The Preparation

We hope our information can help anyone out there that is planning to go up the Yosemite Half Dome.

For those of you that know us, we're probably the least athletic people in Southern California. So both Mrs. Fozzie and I thought it would be wise to start conditioning our poorly-maintained bodies to environments similar to those we'd face going up Half Dome (our goal) at least a month before the real thing. Our "training" consisted of walking the moderately steep streets that loop around Mrs. Fozzie's home neighborhood.

Because we'd be doing Half Dome in 1 single day, here was the agenda we stuck to during the month of August:

Exercise:
- Week 1: 1 flat mile (very painful!)
- Week 2: 3 steeper miles (less painful)
- Week 3: 5 steep miles (almost no pain)
- Week 4: 6 steep miles (no pain)
- Week 4(again): 7 steeper miles (by this time it's almost fun)

We also did moderate hand grip exercises and upper body/arm exercises (for the cable part of the climb). Any opportunity we had to walk, we'd walk it -- even to return movies at Blockbuster! (walking is a rare activity in Los Angeles)

New Equipment Purchased:
- 2 pairs of thick leather work gloves ($2.10/pair)
- 1 Katadyn Water Filter (approx. 4.5 liters of water is required per person) - $60
- That's it!