In 2010 the mountain was pure magic. One of the best after work hikes I've ever had. 2011 wasn't as good, but still filled with great snow and blue skies. (Not every hike can be superb.) This was Treen's first time up Bandera and she was thrilled as always. 2012 was back to great sunset form.

This year the weather was full of blowing clouds and, thanks to Cinco de Mayo, tequila. I'm not a fan of tequila, but the sunset was great in spite of the clouds. (Or because of it.)

More than great sunsets, TNAB has provided me with adventure partners and an excuse to get outside on a regular basis. I find that if the weather's a little sketchy I'm more inclined to pass on a hike if I'm going by myself. It's even more likely if it's an early morning trip. With TNAB, though, it doesn't matter how terrible the weather is; it's Thursday night and it's time to hike. (That's not to say I don't miss a fair number of trips. You'll notice that in the 10 years I only managed a 40% attendance rate on Bandera due to scheduling conflicts.)

Adventuring is critical to my well-being because its one of the few ways I can relieve stress. Stress is a bad thing leading to all manner of ailments including anger. Anger, of course, leads to hate and we know what happens after that. (It makes for great movies, but a lousy life.)

After 10 years in the mountains with TNAB I'm grateful for the routine and the company. Will it last another 10 years? I hope so. I'll certainly still be hiking for sure. In the meantime, here's the sunset in fast forward. Sorry for the dog butts. I think you'll find it's still worth it.

BTW: I'd provide a list of all the TNAB trips, but that'd be a long, long list. Figure about 15 a year (out of about 28 scheduled trips) and that's roughly 150 trips. If you really want to read about them go to the Adventure Directory where all the trips are indexed.