The Reset
I had quit Goldman the previous Friday. It wasn’t dramatic — the next job was already lined up — but for the first time in a while my time felt like mine.
With Whitney coming up, I wanted one more long effort. Marcy: 14 miles, 4,000 feet. Close enough.
The Climb
I left NYC at 3:30 AM on a random weekday, reached Heart Lake around 8:30, and started hiking.
No buildup, no drama. It felt less like a test and more like a practical box to check before Whitney.
The trail was long, wet, and steady. Wooden ladders in the boulders and boardwalk through alpine lichens gave it a strange, almost alien rhythm.
The Summit
I moved faster than expected and reached the summit around 12:30.
Quiet. “Cool, that’s done.”
Whitney was days away and life was already packed with other plans, so there was no urge to turn the summit into something bigger.
The Descent
I dropped back down, got a drink at a nearby brewery, and stayed at the Adirondak Loj.
Sunset over Heart Lake was calm, but it wasn’t some life-changing reflection moment. I was just moving through a stretch of life at speed.
