The date September 20, 2024 will always be meaningful to Hayden Patriquin.

For a couple of reasons.

1. It was his 19th birthday. 

2. He celebrated by accompanying his St. Louis Shock teammate Anna Bright on a memorable 45-mile hike through Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

Bright documented the 17-hour journey with photos and video clips on her Instagram account.

"Did a hard thing on Friday... Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim," she wrote. "Have had the itch for a couple of months to get back out there and challenge myself & am very lucky that @hayden_patriquin was crazy enough to join me (with little to no hiking experience and on his BIRTHDAY - total stud)."

That's absolutely right.

Patriquin wasn't exactly a hiking enthusiast when he agreed to the adventure since his previous personal best was a whopping four miles.

Bright, meanwhile, hiked the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada over 113 days in 2021, so she already knew quite a bit about lengthy treks in the great outdoors.

Patriquin was clearly committed to getting the job done, though, as evidenced by his enthusiasm shortly before the hike began at approximately 5 a.m.

"I feel good. I woke up feeling dangerous," he announced emphatically in a clip. "We're just waiting for a white van to pick us up. Come on! It's my birthday. I'm an adult."

The pair ultimately accomplished their objective, of course, by encouraging each other every step of the way.

And it meant the world to Bright, who enjoys putting herself to the test whenever possible.

"I'm a big believer in doing hard things & this was definitely that. 5 am start, 1 am finish. 45 miles. 11k ft elevation gain... still in a lot of pain a few days later but so so happy," she wrote. "As someone on the trail said on a very hard ascent... "without suffering it wouldn't be epic" ... and this was epic. I'll joke about being unathletic but will never joke about my mental strength. Proud and excited for the next adventure."

Bring it on, Anna! We can't wait to see the photos.