TNAB started last week, but between house stuff and JK being swamped at work, we’ve decided to do our own alternative weeknight hikes for the time being. We save a lot of time by driving to Tiger Mountain instead of North Bend, so for now it’s back to good old Poo Poo Point and, for masochistic evenings, the Cable Line.

Since I hadn’t hiked in over a month, I was fully prepared to feel awful the whole way up, but I guess my walks on the Powerline Trail have kept me in reasonable shape. The trail was in its usual spring state of delightful muddiness, Rainier was hiding behind a wall of clouds and the sunset consisted of darkening shades of grey, but I was elated to be out on trail with my favorite guys again. An excellent alternative to TNAB, even though we missed out on the Blue Moon recovery beers at the Pour House. *frowny face*

In the midst of all this house-buyin’ and movin’ biznizz, I’ve neglected my hiking legs – I haven’t set foot on a real trail in five weeks! Preposterous. My solution is to reinstate GOYA for the time being, so I’ll at least have some motivation to get out in the neighborhood.

To shock lazy legs back into action, dust off your multi-day backpack and fill it with Heavy Things. Grab your dog and an mp3 player full of classics. Find the longest, steepest hill close to your house and walk up and down, up and down. (Try not to think about the fact that you look like a bit of a tool.) Tada! Happy, shaky legs.

Sightings: 2 rabbits, 1 bald eagle, 3 furry coyote poops. Be careful, bunnies!!

When I disappear from my blog like this, it either means that I’ve been too busy or really, really down in the dumps. This time, unfortunately, it’s the latter.

Between my Enchantments injury and getting the flu, I had a long period of couch-bound inertia. The subsequent bout of depression sufficiently proved, in a roundabout way, that GOYA works is absolutely necessary.

The good news is that I am picking myself up, piece by piece, and things are slowly but surely starting to look brighter. I’m still on a high from the fantastic Gorillaz concert last night; a mysterious, shining orb, not normally seen in these parts in November, is present in the skies above Seattle; and hopefully I’ll be back in the mountains for some therapy soon enough.

Sorry about the lack of updates; I spent four magnificent days backpacking in the Enchantments (thanks to Tom for the permit!) and was sidelined by an injury (which is finally getting better, phew). I don’t have time to write much right now since my parents are visiting from Norway, but here are some photos + words:

Day one: Colchuck Lake. Drizzle. Heavy packs, but not heavy enough to have remembered all our tent poles. D’oh! Scott retrieves tent poles from North Bend while Jo and Ingunn get comfortable(?) with Tom in his two-man tent.

Day two: Aasgard Pass. 2200 feet of elevation gain in less than one mile. Ingunn fears legs will fall off, curses pack weight and excess blubbery poundage. Views in Upper Enchantments shut her up. Group finds excellent campsite on cliffs above Crystal Lake.

Camouflage. Ur doin it right.

Goats. More goats.

The larches are turning! Girls enjoy spacious sleeping quarters while guys marinate in own flatulence.

Day three: Sunrise.

Brr.

Menfolk leave to conquer Cannon while wimmins explore Lower Enchantments.

Gnome Tarn. No gnomes. Goats.

Goats.

Group reunites, ascends Little Annapurna, 8440 feet.

Blown away by views. Happy.

Day four: Wake up to a dusting of snow. Ridiculous sunrise.

Goats.

Pack up, hike out. Rain. Slick boulders. Ingunn pulls muscle, fears leg actually will fall off this time. Limp to trailhead. Codeine. Aah.

I allowed Jillian Michaels to kick my hindquarters again today with her kettlebell workout. It’s surprisingly fun; you get to swing the kettlebell around (wheee!), all the while praying that you won’t let go and send it flying into the tv. I am too sore for words.

Since I’m now at the halfway point of the GOYA challenge, I decided to compile a list of things I’ve learned so far:

- The harder the workout, the happier I get (but pushing myself is still a huge challenge).

- When I can’t find the motivation for a hard workout, getting out for a brisk walk is surprisingly effective.

- So far, the happiness effect only lasts through the day of the activity…

-…so it’s much better for me to exercise early in the day (but this clashes with my procrastination).

- Doing strength training again feels amazing for my noodly appendages, but it doesn’t give as much of a happiness boost as running or hiking.