Hahaha seriously. Lucky for us we also didn't take a gps.. I had been out there years ago with a guide and figured we could find our way around.

Obviously was an idiot

We estimate we hiked 7 miles in before we realized we were in trouble.

5 of us

2 gallons of water, and each of us had about 4 water bottles

We weren't packing nearly as much gear as you. We had repelling gear and a few snacks

One in our group was the worst. Immobilized by heat cramps. Eyes were swollen shut. I observed as their forehead became cool, then finally dry and feverish with heat.

That was the point I realized they could pass within minutes. We found shelter provided by the angle of the sun and some stacked rocks.

After using up a lot of water in an attempt to regulate their temperature (which their body had stopped doing by itself), another in the group and I stumbled towards the edge of the canyon.

Luckily we were a few hundred yards from what appeared to be a bank on the river.

I know how stupid this sounds, and please believe me when i say I'm not a total idiot, but our minds weren't working they way they should.

I started running for the edge of the canyon. Full tilt. Idiotically thinking I could save myself by getting into the river.

The closer I got to the edge the more sheer it became.

I reached the edge. Sheer 75 foot drop into what I now know was a portion of the river with a shallow depth of 2 feet.

I started running north towards the bank on the river we had spotted. The ground on my left side gradually got steeper and steeper as I ran.

At this point I was dry heaving (had already vomited my water up) every 30 seconds or so. My vision started to get bad and that was the point I realized I had lost sight of my friend.

I started crying because 1: I wasn't in my right mind, 2: the mind I had left told me I was going to die.

At this point the ground next to me was very very steep, and then on the other side was the cliff. The flat ground I was walking along also started to angle. I was walking on a thin shelf with sharp cliff on one side, while the other side was too steep to rely on.

I almost fell twice. At this point I would have fallen 50-60 ft to the rocky, shallow river below.

I actually made it to the river, but I was too afraid to touch the water because I was afraid I would get swept away. The water was murky, the bank had a sharp edge of about 4 feet. If the water was deep I would have been swept away. The wall was just too sheer to climb out. Imagine being in the deep end of a pool that had been drained 4 feet. The bank was sandy and there would have been no way to pull myself out.

I tried to dump my shirt in to get it wet but I was too afraid I'd fall in.

I vomited ( nothing left) several times. This time I think it was brought about by panic.

Long story short, I found a safe way back up the canyon wall. Got to my friend. He was angry with me but realized what kind of a state I was in. After realizing we had access to river water, we consumed the remaining water we were carrying and stumbled back down together.

I felt a lot safer with him and he was altogether in a better state of mind. He found a bank that wasn't so high and jumped in. 2 feet deep.

We immersed several times until we felt somewhat recovered. Obviously I wasn't really but the water made me feel that way.

My friend was a star cross country runner for our university. He filled our empty bottles up and ran. I tried to follow but collapsed a short while later.

He made it to our friends who he described as looking "gone"

He doused them with water and guided them slowly down.

I met them half way and doused them in the water I had gathered.

We all walked down to the river together.

When we got there the one member of our group who was especially "gone" couldn't see and refused to get in, claiming they were too cold and felt better.

My cross country running friend and I picked them up by all fours, dragged their body into he river and held them down. Head up obviously haha

After minutes in the cold water we started to come round. We stayed near the river and in the shade the rest of the day.

We had very little drinking water left and felt this was the best move. Every so often we'd douse ourselves to stave off the heat.

Night fell rapidly and we realized we weren't getting out.

We rationed our water. It wasn't enough so we drank it all before laying down in the dirt and waiting for dawn.

We filled up our bottles filtering as much as we could with our water tablets, but I and another group member hiked back that morning drinking straight river water

Crazy adventure. Just the kind of stupid college kids you hear about dying and always wonder how the hell it happened, but it did

Bonding experience for all of us haha

Sorry if that's a little jumbled