"In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem...if no one else can help...and if you can find them...maybe you should hire the A-Team!" (cue machine gun fire and theme music)
That was then...this is now! The year is 2010 and there is another team on the run who survive as modern day soldiers of fortune. They are an eclectic band of characters as diverse as Hannibal, Faceman, Murdoc, and B.A. Barakas. Every Saturday there is a new action packed episode about how these renegades risk it all to fight for what's right for people in trouble who need help. If you want a cure...if no one else can help...and if you believe in the power of research...maybe you can support TNT! (cue machine gun fire and theme music)
O.K., so we aren't really escape war criminals from the Vietnam war, we don't have a cool van, we don't wear disguises to hide from Colonel Decker, we don't carry automatic riffles and/or explosive devices, and we don't build armored cars out of ice cream trucks. We do have a fun team that is always on the run trying to help people and have an explosive title (TNT). We have catchy nicknames like EAZY-P, Tator-Tizzle, Love-Kitten, and Doodle. Some of us are crazy, some of us are smooth talkers, some of us are wise leaders, some of us are body-building, gold chain wearing, irritable guys with mohawks (ok, maybe everything but that last one). We have no fear and we all love it when a plan comes together! 
On this week's hike, we felt a lot like mercenaries on the run. We hiked Pyramid Peak above Hemet, California via the PCT. The Pacific Crest Trail is a world famous stretch of hiking trail that goes all the way from Mexico to Canada. Being in the middle of nowhere on a trail that could hypothetically lead to your freedom in another country gives a hiker the distinct feeling of being an outlaw fugitive on the run.
It took nearly 2 1/2 hours to get to the trail head which made us as irritable as B.A. Barakas being forced to board an airplane. Once we rendezvoused with the rest of our team, we set the plan into action! Driving through the clouds on the way up the mountain was our first indicator of how high we'd be hiking. When we began the hike, we could instantly feel the difference in altitude in our lungs. We knew we would be breathing harder on this hike as its purpose was to get our bodies use to the altitude we will face in Yosemite. It began at around 5000' and we climbed to about 7000'.
The hike was as formulaic as an 80's TV action adventure show, as two hike members got separated from the group and had to match wits and utilize their survival skills to reconvene with the team before lunchtime was over. Once we got back (yes I was one of the ones who hiked too far, er-um, got separated), we had lunch and began the ascent to the peak. When we got to the top, we had a killer view, from a precariously rocky Pyramid Peak, of the surrounding San Jacinto mountains, 
Coachella valley, and Hemet Lake. It was as windy at the top as being under the roter-wash of a military chopper coming to rescue us (we wish). The rest of the hike was, as they say, all down hill from there. The gang had a good laugh about their adventure back at the truck (God I wish we had a cool van) once it was all over. I love it when a plan comes together!
Tune in next week for another action packed episode!
If you want a cure...if no one else can help...and if you believe in the power of research...maybe you can support TNT! Go to: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/Yosemit110/TeamLostDogs to help support our mission!
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