Advertisement
"We're gonna Hava-Supa Time" read the forum post from one of the guys...and once I read that, I knew it was going to be true!
It all started when I read a message on Couchsurfing.org about a trip a guy in Arizona was planning to the Grand Canyon. It was the pictures that grabbed my attention, and as I read more about the trip, I was hooked.
Couchsurfing.org is a website that makes connections between travelers and local people in the communities they visit. It's a great idea-- if you know you are going to a specific place, you can look up the couchsurfers who are in the area, and you can see if anyone is available to meet you for coffee or dinner, or if anyone has any fun plans going on, and even if anyone has a couch available for you to sleep. Most of the larger cities in America and all around the world have pretty active Couchsurfing communities. The Denver and Boulder groups get together a couple of times a week and always have fun activities planned. Even if you can't hook up with someone in the place you're visiting, the people on couchsuring can
usually point you in the direction of some sweet places you need to visit while you're in town. Getting a local's point of view is priceless, and you can get a better cultural understanding of people and places. ...but enough of couchsurfing, if you wanna check it out, I highly recommend it! 😊
Back to my trip...Larry, a Phoenix local who has a love for Havasupai, has been there the past seven or eight years. Last year, he decided to open the trip to a bunch of couchsurfers, and then did the same thing this year. He does all the planning, the logistics of getting everyone picked up from the airport, making sure everyone has rides up to the Indian reservation, buys and cooks the food, gets the camping reservations, you name it, he does it... and all for no profit! He just loves the area so much, he loves showing it to people that otherwise wouldn't have the chance to experience it.
The Havasu 'Baaja Indian Tribe owns the land we camped on. Their name literally means "The People of the Blue-Green Waters." Their tribe is about 650 members, of which about 450 live on the 
Trailhead Panorama
Pic by Johnny Wangreservation in Supai. Their native language is Havasupai. They've lived in the area for hundreds of years. Prior to the 1800's, when the Grand Canyon was made into a national park, they roamed the upper plateau area. During the spring and summer, they would live in the canyon and plant gardens, and then come fall and winter, they would move up to the rim of the canyon and hunt and gather. When the reservation was created in 1882, the government confined the Havasu to 518 acres at the bottom of the canyon - they lost almost 90% of their land, and forced them to rely more on farming and seeking wage labor outside the canyon. Eventually, they began to rely on tourism as their main economic base. Considering they live in what I believe is one of the most beautiful places on earth, it's easy to see how tourism has helped them.
Beth and I flew into Phoenix late Thursday night. Bad weather forced our flight back a couple of hours, but we ran to an earlier flight that was just boarding, and were able to get on there. Our bags would still be on the later flight, but
it was worth it. We met Mike in the Phoenix airport, he flew in from Chicago. He had just gotten back from a 3 week trip to Bolivia, where he was volunteering. Beth had told him about this trip and he got as excited as we were. Mike and Beth came to visit me in Europe, and we had traveled to London, Amsterdam and Paris together, and he lived with us last summer in Colorado before moving home for school in the fall, and it was good to see him again. He's so laid-back and easy going that he's great to travel with. Anyhow, we met him in the airport, and then waited for our bags to come. We knew Larry had arranged rides for us, but we had no idea who was going to be picking us up. Will, a Phoenix local, picked us up and drove us to the first meeting place, a mall parking lot right outside Phoenix. There were about 35 people total in our group, and most of us were meeting up and then driving together. Will was totally awesome, not only did he pick us up from the airport, he also drove us the
5 hours there and back, and to the airport at the end of our trip. He was cool to get to know, he's travelled all over and is a GIS analyst and programmer (he makes maps) and had tons of stories to keep us entertained. The rest of the couchsurfing group was a mix of people - old and young, from all over the North America. Anytime you get that diverse of a group together, you know you're in for a fun time!
We drove up to the trailhead during the night, since we needed to start hiking early in the morning, before the punishing heat and sun starting hitting too horrendously. It was a five hour drive, some miles on the old Route 66. Hualapai Hilltop is where the trailhead is, 65 miles away fro
m any stores /gas stations, etc. The trailhead is on the west side of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where the majority of tourists go.
We started our hike about 7am. It's a 10 mile hike down to the campsite, and we descend about 3000 feet, and we were all carrying our packs. Mine weighed around 25 lbs. The Havasu
Tribe rents mules, and you can put all your equipment on their if you like. Our group put our heaviest stuff on them, like our coolers, food, camping stoves, etc. That was perfect, because then everyone was only responsible for carrying their own personal packs. Its fun to see the mules trotting up and down the trail, though I felt a little sorry for them having to make that trek over and over again. It's sometimes scary, since they run at you pretty fast at times, and you better get out of the way fast, or else!
The first mile and a half of the trail are switchbacks, going steeply down the canyon, until you hit the canyon floor and the hike gets a little easier. It's still rugged and rocky, and hot! It's rated as moderately difficult, so I was happy to make it! 😊 It's 8 miles from the trailhead to the village of Supai, which is where the Indians live. The last mile or so to the village I really started feeling tired, and was happy when I saw people resting in the shade! The last two miles felt like another 10, at least in my
opinion! lol... I hiked them with Mary Beth, who's about my age and came from Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was nice hiking down, getting to talk to some of the other people in the group. And I was amazed when I finally made it to the campsite, that I wasn't the last one down... there were still about 10 people behind me! The sounds of the waterfall preceded the view, so there was added incentive to hurry and get to the end of the trail.
Coming into the campsite, you see Havasu Falls for the first time, and it is amazing!! It surpasses any other waterfall I've ever seen. It was the most gorgeous sight - the blue green water is breath-taking. It stays about 70 degrees year round. The first thing we did after setting up camp was head back to the falls and go swimming! The water's color comes from the large amount of calcium carbonate (lime) in the water, the limestone lines the creek and reflects the color so strongly. There are cool travertine formations. Travertine is a rock that is formed as calcium carbonate is deposited from the water. Any item that falls into
the stream mineralizes very quickly, causing new formations, and the water to change flow very regularly. It's so cool - I've never seen anything like it before!
Instead of bringing a tent, Beth and I decided to bring our hammocks. They were a lot lighter than carrying our tent, and we loved them! Beth got one for Mike, too and the three of us set up camp on our own little "island" in the campground. The campground had streams running all through it, and we got to sleep outside every night to the sound of rushing water.
The next morning, we took a hike to Mooney Falls, and followed the water further. Mooney Falls is a 200ft waterfall that was pretty cool to look at, but the water rushed down so fast, you could barely get close to it! The way down to Mooney was scary as hell, at least for me. I've included a picture, but I don't think it shows how it really was. You basically climbed down the canyon wall to get there, and although there were foot holes in some places, and a chain to help you in others, it still freaked me out.
Night Sky
The amount of stars was astonishing to me!!
Kenny, Beth, Mike & I walked to the top of Havasu Falls and just laid around talking and staring at the stars for a long time You had to go through two tunnels, too. The first tunnel is at the top of the canyon, and since you can't see the rest of the way down, I naively thought the tunnel was it. Was I ever surprised to get out the first tunnel, and not only see a second one, but also how much steeper and further I had to go!! I'm glad I did it, though...but if you asked me at the time, I might have had a different answer. 😊
Monday morning came too soon, and no one wanted to leave. It was such a fun trip, and it was great even to the end - instead of hiking the ten miles out, we only had to hike two miles, to Supai village, and then we got to helicopter out of the Grand Canyon. It was the perfect ending to the perfect trip, and looking down at the long hike we had taken only 4 days earlier, I wasn't sorry at all I was missing the hike out!! Starting at the trailhead, and hiking down the canyon, it was hard to get an idea of how vast the whole Grand Canyon was, so it
was great to fly out and get to see the whole amazing picture.
All in all, it was an awesome trip - I can't thank Larry enough for organizing everything. Tour companies charge $1500-$2000 a person for the same trip I paid $400 for!! I'm truly glad I got to see one of the most amazing places in this country!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.073s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 16; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0313s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Claudine
non-member comment
Brilliant!
Hiya Heather :) I love your blogs, I'm still an avid reader! This trip sounds fantastic, I remember you told me about it back in March/April while I was still in the UK. I wish I could have made it :( But I started working here and have to go back to reality... Your pics are awesome (as always!). Can't wait for your next adventure ;) xxx