BEAT the beat down!

By Mark Gunlogson

Ok, 8 – 12+ hours a day at work with com­mute, kids; if you have them, dri­ving to bal­let practice/​sleep deprivation/money..,/making dinner/​reading/​tucking in/​etc.., and for all of us the oth­er day to day deal­ings- this con­sti­tutes the BEAT DOWN. How­ev­er much we’re reward­ed by these efforts in oth­er ways, who does not feel this pres­sure? But, after watch­ing a week plus days in the Cas­cades of very cold temps and min­i­mal snow cov­er, and the per­fect set-up for the elu­sive, at best ephemer­al, ice climb­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties here, I just could not take it anymore.

There is ALWAYS work to do- it will nev­er go away. Be it work, tak­ing care of kids, look­ing for work…,

Set it aside- if only for a few hours.

As I watched the week whit­tle itself away as I dili­gent­ly went through the week­ly beat down I had to final­ly say- enough!! The world keeps spin­ning. Get out there, even if you think you can’t! Turns out even a few hours in the open air and mov­ing your body does won­ders! Here’s my mantra for 2010: BEAT the beat down! It all start­ed with a quick trip up Mount Sno­qualmie, a not so earth shat­ter­ing ascent, but a short hit get­ting out and some fresh air!