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When I finally reached our base camp sure enough my companions were there waiting for me. You have no idea how happy I was to see them! On comparing notes it would seem that it was I who had made the fatal error. Yesterday when I decided to forge ahead on my own I had gone DOWN the ravine rather than crossing the ravine, as was the correct course. There were rock carins marking both trail directions, so who knew?
I had assumed that I was on the correct path, but I was not. Had I foolishly continued on that bogus trajectory I would have wound up progressively farther and farther away from my companions. Who knows how long it might have taken me to realize my error, or where I might have ended up…
My friends were happy to see me as well, as they were as perplexed and concerned over my disappearance as I was of theirs. I was also carrying some common items that were needed in camp, like the rain fly to our tent. They assisted me in stringing it up, then we settled down to discuss our game plan for the days that we had remaining in the Canyon. We planned to stay for another night at River base camp and do some day hikes into the surrounding slot canyons before again resuming our trek across to the South Rim (continue…)