I get spoiled on my birthday just for doing something I don’t put in any effort into- becoming older. This year, Jason’s spoiling came in the form of a wide array of activities spanning multiple weeks. These ranged from climbing a mountain on a string to climbing a mountain to listen to a companion of Sting.

A via ferrata, which means “iron road” in Italian, is a climbing path that utilizes steel cables along with rungs or ladders instead of classic climbing gear. The steel cables are attached to the rock and climbers clip into them using two leashes. This system prevents deadly falls but not painful falls. However, it does allow climbers to ascend together and decreases the technicality of a climb.

Via ferratas became part of European tourism, particularly in the Dolomites and Alps, starting in the mid-1800s. They grew more prolific during World War I as an aid for troop movement, and currently there are about 1,000 via ferratas on the European continent. There are also at least a few here in the Americas.

Jason and I didn’t even know of via ferratas until we watched The Utah Bucket List on PBS back in 2014. This film highlighted the via ferratas located in Waterfall Canyon near Ogden. Since then, we’ve been longing to experience these intriguing routes, and my birthday provided a good excuse to do so.

Waterfall Canyon’s via ferratas can only be accessed with guides, and maximum group size is eight. As we could only include six others in this scheme, we decided to extend the invite to the gaming group that has been playing The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth with us for dozens of months. Why not climb a real mountain with those who have been scaling invented ones with you for years? Clearly, they have proved up to the associated physical and mental challenges.

Waterfall Canyon contains three via ferrata paths. These routes were set by Jeff Lowe, a famous climber and Ogden native, back in 2005 and 2006. Jeff Lowe completed over 1,000 first ascents during his career before becoming ill with an unknown neurodegenerative process. We did Route 1, the easiest of the canyon’s three. Route 1 is a 5.6 with a 5.7 crux and rises 500 feet. In comparison, the hardest path, Route 3, is a 5.13. Although the fitness and skill levels of those in our group varied greatly, all but one made it through the whole course even with some height fears scattered among us. No doubt, all that difficult terrain we trudged through in Middle-earth immensely impacted our courage and competence on this occasion.

We were told the route would take anywhere from 90 minutes to five hours. It did not take us five hours but did require about two and a half. As I mentioned earlier, with via ferratas, everyone ascends together. You can talk to and encourage others, which is nice when you have more hesitant participants among you. The disadvantage is that you will likely fall farther if you slip than you would with a traditional rock-climbing format, up to about 10 feet. While that’s not enough for a serious injury, it’s plenty for sprains or broken bones. Besides being a little riskier than anticipated, the activity was also tougher on the nerves and skill scales than expected. My heart responded to the exposure by pounding away, but I pushed on despite its rhythmic objections. It was scary and marvelous! In my opinion, participating in a terrifying birthday activity is a fantastic yearly tradition as it’s a great way to prepare for the persistent terrors of perpetually decaying one miniscule moment at a time.

That wasn’t my only birthday shindig, though it would have been more than sufficient. The next weekend, Jason had ideas for enough tentative plans to keep a toddler satisfied. We never would have been able to do them all, but we jammed in a few. We went to Park City to see Stewart Copeland of the Police play with the Utah Symphony as part of the Deer Valley Music Festival. Nothing feels more like summer than sprawling out on a shaded hillside atop blankets while listening to some classic tunes and nibbling house-made chips and paella.

The next day, we spent an hour and a half at the Red Butte Garden. Oddly, we had never been there together in all our years of togetherness. The garden had way more grounds to cover than our hour and a half would allow, but I loved seeing the succulents in the Water Conservation Garden.

Was that the end? No. The day after that, we ate a yummy meal on the balcony at Log Haven with firs and oaks forming a fragrant backdrop to our overconsumption. There’s something magical about that place on cool summer nights.

What about my actual birthday? Following a tasty breakfast of crepes filled with fruit salsa and whipped cream, we went to Snowbird Resort and took a scenic ride on the Peruvian Lift. We got off at the top and hiked to the apex of Mount Baldy. Mount Baldy’s summit is 11,068 feet up, but it’s such an easy climb from the chairlift, I’m almost embarrassed to mention it like I actually ascended a mountain. After about two miles of hiking, we were back at the chairlift for a ride down. We would have loved to do more trekking on this pleasant, windy afternoon, but, unfortunately, there was no time as a couple family members were joining us that evening for Thai takeout in the backyard.

If left up to Jason, we would have undertaken twice as many birthday activities spread out over even more days. As it was, I was overly celebrated. The road to old age is a steely one, but the terrain sure is amusing.

Each spring, the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival attracts enthusiasts from all over the world to witness what many Utahans don’t even notice. The Great Salt Lake is the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world and provides critical resources to 10 million migratory birds every year consisting of 330 distinct species. The Great Salt Lake Bird Festival allows attendees to focus on the habits, interactions, and sounds of these many feathered creatures, along with the unique habitats they depend on.

Jason and I have attended the festival a few times now. This year, we did two tours at the event: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Behind the Gates and Best of Antelope Island. One was four hours long, and the other was five. Those may seem like lengthy stretches to be staring at winged beings, but the time went surprisingly fast.

Another thing that went fast during the festival? Sleep. I had to get up at 5:00 the first morning and 3:45 the next to make it to the shores of the Great Salt Lake and Bear River at the appropriate times. I guess the early bird gets the worm, but does it also get the coffee?

My sister and parents joined us in attending this year. Another sister and her family were scheduled to also come, but COVID had other ideas. While COVID may not have cooperated, the weather did. Despite the tours’ early hours, I only needed a jacket for the first stint of both.

Jason and I saw 59 different species of birds over our two excursions. My favorites were black-crowned night heron, ruddy duck, burrowing owl, western tanager, chukar, white-faced ibis, and long-billed curlew.

Jason won the prize for the most bug bites, an honor I’m sure he was just itching to receive. The biting gnats got him 22 times. He wore a head net, but he was pretty unconcerned about positioning it snuggly when he thought it wasn’t necessary. Clearly, they aren’t called no-see-ums because their presence is obvious.

As always, our soaring and wading friends delighted. If you are interested in attending the festival, be aware that tickets completely sell out within minutes, so make sure you are online and ready to buy when they become available. Typically, that’s in mid-March.