Rick Deutsch of Hike Half Dome fame is conducting a course from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 20, on preparing for that one-day hike everybody must either a) do before they die; or b) not do for fear of crapping one’s drawers in fear and having it roll downhill onto the folks in line behind you at the cables. (Count me happily among the latter).

Topics will range from such topics as: Benefits of Hiking, Precautions, Preparation (physical and gear), Clothing (shoes, garments), Trekking poles, Water treatment, Food, Basic Navigation/GPS, Conditioning regime, Training Sites, Leave No Trace principles, The 10 essentials, Introduction to Yosemite and Half Dome, Flora and Fauna, Geologic and human impacts, the Half Dome trail and Points of Interest, tactics to successfully summit in one day, mitigation strategies for overcoming difficulties and conquering the cables challenge.

Rick advises several months of training before heading up. My advice: Follow your heart, but carry toilet paper.