I arranged for a Harvey Car to meet us at Grandview Point, where we would be hiking out three days later, and shuttle us to the trailhead for the Red Canyon Trail. The taxi was waiting for us when we arrived at Grandview Point and we threw our gear into the back and headed for the trail. It was less than a 10 minute ride to the trailhead and in no time at all we were on the trail.

There is about a ¼-mile walk through the forest before you actual reach the trailhead and this was very pleasant in the cool of the early morning. The top of the Red Canyon trail was steep and rocky but were in the shade and it was still relatively cool. We had no problems getting through the upper cliffs and slopes and in a little more than an hour we were reached the bed of the Red Canyon drainage and took a little break. Robin still seemed OK at this point and it was the next section of the trail that I think really got to her. For the next mile or so we were constantly in and out of the drainage, climbing over rocks and around boulders and it was a lot of work. The day was also warming up quite a bit and we were now in the sun constantly. I felt fine but then I had a good breakfast and had been drinking quite a bit too. She hadn't had much to eat and since I was in the lead I really couldn't tell if she had been drinking enough. We were making good time though. We were getting close to the Redwall break and I figured we could have lunch after we got through that.

We took another rest in a little spot of shade just before the trail makes a turn back towards the southeast and Moran Point. Beyond that point I could see we would be in the sun for a while and I wanted to take advantage of this last shady patch. Robin was starting to look tired at this point but I guess I really didn't know how bad she was feeling. I told her that we were getting close to the Redwall break and that we would stop at the bottom of that for a nice long lunch break. We headed out again and contoured around a big alcove below Moran Point and then started the final run to the top of the Redwall break.

We had just come out on the other side of the alcove when I heard her slip behind me. When I turned around I could see her sliding down the slope on the left-hand side of the trail, towards the Redwall cliff. There was nothing I could do but watch. Luckily she slid right smack into a huge boulder that was resting about mid-way down the slope or she may have gone over the edge. I try to not even think about that. I had already dropped my pack while she was still sliding and got to her as soon as I could. She seemed fine but when she tried to get up she was having problems with one of her ankles and could not put her full weight on it. Everything looked OK so we just figured that she had twisted and sprained it. I got her back up onto the trail and told her to just sit and rest a while. I scouted ahead on the trail just to see how far we were from the Redwall break, not yet wanting to give up on the trip.

The Redwall break was only about ¼-mile away but when I returned to tell her this I could tell we would not be going any further down this trail. Resting a while had not helped at all and the ankle hurt badly and she was scared and crying. We still had no idea that it was broken as she was able to walk on it to some extent. We rested a while longer and I got out the food and made us some lunch.

After lunch we turned back and went to look for someplace to spend the night. I knew that we had passed a couple of possible campsites no too far back and I headed back ahead of her to find a good campsite. She managed to find a broken branch and was able to use it as a crutch and hobbled along as best she could. The first place I found looked good at a glance but on closer inspection I did not think it would be comfortable enough so I headed further up-canyon. A little further up I found a nice little clearing that looked like it would be perfect. It was not very level and had a little bit of a slope to it but it would have to do. Beggars can't be choosers. I didn't want her walking on the ankle any more than necessary. Maybe it would feel better after a good long rest. I dropped my pack and went back to get Robin's.

We got her to camp and I got everything set up and we settled in for the afternoon and evening. I was seriously bummed about the trip getting cancelled but I was more concerned at getting Robin out of here at this point. We talked about my leaving her and going to get help but I knew I would not get back before dark and she did not like the idea of spending the night alone down here at all. We decided to wait until morning to figure out what we would do. She took off her boots and the ankle was seriously swollen but seemed to be intact. We still had no clue it was actually broken.

We rested throughout the remainder of the afternoon and evening and had ourselves a good dinner. She stayed off of the ankle and we just hoped that giving it a good rest would be enough to make the swelling go down. The evening seemed to drag on forever and I don't think either of us slept much if at all. I spent a long time outside of the tent for a while, laying on a flat rock, just staring up at the stars.