Ever since i heard about Havasupai Falls in Arizona from one of the hiking posts or the viral video about a camper getting up in a tent with the falls right beside i have been itching to go. As usual someone in the local Boulder hiking group posted a 4 day trip the second weekend of November 2016 beginning on Wednesday. Being tough to get permits to go, space was limited. When i emailed the organizer he said it was already full. Disappointed i went back to routine life dreaming of such exotic places to visit.
Then randomly on Friday night i got an email form the organizer saying one spot had opened up. I was excited. The decision to go was easy. I emailed my manager on Saturday, and managed to get last minute vacation for 4 days and confirmed with the organizer and paid up. Then the packing and excitement began.We departed Boulder 530AM on Wednesday and picked up our third person a woman from Sweden on her first backpacking trip in the US near Denver, and set off on the long drive that was before us.We zipped through the mountain of I70 and past the red rocks of UT. En-route the topics of discussion were routine, talks about US election results, our respective countries and such. We ate near Moab, then continued driving on, past the exits for Grand Canyon in Arizona, we camped past Flagstaff, AZ for the night. Next morning we got an early start at 6AM and began the last couple hours of drive left to get to the trail head (The Hualapai hilltop). The signs (advertisements) on the road sure were interesting. The fourth member of our part was arriving from TX and was delayed.
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| the trail begins- in the dry desert landscape of AZ |
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| Mules carrying bags |
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| cactus |
We dropped our bags off for the mules, packed a small day pack with water and food and set off down the trail. The beginning was steep switchbacks, then mellow flat land though the desert wilderness. The next section were into the canyon which narrowed as we progressed further. We past a group of people heading out a pack of horses and then another group who had been camping down there and dint know the election result yet. We exclaimed its a boy and chatted about how unexpected it was. Passing down the trail we marveled at the red canyons all around us. The trail was easy and flat and we did our miles at a very good pace. Very soon we were at the intersection with the Havasuapi creek and turned left there. Here on we hiked along the creek. The blue green water was constantly flowing beside us. At around noon, we reached the Supai village. It was a quaint village in spectacular surroundings. Past the village we reached the office and checked in. The fourth member of our party getting delayed on the road had taken the chopper in and was already at the office waiting for us. All was well.
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| farms entering Supai village |
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| fields in supai village |
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| Havasu creek first look |
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| Havasu falls first look descending down |
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| perfect! |
We got our wristbands and continued on with final 2 miles to the campsites, while chatting with other fellow hikers. We were constantly blown away by the blue green water following by our sides. Past the first small falls, in no time we were greeted by the magnificent Havasu falls or Havasupai falls. The first waterfall. It was a photographers paradise.Being the first ones there we managed to get a very nice camping spot on a small hillock past the stream away from the hustle of the trail. We ate a bit and went back to the falls and decided to pick up our backpacks on the way back in as they were expected at 3-330PM in the afternoon. After setting up camp we strolled by the waters of Havasupai falls again and went in for a bit, back at camp we ate dinner under the moonlight and slept early,, it had been a long day.
The next day we breakfassed by the blue green water , and set off down the creek. Our destination was Beaver Falls, and if we could make it the Colorado river. The trail was amazing, with plenty of stream crossings. The water was pleasantly cool. First up is Mooney falls which took our breath away. The descend down to Mooney falls was definitely interesting and the highlight of our whole day.We criss-crossed cross the trail and the creek and reached Beaver falls by around noon. Here we relaxed. There were several other people. I bathed in the beaver falls for a while and explored the area. Further down from beaver fall there was an amazing spot to cliff jump into the water. It looked amazing but sadly i dint do it.
We returned to camp after spending some time at Mooney Falls on the way back. Back at came we had tea and snacks and gossiped. Late evening we went back to Havasu falls and had yummy fry bread the the local hut. It was pretty popular. We dined on gorgeous food and checked out Havasu falls again in the moonlight. and called it a night.
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| descending down Mooney falls |
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| bathing in beaver falls |
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| top view of beaver falls |
The next day each one did what we wanted. I went down to Mooney falls again and hung around in the waters. Being a Saturday, there was definitely more "crowd" that the previous day. I bathed in Mooney Falls and felt the raw power of the waterfalls. Then lounged about in the small steam in front of the falls right by the canyon walls. Behind the small stream falls there was a small cove/cave which was very cool. After more lounging in the waters i returned back to camp, changed and headed for some more fry bread. We then storlled around the small canyon just past our campsite, dined and slept in the moonlight.
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| final ascent back to base |
The next morning we started at about 7:30am and had breakfast and coffee at the town/village and began our hike out. The hike was pretty uneventful and after the final climb up the steepest section we found ourselves back at the cars and heading back on the long long drive back to Boulder. After the overnight stop near Moadb, we were back in Boulder at around noon on Monday, with lots of pics, lifetime of memories and tales!
