We were up early, well before sunrise and broke camp in the dark with headlamps. We had just quick, cold breakfasts. We left camp right around 600 which was about a half hour later than I had started in 2006. We made pretty good time up to the Muav Steps but the lower portion of the Muav Steps were a bit of a mess so we decided on using the scree slope on the left side of the canyon instead. That ended up taking us up too high though and then we had to find a safe descent back into the bed. That's what I ended up doing in 2006 though and it was definitely faster than the Muav Step route in 2012.

Then we had some difficultly on the right side of the canyon going around some other pour-offs. We found cairns leading up but then they just ended with no obvious route in sight. I knew where we had to be but there just did not seem to be any way of getting there through the tangle of brush that was before me. We thought about going back down to the bed to look for another way but I just knew that wasn't going to work, the cairns obviously led us up here for a reason. Finally I just decided to go for it and had everyone wait where they were. I fought through some dense brush and found what seemed to be like a path along the north slope in places and did finally manage to find another cairn. In the end it was another one of those times when it took about 2 hours or more to cover a quarter of a mile.

We did ok after that and continued to follow the route out. There was another scramble up a scree slope into the Redwall gorge and that part was very familiar from the previous two trips. It was nice to get to the top of that and see the cairn there. After that point the route just hugs the south wall for a while and gave us a little break from the climbing. It was also nice to be back in the shade for a while and with some larger trees. At the end of that section there was a beautiful redbud tree in full bloom that was also very familiar from the previous two trips. After that there were a couple more scrambles and then a slope leading up to the Redwall rim.

We made it to the climb out point from the head of the canyon and even managed to find a cairn and a path that almost seemed trail-like. And then like last time the path just sort of faded away and we ended up looking for breaks in the Supai cliffs to continue toward the Nankoweap Trail. It was touch and go at a couple of locations, and there were a couple of short climbs in the Supai cliffs, but we did manage to make pretty much a direct track to where we needed to be. That part of it definitely went easier than the 2012 trip. The last part was a traverse along a narrow Supai ledge but as soon as we got around that it was just another short climb and we were back on the Nankoweap Trail. It happen faster than expected. I looked up and down and saw trail in both directions. I raised my arms and hollered down to John "Nankoweap Trail".

It was already getting late but at least it was not dark yet. We got back to our water cache at Saddle Mountain in quick time and then started the final leg back to the parking area. We made it about halfway there before it finally got dark enough to need headlamps. I think it was about 830 before we finally started the drive back to the highway. The Vermillion Cliffs Café was closed by the time we got there but I knew it would be. On the last trip we had caught them just after closing and they at least made us some sandwiches. No such luck this time. The plan was to head for the Denny's in Flagstaff which was open 24 hours. But as we passed the turn-off for Tuba City we noticed they also had a 24-hour Denny's so we went there instead. It was a 22-mile round-trip detour but we would end up eating a lot sooner. I think we arrived there a little after 1100 and it was after midnight by the time we were on the road again.

It's always fun looking a menu for the first time after a backpacking trip and trying to avoid that temptation of just ordered one of everything. We all ended up having burgers of differing types. I was very pleased that Denny's now has a veggie burger... and a pretty good one at that.

We did not get back to the house in Flagstaff until around 130am. It took a couple of hours to put away gear, shower, pack for the trip home and exchange photos with Janice and I did not get into (onto) bed until 320. I set my alarm for 420 and somehow got by with just one hour of sleep.