Up pretty early to eat a cold breakfast and finish packing up and getting ready for the hike out. We left the lodge around 6:07, it was dark but not quite dark enough to require headlamps. By the time we got through the village, it had lightened up enough to be able to see the trail clearly. On the way out, I ended up setting the pace for much of it, and I tried to set a fast one. It was cool in the canyon and got a little chillier as the canyon walls opened up. Steady uphill grade, which I had noticed on the way in but didn't equate to as much of a gradient as there was, on average. Still, we made good time, with the three guys pulling ahead of Leslie, who was moving at a decent, but slower, pace. We stayed together until the grade kicked around mile 6.5, at which point Connor and I got out ahead. We paused in the middle of the climb before the switchbacks began for the others to catch up, had a very short break, then continued on. Connor was setting a mean pace, and I was able to stay with him for maybe a quarter of a mile before he outpaced me. Still, I pushed as hard as I could to get up the switchbacks quickly, and I finished a couple of minutes behind him. It was a chore, a real workout on the quads, but my legs held up okay.
Total distance = 8.09 mi
Elapsed time = 2:38:27
We got to the top and waited for Charlie and Leslie to get there. A couple of pictures, then it was over to the car, where we all changed and piled in for the drive back. That drive was uneventful, stopping at a Jersey Mike's in Kingman to pick up subs for eating in the car on the way to Las Vegas. We dropped Connor off at the airport, then headed home. A stop in a Costco for gas in south Las Vegas, where Leslie took over the driving and handled it all the way into Norco. Not too much traffic on the way back, just some slowing around the I-10 interchange and past the 91. Got home around 7:10 and put some stuff away, took a shower, and went to sleep fairly early.
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