This was my last chance for an attempt at Deva on this trip but it was not to be. I got up early with every intention doing it but when I put my boots back on I knew instantly that it was not going to work.

5:20 - Failure yet again

I was awake at 4:10, five minutes before the alarm would have gone off. I dressed and starting loading up the backpack with what I would need for the day. I hauled it all outside and then… I tried to put my boots on. Ouch! I immediately knew it was not going to work but still I kept hoping. I tried taking them off, readjusting the sock, walking around camp a little and hoping the pain would go away, or at least subside. It didn't. My heart just sank and I had to force myself to admit defeat yet again as there was no way I could climb Deva like this. My mind kept wondering though. "Could I do it anyway? Could I just endure the pain and hope for the best? Maybe it would subside after a while?" Then I started thinking about the hike back to camp from the top of Deva and all that downhill. If it feels this bad now what is it going to feel like at the end of the day? And I still have 18 miles to walk to get out of here. What I if I get up Deva and it gets so bad that I can't get down? No one can imagine the level of frustration I feel right now. I spent months planning this and dreaming about this. This was going to be the time it would all work out. And then in the span of a few heartbeats it is ALL gone! I feel nothing but failure right now.

I don't know what to do with myself today. I toyed briefly with the idea of packing up and going down to Clear Creek for the last night---but downhill hurts the worst and that is a brutal downhill. I thought about starting the hike out a day early but that really isn't going to help. I need to just sit here today and give this thing another day of rest. I am not looking forward to the hike out of this side canyon. That is going to be the hardest part. And then the descent back to Phantom Ranch at the other end.

10:20 - Back on the Clear Creek Trail

I no sooner finished writing that last entry than I decided to just pack it all up and leave. There was nothing for me to do there during the day and I did not want to be there all day with Deva looking above me and thinking about where I should be at various times during the day. It's better to concentrate on something constructive, like getting butt out of here.

The climb out of the side canyon was brutal and the worst of all were those last 100 yards descending back to the Clear Creek Trail. I was only about 25 feet from the trail when a boulder I stepped on rolled over and took me with it. No damage luckily.

My feet feel a little better now that I am on real trail again but they still hurt. The little and big toe on my left foot are bugging me now as well. I am taking a rest in the shade at the same place I had lunch on Monday. I want to get to Zoroaster Canyon and have a long lunch break in the shade there and then head for the two-mile mark and make camp for the night. Getting down the trail to Phantom Ranch tomorrow is going to be real interesting.

12:15 - Zoroaster Canyon

I found some good, hard shade but I don't know how much longer it will last. Hopefully long enough to have lunch and rest up.

I had to stop again about 5 minutes after that last stop because my big toe on my left foot was not feeling so good. I took off the boot and socks and the toenail hurts to the touch and the skin underneath is starting to turn a purplish color. I am pretty sure I am going to loose it. I just cannot wear those boots and longer and have switched into my tevas. Not the safest hiking shoe for sure but I have no choice at this point. I am just glad I have them with me at this point or it would have taken me many days to hobble my way out of here. Hiking in the tevas is not so bad and I am making pretty good time. I just need to be very careful on the rockier sections. I am thinking I could be at camp in another 2-3 hours.

I got startled by a Grand Canyon pink rattlesnake on the way into Zoroaster Canyon. I rattled and was raise and ready to strike already when I noticed it. There was no way to go around on the trail so I just backed off and picked my way down to the canyon floor, which luckily was very close. That has been my closest encounter yet with one of these things and I hope I never have on closer.

14:10 - More hard shade

I found another spot of hard shade so I am taking a break. I am just passing below Demaray Point and still about 2 miles from camp, as the raven flies. Maybe 2.5-3 miles by trail. It is very warm in the Sun but there is a nice cool breeze blowing frequently. The backpack is very heavy with the boots in it!

16:40 - Camp Sweet Camp

I am camped in one of several sites right at the two-mile mark on the Clear Creek Trail. I am the only camper here though. I must have arrived here about 4:15 or so and camp is already setup. There is not going to be any shade at this site until the Sun goes down so that's when I will probably start dinner. It's an easy one tonight, just finishing off the left-over hot dogs.

I drank two quarts of water on the way over here and I am sucking down another one before dinner. That leaves me with two more for tonight and one to get me to Phantom Ranch in the morning. Since I will have access to water on the way out tomorrow I won't need to carry more than a quart with me which should make the pack a lot lighter.

19:30 - Night time

Dinner was very good and the sunset was wonderful. I did not get to see it directly, just the reflected light off of Zoroaster Temple and Sumner Butte, which both lit up quite nicely. It looks like it is going to be a nice night up here but it feels a little warmer than other nights. Usually the temperature drops right after the Sun goes down and it does not seem to have gone down much yet.

The plan for tomorrow is to get up early, 4:30 or so, and hopefully be out of camp and on the trail by a little after 5. Hopefully that will get me to Phantom Ranch by a little after 6 or 6:30 at the latest. I will eat my breakfast there and hopefully I can also get some coffee. I would like to be back on the rim by early afternoon but doing this in tevas… I can't say.

The feet feel pretty good though the little toes still hurt to touch. They feel fine in the tevas. The big toe (nail) hurts too and I didn't even try taking the band-aid off for fear of the nail coming off with it. That toe still feels funny even in the tevas if the sock moves the wrong way and catches the nail. I have critters at this campsite. I can hear something scurrying around outside and occasionally trying to climb up the tent and slipping back down.