A year and a half after "70 lbs. down. Now I can rant about obnoxious fitness fanatics"...

[Chico Man]

48. Other places to try..

Not sure if you are in MA... I am, and have the same difficulties finding good places... but have found several.

Holyoke Traverse (start at the notch, and go east or west and then back). This is an amazing traverse, especially going west from notch to the summit house and then back. You go over all of the seven sisters with views on both sides the entire time. VERY challenging as you keep going up and down over rough terrain... certainly comparable to Monadnock.. but I'd say even more challenging. ~8-10 miles round trip.

Leominster State Forest to Wachusett and back. You can take the mid state trail from the parking lot at the state forest all the way to the wachusett summit. By the time you start hitting the elevation change up Wachusett you should be flying!! ~8-9 miles round trip.

For Monadnock, I've only hiked Pumpelly, a much longer hike but much less crowded with wonderful above treeline views for the second half.

In regards to the yoga - it's more about breathing than anything else - for a pose, as long as you can breathe easily, you are ok, just listen to yourself and don't overdo it and you'll be fine. The cumulative strength and endurance gained is quite remarkable over a year or so of 1-2 sessions a week. For me, it's essential for injury prevention as I seem to have calves that like to pull..

Great work getting out there!! I feel absolutely the same way about hiking. It's such a wonderful activity that one could take into a very old age and still enjoy.