Yeah, it sure had me wishing we had gone down on Saturday! We were prepared for rain because that's what the forecast was saying it would be like nearly all week. The snow really caught us off guard. Did you guys get rained on all day over there? If so, I'd imagine that's very helpful in such a dry place!
That's a very good question. I didn't track it or anytving, but I thiiink it was 14-15 miles, not including the side-trips to ruins off the trail. Those wouldn't have added significant distance though.
I don't remember anything tough in sheiks and I have been thru there a couple of times
Like Bob said, there isn't really anything too bad (assuming it's dry). If you can handle going down a few very short, fairly steep sections of sand/rocks, you'll be fine. It's all pretty straightforward as long as you watch for cairns and use trails. I could see it being trickier if there were snow or ice, but we got lucky and all of that had melted off by the time we got to that point.
This image shows the worst drop, to my recollection. Gives a good idea of the kinda loose ground you're dealing with. I could see it being difficult for someone with limited mobility and/or balance, but otherwise, pretty much anyone could handle it in dry conditions as long as they take it slowly.
Thanks! I'm glad @Earlparrot commented and brought it back to the surface. It was fun re-reading it and thinking about those canyons again. What a special place.