Gear & Preparation!

Hiking (The most extreme activity by far!! Read up and prepare!!)

There are extreme hazards on this trail and many people have died: swept over falls, struck by lightening, falling from high places, strokes, heat prostration, exposure, and just normal things that strike unexpectedly. It is a long hard way back to the trailhead, and every year the Park has to chopper out victims. Think, plan ahead, and decide who should do this and not do this hike. It could be a life and death decision.

If you are doing Half Dome as a day hike from Yosemite Valley: Even the most fit will come back from this hike feeling like they were beat with a stick. You must be relatively good condition to do the hike at least! You should prepare for this hike by doing some physical conditioning. Half of all people return from this hike totally exhausted with excruciating (temporary) pain in the knees. It is 8 miles from Happy Isles to the top of Half Dome, and a hair short of 5000 feet of elevation gain. That is a healthy and hard hike for one day, much less something that is only half over! This is nothing to sneeze at.

Check out this site for a hiking gear checklist: http://www.valleyoutdoors.com/lists/day_hike.aspx

I plan on putting some money down to get a nice pair of comfortable hiking shoes because the last thing I want is my feet to suffer. I also plan on getting a CamelBak and Trekking Poles (to reduce stress on knees).

Skydiving

Not much, when I talked to the lady she said you should wear comfortable clothing (blue jeans or shorts) and athletic shoes. They will provide a jumpsuit for you to wear. She also suggested not eating a huge meal beforehand for obvious reasons...

Rafting

Check out this site for a rafting gear checklist (just look at the first section; don't worry about the Cool Weather or Overnight checklists): http://www.raftcalifornia.com/tripnotespdf/PersonaGearChecklist.pdf

From having done this trip a couple years ago I would recommend:

- Wearing an old pair of tennis shoes. Some got by with sandals but I'm glad I went with shoes cause you are literally digging your feet into the crevices of the raft to not fall out.

- Swim trucks, since you're going to get soaked.

- You can bring a hat but they make you wear a helmet so it has to fit under. (Same with sunglasses)

- Sunscreen for sure!

- Bring dry clothes to change into afterward; you cannot take any bags on the raft with you.

- They do allow you to carry those waterproof dispensable cameras as long as they are tethered to your wrist or life-vest.

The only thing I regret not having last time was a waterproof shirt which I will definitely pick up this time.