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Finally I found the correct trail leading to the mailbox, but even that was rather vague. Given what happened on the way down, the last photo, the selfie with the mailbox in the background, could have been the last photo of me alive.

On my way back despite repeated efforts to take the right side down in the chute, I just could not find the trail and ended up left again. This time was even worse, as I had to scale the side of cliffs several times, crabwalk down boulders, and repeatedly had to turn around and go back up the steep rocks I just descended. For a little while, I thought I was going to be stuck up there, because I kept reaching impassible cliffs. Despite seeing people quite regularly all day, at this point, not a soul was around.

After many harrowing maneuvers, I managed to get past the chute and down to the steep slippery section. Probably mentally thinking the worst was over, and being fatigued from all the climbing, I made a little mistake, my feet slipped forward, and “down goes Frazier”, landing hard on my left elbow and right wrist. Given the rather sickening sound it made went I hit the rocks, I was surprised that my arm wasn’t broken, and that it really didn’t hurt that much (Update - until the next day). After that, I just wanted to get back to my car, and the rest of the hike was thankfully uneventful.

This particular hike moved from my bucket list, to my “I’m glad to do it once, but don’t plan to ever again” list. My lesson learned is that when my guidebook says difficult, that means technically difficult, not how much effort is needed, and when it says “strong navigation skills needed”, it means I shouldn’t try it alone or without using a walking GPS and accurate track.