For the last ten years I've been hiking with a group of maladjusted adventurers. We go out every Thursday night. Rain? No problem. Snow? No problem. Dark? No problem. Familial obligations? Ok, that's a problem. Wait. Not a problem, but it definitely prevents me from hiking on some Thursday nights.
I seem to have gotten off track. The point is we hike every Thursday night.
After 10 years I've gotten to know the trails pretty well. We start off with the short, easy ones when the snow is deep up high. Mid summer we tackle harder, longer trips. And in the Fall we tone it down to accommodate the shorter days.
Which brings us to this trip to the TNAB Tarns.
These are a couple of little lakes at the base of an average Cascades peak. Nothing special up above, but since we found our way there a few years ago it's been one of my favorite spots. We tried heading there for the October Lunatique last year, but it was dark, windy, nasty, rainy, lousy, brutish, and not a winner.
This year it was one of our last trips of the regular season so we were there during daylight and on a remarkably nice day. The sunset was mellow, the fire was nice, and the moon was bright. In fact the only downside to the whole night was that it was the last night of the season.
As the Thursday night hiking season drew to a close I was struck by what it means to me. It provides me a reliable stress reliever and a chance to be me rather than Dad or Husband or Employee. Racing up and down mountains, breathing hard, and experiencing the natural world has helped me stay balanced and in shape enough to carry the weight of my kids' gear and life itself. Thanks for being there, TNAB. See you in March.
