Hiking and a fear of heights

[JLorenzo77]

As I've gotten older, my dislike for heights has grown. I'm only 39 but in the past few months I've dislocated a shoulder and twisted a knee either climbing up to an overlook or descending one. As I approach an overlook I start to feel a little dizzy and uneasy. It's so weird. A few days ago I hiked up Maryland Heights, a great trail just north of Harper's Ferry. Even climbing up I had to remain on the interior side of the trail and I didn't even want to get 20 feet to the edge of the overlook (thankful for a zoom lens on my camera).

Anyone else deal with this? I am sure it is mostly mental. Makes hiking certain sections of the AT a little more daunting.

[rafe]

I have vertigo in certain situations and on certain trails -- but very rarely, almost never on the AT, even in the steepest sections.

I've felt vertigo on a couple of short sections of the climb up & back down Mt. Mansfield, on the Long Trail. Also on Angel's Landing in Zion National Park.

I think I'm OK if I'm at least two or three steps from certain death. When it comes down to one step, I'm nervous.

[rocketsocks]

Not wanting to give in to the fear when I was younger I took up climbing, this helped a lot, and now I'm good on all but the most hairiest of aretes.

[Feral Bill]

Do you use a pole or two? it might help you feel steady.

[tiptoe]

I too have a moderate fear of heights, but it hasn't hindered me much on the AT. I do generally investigate overlooks, but stay well away from the edge. I think the scariest place I've been in so far is the last big up going from Pinkham Notch into the Wildcats, where the rebar ladder ends partway up a fairly steep rock face. In situations like that, I stay calm and focus on what I'm doing to negotiate the trail.

[squeezebox]

What about a cord or short ish rope to tie in with.

[TwoSpirits]

I definitely share the same anxiety, and it was a real buzz-kill when I was climbing Katahdin a couple years ago. I tend to be a solo hiker, but I'm leaning more and more to being with other people on certain hikes for the simple reason that having other people around seems to make it easier. I also MAKE myself climb some nearby fire towers, just to make a statement to myself if nothing else: I will NOT let this fear grow and take over!

[JLorenzo77]

Thanks everyone. Glad to know I'm not alone in this. I have to remember to wear my prescription glasses when I am out too as I think that helps with balance. I'm relatively new to hiking but love it too much to stop.

[illabelle]

You looking for help? or looking for sympathy?

I can't really help, but I can definitely sympathize. Several times I've felt gravity tugging at me while I'm in bed at home in the process of falling asleep, after a hike. Images of cliffs and overlooks and ravines ... gravity reaches up from the depths and grabs me and I'm falling ... the rush of adrenaline and the jolt of fear. Can't just close my eyes and think positive thoughts. Have to open my eyes, see the room, and tell myself, I'm at home, in my bed. I can't fall out of the house. I'm okay. Then I can sleep.

Why does this happen? Because, like you, standing on the edge makes me queasy. Watching other people standing on the edge makes my knees wobble. Thinking about the edge makes me anxious.

[JLorenzo77]

You looking for help? or looking for sympathy?

I can't really help, but I can definitely sympathize. Several times I've felt gravity tugging at me while I'm in bed at home in the process of falling asleep, after a hike. Images of cliffs and overlooks and ravines ... gravity reaches up from the depths and grabs me and I'm falling ... the rush of adrenaline and the jolt of fear. Can't just close my eyes and think positive thoughts. Have to open my eyes, see the room, and tell myself, I'm at home, in my bed. I can't fall out of the house. I'm okay. Then I can sleep.

Why does this happen? Because, like you, standing on the edge makes me queasy. Watching other people standing on the edge makes my knees wobble. Thinking about the edge makes me anxious.

Hey Illabelle - Thanks! Mostly looking for sympathy. It's quite remarkable how this has happened. I never got to the edge of any overlook but in March I was carefully sliding down a rock coming off an overlook when my foot slipped and my shoulder dislocated. It sucked. I think that contributed. But I definitely get vertigo or something when I'm anywhere near an edge. I try to just look at my feet and take it one step at a time.

[rafe]

What about a cord or short ish rope to tie in with.

Nope. In all my years of hiking, never. (I did toy with beginner-level technical climbing for a short period, but decided it wasn't for me.)

[u.w.]

I get "the wobbles" sometimes as well... it can get pretty ridiculous sometimes, lol

u.w.

[JLorenzo77]

I get "the wobbles" sometimes as well... it can get pretty ridiculous sometimes, lol

u.w.

"The wobbles." I love that!!!

[GlitterHiker]

Another one a height issue - well, really an "edge" issue. I'm ok with heights as long as I don't feel like I'm going to fall off. Mine developed only recently. I think it's because I'm now wearing progressive lenses. With walking and looking around, the constant change in depth perspective throws me off (figuratively). I'm thinking of getting a pair of single-lens glasses with just the distance prescription in them, hoping that will stop the dizziness.

[Christoph]

I have a pretty good case of positional vertigo and it got to me a few times on the trail (sometimes I can't even walk down my own hallway without bouncing off a wall Haha). Anyway, I'm not scared of heights, but even on the first few rungs of a ladder, sometimes I feel like everything is spinning around me. My inner ears are the problem so if I have to do anything like getting up a roof, hiking along edges, or anything that deals with height, I do the Eply Maneuver (Google or YouTube it, it's easy and only takes a few minutes). That takes away EVERYTHING for about 3-5 days, then it comes back again. Gradually came on as the years went by but since I've been doing this, it's helped a lot. I used to fly in helo's and it never bothered me, but even laying in bed at night if my head is flat or on the decline, I wake up gasping for air and it feels like I just jumped from a plane.

[CamelMan]

Man-made contraptions that move, like fire towers and especially ladders, can make me very afraid, but mountains feel pretty solid. There are plenty of places where I'm walking or running, one root or rock away from falling down a steep slope. OTOH back in January I was on a ladder, trying to paint walls, over the second story drop over a curved staircase, and I had to consciously desensitize myself to going up and down the ladder before I could move around enough to get anything done. The outcrop on Charlie's Bunion made me feel a little insecure, too, so I sat down to take pictures. The thought of trying to climb out to the second little hill was too scary.

[Slo-go'en]

I guess you wouldn't want to be sitting here then. Okay, that was as close to the edge of that waterfall I was willing to get
SAM_2585.JPG

[rafe]

This trail in Zion National Park spooked me a bit. My wife had no problem with it.

[daveiniowa]

Open stairs and ladders out in the open are the worst for me. Like fire towers, but I will usually still go up and then just hang on tight to the railing. Some people go right up them like it is nothing. Don't look down or think about at where you will fall, just concentrate on what you are doing and relax. Last summer I took a side trail on a day hike in Wisconsin by the river bluffs, next thing I know I am hanging on to roots and trees to keep from sliding down, ended up making it all the way and came out at a really neat fenced area overlook, only problem, I was on the wrong side of the fence...ha ha, but if you can manage your fear, you can experience some really cool stuff on the trail that others might not! Just be safe.

[rafe]

Ladders don't bother me much. Always face the ladder, though.