Then it was time to decide which way to go. If we were close to the half way point, we were just going to go forward and do the whole hike, but if we weren't then we'd go back the way we came in. Well, Sean, Kenzie, Mark, & Joe went forward while the rest of the troops went back the same way we came in. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get back down the canyon. The kids leading the way most of the time, climbing up and over and down big boulders helping each other. The way back down, however, was all in the sun, so it was hotter, much much hotter by 1:30ish.
On the way down, I twisted my ankle. It was good that we were still in the slotted part of the canyon so my ankle didn't do a full roll, the wall was there to stop it a few inches later. So it hurt but I was still able to keep going. Lili fell asleep in the hiking pack and poor thing was a red as a tomato. She get hot and red fast but I have never seen her that red. Enrique and I were super worried that she might get over heated or dehydrated or something. So he went as fast as possible to the shaded areas, then waited there until we all caught up. Jake became my wonderful helper. I was so exhausted by the time were were about a mile from the van, I had to grab Jake's arm and he had to keep me at a steady pace because I was getting slower and slower. By this time, everyone was going slow, even the kids, and everyone just wanted to be sitting in shade or the a/c in the vans.
It was a great experience and our family loved it. It wouldn't have been the same if we did it just our little family but it was great doing it with all my brothers and their families. Sean has been asking us all to go down there and camp and hike for some time now. It's been over a year in the making. He did a great job planning it out.
