite. In dealing with the steps we learned the importance of trekking poles. We chose the REI Peak carbon fiber type. They are lightweight (about 12 oz. for the pair) and adjustable in height. They do have some quirks about locking at times, but overall we have both been pleased with them. We split the poles as we both usually take only one to use. The single pole gives us the balance we need at times and something to help absorb the shock of coming down the steps or downhill and a third leg to use going up hill. They are especially useful as a brace to lean on when you are trying to suck in as much oxygen as possible. If you use trekking poles you know what I mean. If you don't, I recommend you try them out to see if you like them. They can be as cheap as about $10 or over $120 depending upon the type and make you get. Wally-World sells an aluminum type that is adjustable with shock absorbers for about $10, but they weigh about twice as much as the lightweight ones.

As I mentioned above, part of the planning is whether you go north to south or south to north and how to get rides to and from the trailheads. Fortunately we have a cabin near Yosemite so going south to north allows us to be within a 45-minute to one-hour car ride from the end of our trip to the cabin, where showers and a nice soft bed await. Unfortunately that means a start from the south which gets us into the highest elevations from the get-go! Hopefully getting acclimated will not be too bad and we will be able to make it up and over Trail Crest and Whitney without too much pain. The first day will be short so as to allow us time to acclimate at Trail Camp before we make the jaunt over Trail Crest and possibly Whitney. A couple of last minute day hikes or trips on the White Mountains may help with this! If you are concerned with altitude and it's effects I suggest you read up on altitude sickness before you start your trip.

So with most of the planning done, it is time to finish the last minute stuff and continue to get into shape for the trip! I will be updating this site as the time draws near and of course after the trip! Wish us luck!

The Actual Trip

For a detailed account of our trip please refer to the Journals section of this site!