More Waterfall Chasing

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Sunday morning we all awoke in high spirits and ready to enjoy all last full day in this desert paradise. Today's plan was to all hike together to some nearby waterfalls in order to enjoy the cool and refreshing waters. After two days of hiking and and tomorrow's tough hike out, we were all excited for today's relatively easy day. Alexei and Jeff first took us over to Fifty Foot Falls, an absolutely gorgeous waterfall that seems straight out of a tropical island paradise. The plan was to spend 1-2 hours just relaxing, swimming, and enjoying the beauty of the surrounding area. The water was cold but felt quite good as the morning slowly heated up. Eventually, we all got in and slowly swam closer to the waterfall. The force of the watefall combined with the mist and the depth prevented me from getting closer to the waterfall. I'm not the greatest of swimmers and I definitely didn't want to risk getting myself into a precarious situation. Some of the others swam right up to the falling water and to everyone's surprise, discovered a cave behind the falls. I was so tempted to check it out myself but being the risk averse person that I am, I was content with keeping somewhat of a distance. We all killed time just swimming around and playing some frisbee in the shallower parts. Eventually, I decided to get out and warm up in the sun before we headed over to our next swimming spot. We hiked over to the nearby travertine basins above Navajo Falls where the river flowed through pools before cascading over Navajo Falls. The limestone rock within the pools were a bit sharp and the water was a bit strong at certains points making it a bit difficult to fully enjoy the situation. I did however find a few calm spots where the water was a bit warmer and I was just able to sit there for a few moments and enjoy the moment. We didn't spend a lot of time here as those of us who did go in didn't stay very long. While here, Alexei and Jeff found a shady spot where they had layed out a large blanket for lunch consisting of crackers, chips, fruit, hummus, and other snacks.

After lunch, we made our way back over to Navajo Falls for more fun in the water. By now the midday sun had intense and we were all itching to get into the refreshing water to cool off. Most of us climbed one of the rocks which allowed us to take a 10-15 foot plunge into the water below. I ended up jumping about 6 times as this was easily my most favorite swimming spot of the day. Talking with everyone afterwards, they all had come to the same conclusion. Before heading back to camp, Alexei and Jeff indicated they had a surprise for us as they lead us to a small waterfall called Secret Falls. I'm not sure if this was the actual name of the waterfall or if this was their name for this off the beaten trail waterfall. They lead us off the main trail where we made our own may through bushes, small trees, and mud before crossing the river into a hidden pool with a small waterfall. There was nothing spectacular about this waterfall as it was maybe about 10 feet tall but it was definitely off the beaten trail and hidden from sight from most visitors. However when we got there, we weren't the only people. I guess the Secret Falls wasn't as much of a secret as Alexei and Jeff had thought. A few of us swam up to the waterfall where Jeff brought them back to a hidden grotto behind the waterfall. Most of us though were content with just sitting there watching them and watching some daredevil teenagers jump into the pool from the rocks about 50 feet above. Retracing our steps back to the main trail, we made it back to camp to relax for the rest of the evening. With this being the last evening before hiking out tomorrow, I wanted to spend the rest of the evening soaking in as much of Havasu Falls as I could. I walked over with Karen and we eventually found Christine and Alan. We spent the next hour just relaxing in the pools and chatting about our future upcoming travels. Once the last of the sun's direct rays had gone away, we made our way back to camp to enjoy a final dinner together. We all went to bed just after 8pm as we would be waking up at 3:30 to begin our hike back to Hualapai Hilltop.

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Comments

[Roosta]

Beautiful blog of a special place
Incredible blog of a very special trip. It brought back memories of my trek to Supai years ago, when permits were easier to get. It looks different now (they had a huge flood twenty years ago) but still as beautiful as ever. Thanks for capturing it so well.