(Barely) Surviving the Grand Canyon

I did some reading before we left, and there's pretty much no good sources on the entirety of the internet about hiking in the Grand Canyon (that I could find before I left. After I got back the internet was all "Here let me show you everything you now know!"). But what I did find was some posts about how the North Kaibab Trail from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the Roaring Springs is a day hike for an "experienced hiker". Now, if you're like me, you may be wondering what an experienced hiker looks like. I mean, I'm not some rotund tourist! I'm a healthy individual who has gone on some pretty long hikes in the jungles of Papua New Guinea! I can walk for, like, ever. This being the case, I was pretty sure that I could handle some measly 9 mile hike (round-trip).
I was wrong.
Very wrong.
We started our hike off with energy and enthusiasm! Downhill... I was going great! Even Jacob confessed that I was putting him and his sore legs to shame. I fell twice, scraping my knees. Jacob wanted to do first aid, but I brushed it and the dirt off and kept going. Just a flesh wound! When blisters started appearing, I put on some band-aids and persevered! After 3 hours, we got to the bottom, down to Roaring Springs!
We planned to stay there until the heat of the day had passed. But try as I might, I couldn't nap and I became more and more anxious that I wouldn't be able to make it up the canyon swiftly. A very very valid concern as I was soon to find out.
So at 12:30, we headed up. And it soon became very very apparent that the Canyon was going to try to kill me. I would walk 100 paces on a shady level path before I had to stop and rest. And the sunny steep parts were much much worse.
There are various segments of the trip. Going down: A very steep white sandy path until the natural tunnel. There water and bathrooms can be found. Afterwards is the walk to the bridge, less steep but, I mean, we're still in a canyon. After the bridge, walking on the west side of the canyon, there's a not very steep at all stretch (not exceptionally steep, but still in the Grand Canyon) and then you see the waterfall. Beautiful and back to pretty steep until you get to the bottom.
It was in that first stretch back up that I told Jacob I was going to die in that Canyon. Jacob took my jesting as a sign that I was still doing all right. A sign that would soon disappear.
After the waterfall was out of sight, I told Jacob that when we got out of this stupid canyon, I was going to have a nice long cry. I overestimated not only my ability as a hiker, but my ability to keep it together. By the time we got to the bridge, I had ran out of water in my camelback. Jacob still had some in his and I had a waterbottle but we were low and the tunnel was still a ways off. It was about here I started crying. Intermittently. I would get to the end of a switchback, look up, and sob at the loathsome angle of the next stretch. The jokes that Jacob made fell on humorless ears; my face was too tired to smile. My pack was unloaded and moved to fill Jacob's. Long. Slow. Hot. Finally we reached water. Jacob had intended for us to sit and rest but I wanted out of that horrible canyon and now! So we went on. We stopped very frequently, every several paces, to rest. By this point even Jacob needed it. The stops were regular but short, as the need to be out of the canyon was stronger than our weariness. We were so broken by the canyon that even when we saw the end of the trail, even when it was looming just before us, we needed to stop again to rest. 6 hours. 6 hours it took to get from the bottom up.
Now what little the internet told me said it should be a 6-8 hour hike total. So our 9 hour time was pathetic. Although had I actually rested for 4 solid hours like I was supposed to, the trek might have been a bit easier. We will never know. Because I will never ever do that again.
Two full days later, I am still sore all over.

About 2 hours into the ascent. 

Jacob googled the trail after we got out and his searches said "very steep" "most difficult of maintained trails" "difficulty level: difficult" so maybe I should feel good about it after all. Since, you know, apparently I'm not an experienced hiker....

Have you hiked in the Grand Canyon? Have you any near death hiking tales? I'd love to hear your comments!