When we got to the trail head the boys all piled out, got on sun screen, paused for photos and then were off on their adventure. They had a huge group this year.
Ethan is in the middle and Bryan is on the back row on the right side.
The leader who takes them told us they would be home around 5:30 p.m. Well, when it was about 7:30 p.m. I started getting phone calls wondering where the boys were. Then at about 7:45 p.m. I got a phone call from the leader's wife saying that the pick up drivers were lost and that she and her in-laws were getting ready to drive out to rescue the hikers. She was panicked. I was a bit worried because they didn't have food for dinner but I knew they were hiking in water and Bryan had his water filter, so they would be fine that way.
At about 8 p.m. the leader's wife called me back and said that she had finally gotten a good cell phone signal and had talked to her husband. The rides didn't get lost. The truck of one of the pick up drivers broke an axle on the way out to get them so it was out of commission. The mom of one of the boys left Ivins and drove the 2 hours out to pick the boys up so they would have enough seats.
It was a long night for all the parents and kids. Ethan finally walked in 11:30 p.m. and declared that he would never do that again. Bryan got home at 12:30 a.m. and told me the whole story.
Since the group was larger, and many of the kids were just barely 12 years old, it took a lot longer to repel than it would normally. Some kids were nervous and took longer to get down. And then the truck breaking wasn't something you could predict and the pick up point is way out by Colorado City down a long, horribly bumpy dirt road. So it isn't close if someone needs to drive out to get you.
The good news is that everyone was safe and sore the next day. ;) Ethan now says that he will do it again next year. He says it's like labor...after a few days you forget about the pain and want to do it again. He's a funny kid!
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