Turning 25, 50, 75? Consider taking an ‘extreme’ vacation

livemint.com:

By the time we made it to the water fountain at Havasupai Gardens, about 3 miles up from where the Colorado River lacerates the Grand Canyon, I had started questioning the choices that had brought me here. We had trained on long-distance hikes in the summer heat, kitted ourselves out until we looked like walking REI catalogs, printed maps and studied routes, but my cousin Jeremy had hit a wall. With the energy I had left, I located an alarmed park ranger, who pointed out the salt stains on Jeremy’s shirt and told him to cool off in a nearby creek.

Helicoptering out, Ranger Rick said, might be a reasonable option. Then he left us to make our decision. Jeremy had hatched the harebrained plan of hiking into—and then back out of—the Grand Canyon in a day (known as a “loop hike" and not advised by the National Park Service) back in December, when he reached his 50th birthday.

Mine was approaching swiftly behind so I had agreed to join. He had completed the daylong, 17-mile trek when he was 23 and was certain we could do it again. We invited spouses—mine offered an immediate “no way," while Jeremy’s graciously appointed herself designated driver.

We hired trainers, booked flights, rented a satellite phone and planned a night at Sedona’s Enchantment Resort for post-hike indulgence. Still, as Jeremy lay near-naked and prone in a 3-inch-deep creek, I wondered: Why celebrate a major birthday with punishment rather than pampering? Turns out I’m not alone in putting a tough physical challenge at the top of my birthday wish list. Jack Ezon, founder and managing partner of the travel advisory Embark Beyond, said his company has seen a 57% growth of “endurance milestone" trips between 2022 and 2024, including groups who celebrated life