Melatonin MountaineersEst. — Five Friends, One Goal
We're the Melatonin Mountaineers — five friends working our way through the national parks, one trip at a time.
The Melatonin Mountaineers started as a handful of friends looking for an excuse to get outside together. It turned into wading through the Narrows, white-knuckling the chains on Angels Landing, and standing at overlooks that make the drive worth it.
No pros here — just a group that shows up, laces up, and keeps a running tally of which parks are left.
Write-ups from the road — what we hiked, what went sideways, and what we'd do differently next time.
Angels Landing at sunrise, then straight into the river for the Narrows. A full day, wet boots, no regrets.
Thor's Hammer, the Navajo Loop, and a lot of squinting at trail maps in the sun.
One weekend we swapped boots for paddles. Turns out rapids are a decent substitute for elevation gain.
Someone drops a park into the group chat, we check it off the list, and a date starts floating around.
A short list of trails, mileage, and elevation gain so everyone knows what they're signing up for.
Flights or the van, permits if the trail needs them, and a lodging split five ways.
Everything after this part tends to write itself — that's what ends up on the blog.
Rafting, jeep roads, lake jumps, and campfire s'mores — the parts of the trip that aren't on a map.
Every dot is a park. Color shows how many of the five of us have made it there — hover a dot for the roster.
The crest on the left is the primary Melatonin Mountaineers mark — everything else is a one-off, designed for a specific trip.
Primary Crest
Alaska
Basecamp Nights
Skyline Drive
Arches
YosemiteStickers, tees, and a trucker hat or two — built around these patches — for the group and anyone who wants to follow along.