Fear of Heights

[Palmer]

Hypothetically speaking . . . If a potential thru-hiker had a moderate fear of heights, would that potential thru-hiker encounter any uncomfortable situations on the PCT? I'm not talking about someone who gets dizzy on a stepladder, but someone who might have some problems with the cable route on Half Dome. I've heard that Goat Rocks can be a little intimidating - are there other places that are as bad or worse? Thanks.

[Token Civilian]

The goat rocks as you mention - definately.

One that a friend mentioned is Chickamin Ridge, about 12 miles north of Snoqualmie Pass (I didn't think it was bad - just an open, but modestly steep, scree slope). Kendal Katwalk about 6 miles north of Snoqualmie, while quite wide, does have roughly a 500' to 800' 75 or so degree drop off to the right (check it out on Google Maps, terrain mode - just NE of the notch on the ridgeline that's NE of Kendall Peak)

Depending on the snow conditions - the Sierra passes, especially the north side of Glen and heading up Mather. The snow chute on Forrester could be high pucker factor as well - depends on the person.

Eagle Creek alternate down into Cascade Locks - there's a 'oh my gosh' cable attached to the rock wall that the trail is blasted into. The trail is plenty wide, but some might not like the high vertical drop off the exposed edge. See pictures of tunnel falls for what the trail is like in that area.

There's a really springy suspension bridge in the high sierra (north of....dang, one of the passes about 7 to 9 days north of KM - I don't recall exactly which one - possibly Glen Pass??) that's quite exciting to cross, especially if you excite it's natural bounce mode. It's stout as heck, so it won't fail, but....well, it can be interesting.

I'm sure there are others as well.....

[George]

Hello Palmer,
Although there are several 'high' locations along the trail, the only spots that got my adrenalin going as far as height and falling from went, were Forester Pass due to snow and Glen Pass due to snow and low visibility. Actually, Forester set a kind of benchmark for me as far as other passes went and all of them fell below it as far as concern went.
Eagle Creek as mentioned by Token Civilian has some sheer drops but is safe to travel along with its cut out trail and wire. I recommend that alternate detour down into Cascade Locks as I found it quite spectacular and a worthwhile experience.
Probably not a bad thing to have a 'moderate' fear of heights - keeps you focused! ;)