Once a year, you get a day older but receive credit for a whole year of maturity. It’s not quite right, but the discrepancy comes with some perks. The festivities for my birthday this year took me from my backyard to the top of a mountain and from speeds above 35 MPH to under one. Yes, birthdays can be a beautiful blend of diverse delights… and endurance training.

My birthday occurs during a busy time of the summer. Therefore, it often gets forgotten amidst travel and holiday plans. Those who make it a priority gain elite status in my heart. My sister is one of those. In the days leading up to my birthday, she took me and some of the other family females out to brunch. Then, her clan came over for a backyard meal around a cozy fire.

Jason is the ultimate birthday spoiler, though perhaps not the ultimate cook. He bravely attempted to make some sort of cinnamon bun from scratch for my birthday breakfast without any of my help. The recipe was labeled easy online but will never receive that designation from him. They turned out more puck than bun. He consulted his friendly household food scientist afterward, and the problem was quickly deciphered. He had substituted volumetric measurements for weight measurements. I appreciated his thoughtful gesture even if I didn’t consume too much of the outcome.

Dense buns weren’t Jason’s only birthday plan. He took me to the Utah Olympic Park for a tour of the facility and a zip line tour. I loved learning about the history and operations of this venue, which was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Isn’t all new knowledge fascinating?

The zip lines at the Utah Olympic Park make use of the gully the park is situated in, zooming seven times across its gap. The first line is the longest at about 1,500 feet and moves fast enough to make your eyes water. Other lines range between 550 and 800 feet in length. My birthday was a busy day for the park. Even though we had a reservation, we had to wait about 45 minutes to get on the first line. After that, the zipping zipped. The zip line system at Utah Olympic Park isn’t as sophisticated as some of the others we’ve been on. You have to grab a rope on the adjacent line as you come in. If you miss it, let’s just say you will feel rather silly about the amount of effort required for the line operator to heave you in. Maybe not high-tech but still high fun.

The next day, Jason correctly guessed I’d appreciate a magnificent challenge as part of my annual reminder of our ever-aging state. For what better way to feel like a babe than ascending a 30-million-year-old rock? In Kessler Peak, we thought we had a short trek. Kessler Peak is one of the most prominent mountains in Big Cottonwood Canyon at 10,403 feet, but the trail to its apex is only 2.3 miles each way. An online guide we read said this journey takes 5-7 hours to complete. We got a good laugh out of that. Seven hours to hike 4.6 miles? What a joke! It took us six hours and 55 minutes. I guess the joke is on us. Fortunately, since we started at 2:45 PM, we only had to use headlamps to light the last 10 minutes of our expedition.

Why the dawdling pace of less than a mile an hour? This path climbs over 2,900 feet. With a grade of 79% for long stretches, it takes more time to go down in some places than up. The last 1.5 miles are particularly sheer and unforgiving.

What did we think of the hike? The view from the summit is remarkable and our favorite of the peaks we’ve climbed in Big Cottonwood Canyon. However, although the trail is easy to follow, there are no signs indicating you are on the right path. I’d not recommend this hike without a downloaded map that includes GPS as some offshoots are more worn than the main route. A branch 1.8 miles from the trailhead, which leads nowhere, baffled us. Without the help of a map, we might have been wandering the hillsides clueless for quite a while.

My birthday this year held memorable activities, people, settings, and workouts. Many thanks to my considerate and adventurous husband and thoughtful family members for the assorted commemorations of another obligatory trip around the sun.