My friend Josie joined the 30 day challenge but decided it would need a better name (and, more importantly, an acronym). The winner was *drumroll* Get Off Your Ass, aka GOYA. As you can see, her first day was slightly more epic than mine.

Anyhoo, let’s move on to day two and the other acronym - TNAB! We joined the Thursday Night Afterburners on a hike to Mount Margaret tonight. We had already mounted Margaret (hah) with TNAB in early June when it was still snow-covered, but it’s definitely worth a trip in late summer when the huckleberries are out and the views are clear.

For some reason the hike seemed harder today than it did in the snow, but maybe we’re just walking faster now that the days are getting shorter. At least I had ample opportunities to stop and rest my legs while munching on berries. All thoughts of sluggish muscles were forgotten at the summit anyway; the views were fantabulous and the sunset spectacular. Even I don’t have to force myself off the couch for a hike like this one.

Alright, I’m so behind on photo processing and blogging that I’ve realized that the best way to deal with it is to just post our most recent adventure and pretend like I haven’t missed months worth of terribly exciting content. Maybe I’ll catch up at some point, maybe not.

I’ve been fighting the dreary doldrums lately (ok, so it seems like I always am), but Josie shook me out of my marmot-like state of hibernation and got me out on my first TNAB hike in two months. Ach, my burning lungs and quivering loins!

Our destination was Rampart Ridge, a short but oh so steep hike to an area so gorgeous it’s hard to believe it’s right next to the freeway. I had been feeling iffy all week (possibly a lingering something-or-other from a bout of food poisoning the week before), so I got the privilege of feeding the heather on our ascent. This was the first and, hopefully, the last time I have ever vomited on a hike.

Even though I got to taste my lunch twice, I was so happy I went. Great group of people, a beautiful, hazy sunset, a fun trail…it was enough to jolt me out of my malaise for an hour or two.

In an effort to a) get in better shape (so I can go on our summer backpacking trips without throwing up my lungs) and b) keep the blues away, we’ve decided to start hiking with TNAB again. Yes, the Thursday Night Afterburners, a motley crew of mountain renegades who run up trails at ridonculous speeds while normal people are sitting on their couches eating ice cream and watching The Office.

Our first post-Hawaiʻi (yes, Hawaiʻi! More about that later when I get my photos up…) TNAB destination was Rattlesnake Mountain East Peak. We’ve been to Rattlesnake Ledge a dozen times or so, but this was the first time we ventured beyond the ledges. Since we got a late start, we summited after the main group had already started descending, but we all reconvened at the Pour House in North Bend for Blue Moons afterwards.

Next up was Bandera Mountain. This was my third time up this trail since September, and I am growing rather fond of it. I’ll have to go back some time in July when the beargrass is out.

Anyhoo, the sun was shining and I was wearing shorts for the entire hike, which made me happy enough to almost forget about my racing heart and seizing muscles. Once we hit the snow line, JK raced ahead while I followed at a more leisurely pace. It was still 30 minutes faster than when we went in February, so I’ll count it as progress!

The sunsets are what really make TNAB hikes stand out, and we were treated to quite a doozy as we started hiking back to our cars. The combination of great views, strenuous exercise, sunshine, beer, fresh air and great people = natural Prozac. Mission accomplished, at least for a couple of days. :o)