Health

and doesn't get people any higher than half a cup of coffee.

My suggestion is talking to your doctor strategies to increase oxygen carrying capacity in your blood.. Failing that, you'll need an oxygen prescription so you can get a tank and the paraphernalia to go with it to give you supplemental oxygen. It certainly wouldn't hurt for you to take iron supplements between now and then, Slow-Fe is over the counter and it's the one least likely to cause digestive upset. The last thing you need to take a chance on is having even mild anemia.

Or you can always come out a month early and enjoy the area while your body adjusts to 5000 feet.

Altitude sickness is real and it can be deadly. If you were woozy a mile up, there is no way you can handle nearly two.

The first time I came out here from Boston, I zipped right up to the top of a 2 mile high mountain. I didn't realize how high it really was until I looked straight up at a sky that was a dark dungaree blue. I did OK until I tried to climb a flight of stairs. That didn't work.

Don't feel like a wimp about this. I know people who live on the coast and who can't handle 2500-3000 feet in the Appalachians. I was kept busy as a nurse by long haul truckers who'd hit the high pass east of the city and have chest pain and need cardiac intervention before they could go on their way. Altitude can really mess some people up.