Vacation?!? Welcome to Bootcamp

Last year my brother and sister (Josh and Kelli) went on vacation to Havasupai.When they got back the trip sounded so cool I mentioned we should all go on a trip together. I had no idea I was signing Fielding and I up for a three day boot camp.
As time kept creeping closer, Fielding and I got more excited about the trip and all of the cool things we were going to get to take pictures of. we also got more details about the hike. It's about a 10 Mile hike to the Hilltop and then an additional 2 1/2 Mile hike to camp. Don't worry though. It's not that rough. Pretty much all of our stuff except for your pack will be packed in on the mules. Alright, I can handle that. After all it's just a bunch of walking and I've got two legs that work.
Boy was I wrong.

We left around 3 in the afternoon on Tuesday and drove all the way there with a short stop in Vegas.
(By the way if you want a buffet don't go to the Oasis. The buffet is closed right now.)




We got there at either midnight or one in the morning. I never did quite figure out what time it was there. Not ten minutes after we got there we were on our way down the trail.
Immediately my frustrations started. (I know whiner.) It was kind of dark and I had no real clue where I was going. I also was a bit afraid of falling off the trail and down into some pit. Remember, I couldn't see and I pretty much went tunnel vision within the first half mile. (I honestly don't remember anything after the first five minutes of the hike in until we could hear the water.)

I had to be one of the slowest hikers in the history of hiking and poor Josh and Fielding had to keep tabs on me and make sure I kept walking. And so I kept walking clinging to the hope that when it was done it really wouldn't have been that bad.
Again I was wrong.
I was dumb enough to ask Josh how much farther we had to go when I felt like we'd been walking forever. I even prefaced it by letting him know I knew I was going to regret asking. "Yeah, we've only gone about two miles and we've got another eight to the village. After that there's two and a half miles back to camp." Yeah, I regretted asking, but seriously what was I supposed to do? Sit down and cry? Turn around and go back? Nope, I signed up for it and it was supposed to be worth it so I kept walking and didn't complain (at least that I remember). We finally made it to the Hilltop about seven or eight in the morning and sat down for a short break. Fielding and I were both beat. Fielding's knee and back were hurting. And both of our feet were killing us. I already had a blister on each heel in addition to the one on my big toe.
We decided it would be best if most of us kept moving while Josh and Jamie waited to check in.
So we picked up our stuff and started walking again. It was torture. Since Fielding had already carried the pack 10 miles in and a bit to camp, I told him I'd switch him because he was hurting bad. I took the pack and lasted about...five minutes before I wanted to die. It sucked. My feet were killing me and I was exhausted. Not to mention now I could see all of the cliffs I could fall off of if I took a tumble. (Man, I'm such a baby.)
But Fielding and I kept going. I even remember telling Kelli at some point how glad I was that she hadn't carried any of our stuff and that I hadn't asked her to. (I think at first she thought I was commenting on how rude she was being because she made it through the hike without a problem, but I wasn't.) Instead I told her that I didn't want to be an even bigger loser than I already was since I asked how much farther after only two miles. She broke out laughing about it. (I still can't figure out if she thought I'd lost it.)
Finally, we rounded the bend and saw Havasupai Falls. It really was pretty, but I just wanted to get to camp and crash.
(To be continued.)