Ever Bonk?

Bonking - the term often used by sports enthusiasts when either your mind or body or both hit the proverbial wall due to depleted glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. I don’t do endurance/extreme sports so I never bonked until I hit the literal wall. The Headwall at Jackson Hole is a steep, narrow hike up a ridge. It is only .3 miles in distance, but at an elevation of 10,000 feet carrying your skis on your shoulder, it’s challenging. I had hiked the Headwall several times in years past, but this time was different. As soon as I started taking those first steep steps up the ridge, I lost control of my balance and my limbs. Shaking, falling and out of sorts after just a few steps, my kids convinced me to let Noah carry my skis. That helped a lot as did planting my poles with each step to add more stability. Going slow and steady, with a nice rest part-way thanks to the encouragement of Mitch and a complete stranger, I made it to the top. Vulnerability is not something I feel or exhibit often, but vulnerable I was. The silver lining in that experience is realizing that if I fall (literally), my children, my husband, my friends, and even strangers will be there to pick me up. The other silver lining was the knee-deep pow-pow I floated on as I skied down the mountain.