Actual: Car to somewhere on the South Rim. We didn't make it very far after starting from the car late and having the sun go down quickly. I got one cactus prick in my leg. What vicious plants. Our packs were extremely heavy. It took another person to put in on our backs. The night was very cold and windy. My Thermarest sleeping mat was flat also. Not a very good start for the trip.   

Actual: We ended up going from our camp to about 0.5 miles past Apache Point. We then had to backtrack to Apache Point. We went down and around Apache point; a very difficult route. We finally got to the level where we could make it down to the Esplanade level and then cruise to the Arches. Of course, that did not happen. The route down to the Esplanade level was treacherous. I took two falls and cut myself up good. We were far behind schedule and running low on water, so we decided to "BAIL". We camped on the Apache Point route that night and planed to return to the car the next day and go to get a permit for a different route for the rest of the trip.  

Actual: We made it back to the car ok. Everyone was Pricked by a cactus on the route out. We ended up getting a permit for a 5 day hike across the Tonto trail.  We got a hotel room, fixed the Thermarests, went to see the IMAX Grand Canyon film, & had a great dinner.

Actual: Believe it or not. Most everything went well. We made our goal and found a nice campsite at the Lonetree Springs. This was a pleasant day with good scenery. Although Smita would probably not agree as she didn't say a word all day.

Actual: Great day. All went well. The scenery was amazing. Great views down the canyon to the Colorado River. Great ledges to stand on and look out. Our campsite was in the creek bed.  A little water was flowing off to the sides. Perfect!

Actual: We spent the first half of the day making our way down the creek bed.  The water was flowing well and the walls around us were smooth. Lots of rock hoping and avoiding small waterfalls by climbing the rocks around them. This was amazingly fun. As we made our way down the water falls kept getting bigger and more difficult to get around. Finally we saw the Colorado and the rapids, but we were stuck at a 15 foot water fall about 20 feet form the river. Brian went down on a very makeshift rope ladder we concocted, but no one else thought it very safe.  We headed back and made it to camp, staying the night in the same place as Day 5.

Actual: We took our time getting to Cottonwood, enjoying the scenery. Spent the afternoon in camp, and exploring.

Actual: We made it out in 4 hours. It was quite a slog up.  Very steep.  Once out we went for showers at the village, had a nice lunch/dinner, and headed home.