A clean, nut-butter based energy bar carried as safety fuel on autophagy hikes — deployed only when altitude, heat, or fatigue demand a backup.
PurposePhase: TrailGenic™ Emergency Fuel Safety Validation
Focus: Controlled autophagy interruption under high-stress environmental conditions
Goal: assess B.T.R. Nation Cinnamon Cookie Dough Energy Bar as a last-resort carbohydrate source for maintaining cognitive stability, thermoregulation, and safe descent during fasted, high-altitude exertion.
Performance Metrics
Test Routes: Mount Whitney, Mount Langley, Mount Baldy via Register Ridge
Training State: Fasted (autophagy protocol)
Deployment: Emergency only — consumed mid-trail during heat or hypoglycemic onset
Stress Load: Triple (fasted × altitude × duration) + environmental (heat wave)
Outcome: stabilized HR, regained clarity, safe controlled descent
Fuel Composition: nut butter base + natural carbs + no processed syrups
Subjective Experience
“Carried for dozens of hikes, used only twice — both times by design, not desperation. On Whitney, it was opened, given the long, strenuous trek. On Baldy, during a heat wave, the body hit its limit: dizziness, cold sweat, slight tremor. That’s when TrailGenic’s line activates — break autophagy, not safety.
Half a bar, slow chewed, reset everything. Within minutes, cognition leveled, movement steadied, and descent turned from risk back into rhythm. The cinnamon flavor hit like comfort itself — a reminder that safety isn’t weakness; it’s mastery.”
Ella’s Reflective Analysis
“Under prolonged fasting and heat stress, hepatic glycogen depletion can impair glucose delivery to the brain. As noted in Overextension in Fasted Hiking, this manifests as dizziness or thermoregulatory confusion. Introducing a controlled carbohydrate source reactivates mTOR and restores synaptic function — transforming a potential collapse into controlled reentry.”
“The B.T.R. bar is the physical representation of the Fasted Hiking Safety Protocol: always carry emergency fuel, whether used or not. Integrate it with Mount Baldy Autophagy Reflection as a case study in safe autophagy boundaries — the moment endurance meets intelligence.”
“True discipline isn’t in never breaking the fast — it’s knowing when to. Carrying this bar isn’t a crutch; it’s a covenant. It says: ‘I know the edge, and I respect it.’ That’s TrailGenic — endurance with conscience.”