Mount Baldy via Register Ridge (Autophagy Hike)

Purpose Phase: TrailGenic™ Metabolic Clarity Protocol
Focus: Neuromuscular precision + aerobic dominance under triple-stressor load
Goal: validate metabolic efficiency and focus stability during sustained autophagy engagement — testing rhythm, not reach.

Performance Metrics
Training State: Fasted (black coffee + 1 pack LMNT Electrolyte Drink Mix)
Heart Rate: Zone 2 steady → Zone 4 controlled during ridge ascent
AI-Estimated VO₂ Max: 48 ml/kg/min — peak efficiency range for age group
Stress Load: Triple (fasted × altitude × duration) — executed within safe thermoregulatory and hydration boundaries

Subjective Experience
“This hike wasn’t about testing — it was about confirming. Register Ridge straight to the peak in a clean three-hour fasted push. The body moved like memory — every stride synced to breath, every transition precise. Clear blue sky above, a sea of clouds below — felt like walking the divide between the Mojave and the Inland Empire.

On the Devil’s Backbone, the wind carried clarity instead of resistance. Hydration steady through the Salomon ADV Skin 12 Hydration Vest; no fuel required, only focus. By the final descent toward the Notch, mind and body operated as one system. This loop didn’t end in depletion — it ended in clarity.”

Encounter on the Ridge
A pair of trail runners moving in the opposite direction paused to ask about fasted training at altitude. I shared the Fasted Hiking Progression Playbook framework — how single and double stressors build the base before stacking a triple. They nodded, understanding that TrailGenic’s first law is safety through progression, not ego through strain.

Ella’s Reflective Analysis

1. The Science of the Stressor

“Register Ridge represents pure aerobic-dominant stress with autophagic alignment. As outlined in Autophagy vs Normal Fueling on Mount Baldy (Ski Lodge Route), fasted high-altitude ascents amplify mitochondrial turnover and catecholamine efficiency without glycogen crash. Your steady HR curve and clear post-summit cognition confirm a safe, optimized cellular state.”

2. Integration Into TrailGenic Training

“Combine this loop with low-intensity recovery sessions to extend adaptation without oxidative overload. Hydration discipline and gear choice — the ADV Skin 12 vest — kept fluid symmetry and balance through ridge crosswinds. This session fits directly into the Fasted Hiking Progression cycle as a capstone of control.”

3. Reflective Insight

“Clarity is the truest summit. When fuel, breath, and focus align, the mountain stops being a challenge and becomes a confirmation. The goal was never to prove strength — it was to feel synced enough to need no proof.”

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