Weekly Expedition Log: When the Workload Becomes the Pack Weight

My lower back spent forty hours this week filing a formal grievance against my desk chair.

I’ll be honest: This week, the mountain won a few rounds. I let the "grind" of the professional sort hijack the "grind" of the physical sort. My Garmin stats look like a stock market crash, and my recovery scores are currently whispering "just go back to sleep, old man."

I’ve spent 56 years learning that "managing the decline" often starts with a busy Tuesday that turns into a lost Friday. I traded my morning saddle time for spreadsheets, and my body paid the tax.

But here’s what I didn’t do: I didn't stop measuring. Even when I was eating over a keyboard, I logged it in Cronometer. I pushed the water intake until I was basically a walking aquarium. I’m moving slowly today—just a walk in the crisp morning air—but I’m moving.

I’ve found that the hardest part of the ascent isn’t the vertical face; it’s the moments you slip and have to decide if you’re going to slide all the way to the bottom or dig your axe in and hold your ground. I’ve caught up on the work. The "pack" is lighter now. Next week, we find the 12% grade again.

Bank the Marble. Check the Rope.