I am absolutely grateful for all the info you all have provided. I haven't visited a doctor yet but a good doctor friend with experience in the Sierra's, Tibet and Bhutan suggested she uses 250 mg twice daily, starting 2 days before ascension. I know there will be a range of acceptable answers from doctors but that seems like close to the max based on feedback here.
Several of you have referenced side effects that severely impact the hike but the only ones I have seen explicitly are tingling in extremities and bad tasting beer, which don't seem all that serious or bad. What else should I be looking for; especially as I do a test within the next week or so? What side effects during the hike should I watch out for?
As we put together our plan it seems as though we are leaning toward spending the entire day at Horseshoe Meadow, a little bit of hiking and then reading in the car, but then come down and sleep in Lone Pine. This seems like an acceptable variation for acclimizing "Climb high, sleep low." Does this plan negate the positive effects of spending the day up high?
