I've hiked up to the top of Half Dome and back in 1 day three times over the last four years, and each time on the way down I suffered some pretty debilitating symptoms.

Just a little background: The hike to the top of Half Dome is 17 miles total, 4800 vertical feet from Curry Village on the valley floor to the 8842 ft peak, and takes all day; 7am to 7pm, with maybe 30 mins to 1.5 hr at the top, depending on how hard we push ourselves. It's kind of a personal challenge that my buddies and I have done about once a year. (More tidbits)

The first two times I felt totally fine-- well... exhausted, and very oxygen deprived at the high altitudes-- but otherwise fine at the top of Half Dome. On the way back, about 1-2 miles into the descent I would get an absolutely brutal debilitating splitting migraine headache coupled with a bit of nausea. I mean, wow. I didn't know my head could hurt that bad. Sure made the last 6 miles down a load of fun.

(warning: graphic body fluid stuff below)
This time, on the climb up to the top I was feeling pretty extremely nauseous, and when I finally got to the peak, I had to go off to a semi-isolated spot and take a quick nap. When I woke up, I sat up and then almost immediately vomited up a what had to be almost a liter of water/gatorade/pedialyte electrolyte stuff. (The frozen pedialyte electrolyte "otter pops" were a nice discovery when my gf got dehydrated from food poisoning, so I figured I'd bring some on this hike.)

Mind you, I take care to keep myself pretty well hydrated, and this last time I thought my illness was due not so much to dehydration but to my electrolyte balance being off by the sweating of salts, and high fluid intake. But when I threw up all those liquids, it was as if my body hadn't absorbed any of the liquids I had been sipping over the previous 3-4 miles?!

On the way down, anytime I even took a small swig of water I almost immediately puked it up. It made for a pretty embarrassing descent, but really I was feeling too terrible to care. I was EXTREMELY dehydrated-- mouth dry and cottony, and when I did take a leak... it was very orange and "foamy"-- but I absolutely could not keep any liquids down??!! To top it all off, it had to have been the hottest hike of the three I've done up Half Dome... probably low to mid-90s in the early afternoon. THANKFULLY, I didn't have a headache this time.

What the heck was wrong with me?! None of my buddies were affected in this way, and I'd say I'm in a bit better shape than most. As much as I enjoy the challenge of doing the hike, I just can't justify it anymore with the suffering I go through on the way down. I really want to figure out wtf is up? I drink the same liquids and eat the same Clif bars as my buddies on the hike, but I'm the only one who ends up close to death in the last 6-8 miles.

Any medical-type people here have any ideas? Thanks!

 

If this was an isolated situation, I wouldn't be overly worried as it could've been heat/sun stroke, perhaps you caught some sort of bug, ate something bad, or any combination.

If it is recurring then I'd be a little more concerned. But I'm not a doctor, I work at a desk 5 days a week in a non-ergonomic chair.

 

Pansy. Climb up the rock face like the rest of us!!







JK, Probably just a stomach bug if none of your liquids were absorbed. You should be fine in a day or two.

 

Quick guess-h.a.c.e/h.a.p.e though your altitude wasn't that high.

 

Try some acetazolamide first.

 

You think so too ckit? I was wondering if he had enough altitude because I though it was rare below 24000 feet, but the orange stuff sounds like pulmonary edema?

 

I got a nasty headache coupled with mild nausea (no actual vomiting though) from just driving around Yosemite once after being in SF that morning. Sounds to me like altitude sickness. Consult your doctor about it.

Funny thing is though, I can go from Dallas (500 ft) to Jackson WY (6000+ ft) in a single day, then skiing the next (up to 9000 ft) and not feel any ill effects at all except being a bit extra winded.

Maybe there's something in the air at Yosemite? How long do you spend there before going on the hike? Maybe next time, you should spend a couple days in the park just getting acclimated.

 

Thank you for the feedback guys. Here's a few more details I failed to mention in my first post.

After the first two hikes I had thought about possible altitude sickness, but couldn't figure out why the symptoms hit me only after I started getting back into the thicker air?

Then, before this Half Dome hike, my buddy and I decided to do a training hike up Mt. Diablo... and after that one, I got some nausea and a headache and so completely dismissed the altitude-sickness aspect, since Mt. Diablo is quite low compared to Half Dome. On the Mt. Diablo hike, I only brought water (no electrolytes), and it was nasty hot that day. That's why for the Half Dome hike I brought probably 5L of water, as well as some Gatorade crystals that I could add to my drinks, and even some of the Pedialyte electrolyte "Otter Pops". I thought I was set... NOT.

We don't spend much time getting acclimated the day before-- just sleeping at about the altitude of Yosemite valley.

I really just - could - not - believe - that I could be so extremely dehydrated, but not be able to keep any liquids down at all??!!! Moreover, my body must've completely shut down any sort of liquid absorption on the 3-4 miles of the hike before the top... which are the hottest and most strenuous.

It really bums me out, because my buddies aren't affected at all (other than the obvious exhaustion).

 

Actually you are not human and your physical tolerances are not those of us. Welcome to earth.

 

I have always felt different. It was easier to dismiss when I was younger, but now it's harder to deny as my appetite grows for human flesh.