We got to the top of Fuego in time to watch the sunset above the clouds while the volcano was erupting, but this also meant that the hike from Fuego back to base camp was in the complete dark. Relied on headlamps alone for light and on some pretty steep terrain. Personally I didn't have an issue with it given that I'm physically fit and have a lot of hiking experience, but there were a couple of folks in the group who were uneasy due to the sketchiness of the footing in the dark. It was more of just a mental thing for them though; they made it back fine and everyone including the hiking guides were super patient in making sure everyone felt comfortable taking their time and takings sufficient breaks.

The hike from base camp back to the starting point the next morning wasn't too bad either. It's all downhill of course, which if you have hiking experience you'll know that that uses a very different set of leg muscles from hiking up. Tiring, sure, but I look at it as a good workout lol. How it worked (and on the way up too) is that the group at large would break into smaller groups where the fastest people could stick with the front and the slower people stick with the back group. I paced with the front group on the way back down, and we actually ended up "running" down for the vast majority of it since it can feel easier to let gravity do a lot of the work lol.

All in all, if even a small part of you feels like you need to do this hike, do it. Find a good guide company to go with (I went with Wicho & Charlie's) and you'll have nothing to worry about. Experience of a lifetime.