henry

Walking is primal. Doing something we were designed to do flips all sorts of switches for me – I love hiking. I like being loaded up with loads of gear and food or with just a bladder, puffy, and some bars. Today Simone and I did the latter and went up Mt. Kearsarge. At the top we goofed around and watched the light wrestle through stormy clouds across the valley. Coming down we passed three parties. At the bottom we guessed whose car belonged to who. Not thirty seconds later Henry, who we saw cruising up on our way down, emerges from the trail.

Henry loves to mountain bike but he looks to mountain running to really challenge himself. He is drawn to battling the miles over roots and rocks and probing his limits. For him, the pain cave, discomfort, and digging deep offer a mental cleanse and a buffer to the stressors of modern life. Running up and down mountains helps recalibrate his thoughts, offers new perspectives, and instigates physical and mental growth. He competes primarily against himself and does not attend many formal races. Henry is currently training for the White Mountains Hut Traverse, an extremely brutal 49-mile stretch of trail linking all the AMC huts and many of the most iconic peaks in New Hampshire.

Less than three hundred days to go.

[70] July 21, 2021