Sometimes a really good long (16 mile) hike in mountainous terrain with some good elevation gain and loss (5,600′) is excellent training for mountaineering. I wore my Polar RS800CX and got the data transferred to Google Earth, and generated this Elevation Profile:

I had a friend from California with to help me with logistics (permits, lodging, and transportation) and we hiked together. I’m normally alone in my pursuits, so it was a welcome change. We talked about maybe doing Rainier together sometime. It took 4:15 up, and we hung out on top for a while to enjoy the views, then 3:15 down, actually running off and on about half of the last mile. That felt good after 15 miles of hiking. This is excellent training for the Aspen Backcountry Marathon I’ll be doing in August.

I’ve never been to Yosemite before, and it’s one of the best training/testing areas in the world for serious climbers, including Alpinists. Afterward, we spent a while at Glacier Point looking over the trail we’d just hiked, most of it visible, and the awesome exposed face. I fantasized about going back next year with one of my ropegun friends. Hmmmm …

If you want to read more, here’s a link to the article on my other blog: [ Half Dome Ascent via Cables Route ]

I’d love to hear anyone’s opinion of excellent training hikes you’ve done. If you have a blog article about it, put a link on my [ Facebook Page ] for all to share.