My Plan for How to Hike Half Dome Successfully. This plan incorporates the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, so it is for you if you live in the Northeast Los Angeles/San Gabriel area, no matter what kind of shape you’re in.

I am not athletic. Until the last few years, I’ve only exercised because I had to. Here’s the truth: I always felt like if I could just get in shape, I’d be good and I could go back to my slacker ways but still look ok. Let’s face it, many of us feel that way. It’s why we “diet.” We think, if I could just get down to my ideal weight, I can go back to eating whatever I want and still be ok.

So now I’m 60. It was just in the past couple of years that I truly realized that life just doesn’t work like that. If you want to look good and feel good most of the time, you have to eat right and exercise most of the time. And you might as well get used to it and make it a habit, or else you are going to get fat and feel creaky and develop preventable health problems and that’s all there is to it. Believe me, I’ve tried all the other ways, and the only way to feel healthy, slim and good is to eat and exercise healthy and good every day. Sorry folks, there is no magic pill. Some people appear to be naturally slender and fit. It’s a lie. They work at it. It’s really rare that someone doesn’t exercise or eat right and AT THE AGE OF 60 still looks, feels, and is healthy and fit. Yes, at 20, even 30, they can fool you. Not at 60. This is where the truth comes out, folks.

So here’s my plan for hiking Half Dome, no matter what shape you are in right now. It’s simple, but it’s not easy.
1. Hike from the top of Lake Avenue, Altadena, from the Cobb Estate up to Echo Mountain. It’s 2.75 miles to the top. Hike it until it’s easy and you can do it in under 2 hours.
2. Hike from the Cobb Estate up past Echo Mountain to Inspiration Point. This is about 4.75 miles one-way. When you can hike this and it feels easy and you can do it in under 4 hours, you’re ready for the next step.
3. Hike from the Eaton Canyon Nature Center up to Mt. Wilson and back. This is about 11 miles one-way, which is further than the round trip hike to Half Dome, but at much lower elevation. If you can do this in one day and live to tell the tale, you can hike Half Dome and feel fine. And you will be one step closer to living forever. Go for it!

**Thanks to the Station Fire, there's no telling when the trails I've talked about will be open again. But they will eventually. In the fullness of time.

Tips: This is my personal list. You might be someone who needs a big breakfast of bacon and eggs before you go on a long hike. I have always found that I do better with a banana.
1. Drink lots of water. I love my Camelbak pack. I just bought one designed for women and it is the first pack I’ve ever had that was comfortable. It’s a miracle.
2. Eat a banana before you start.
3. Take granola bars, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trail mix with chocolate in it.
4. Remember, we are minutes from the city, but there are snakes, coyotes, mountain lions, and steep hillsides to trip you up. Pay attention to what’s around you.
5. Take a cell phone, but sometimes it doesn’t work.
6. You don’t need heavy hiking boots. The lighter, the better for a day hike, really. REI has a good selection and mine were under $75.00.
7. Trekking poles are great, especially if you have balance or leg or ankle strength issues. I don’t know if I would have made it back off Half Dome if I hadn’t had them.
8. The best cure for tired sore muscles is a Chinese foot massage right after your hike. There’s a place in Eagle Rock that does them for $19.95 for a half hour, or you can trek down to San Gabriel and pay even less. I love LA!