Some background:
Havasu Falls is in a far west spur of the Grand Canyon - on Supai indian land. They limit the number of people who can go to the falls by issuing permits. This trip had been previously scheduled a couple of weeks before, but was called off due to a rare, and rather nasty, storm. The next available date to get permits at that time was October. So we had pushed this trip out of the "things going to happen soon" list. However, Kendall was itchin' to get out so she called and called and called until she got a cancellation - 4 spots. It was on.
We carpooled up to the parking lot where the hike started on Friday night. This parking lot is 60 miles from route 66 - in the middle of nowhere. We expected a few cars to be there, but it was mobbed. We found a parking spot and set out our sleeping bags on the pavement, behind the car. The wind was ridiculous up there and it blew all night. At least it wasn't raining.
Next morning we were up with the sun and got ready for the 10 mile hike to the campground. From the parking lot the views were pretty cool
The hike starts with a substantial drop via switchbacks.
Then it sorta flattens out to gradual descent through the scenic canyon.
Eventually we made it to the Supai village where we paid our $62 per person - the price of getting to tresspass on Supai land to view the falls. There BETTER be water there.
Just outside the village we saw the first small falls (upper and lower Navajo Falls) and a hint of the beautiful blue water.
About a mile out of the village we got to the first of the big falls. This is Havasu falls - it is about 100 feet high. From the top it was a beautiful view into the blue green pools at the bottom.
We hurried down to the bottom to get the full spectacle of the falling water. Oooh. Aaaah.
We decided to find camp and dump our stuff before playing in the inviting waters.
The campground was pretty full. It was kind of a free for all - camp where ever you can find a spot. It took a bit more walking, but we found a spot that suited us.
Set up camp and made the decision to head down to Mooney Falls first.
It was not much further down. As with Havasu Falls, the view from the top was pretty stunning.
Chad mentioned something about the route to the bottom of the falls being a bit "sketchy". But that did not even prepare us for the route down. For those afraid of heights, they probably would never see the bottom of the falls. For me, this was uber cool.
Through tunnels
Down "stairs" and ladders
And of course, the view from the bottom was breathtaking - almost a 200 foot drop.
We wandered downstream enjoying the mini waterfalls and other features. I imagine you could walk, entranced, all the way to the Colorado.
Finally we headed back to the falls and up the crazy route and back to camp.
Chilled for a while to gather our energy.
Then we headed back to Havasu falls to check it out.
We played on a little falls below the main attraction and generally acted like little kids at the beach. So much fun.
Eventually it was time to head back to the campground.
Made some dinner, read the WSJ, and enjoyed good company.
A little exploring lead us to discover what appeared to be abandoned mine shafts on the walls of the valley. They only went back about 100 feet - but really interesting.
This night was much more relaxing than the one up on the rim. The wind came back a couple of times - but not all night. So that was good.
Next day we were up early again - hoping to get back to the car by noon. A 6am departure under cloudy skies (wasn't there 0% chance of rain?) was accompanied by quite a few of our fellow campers. However, most of them bailed in the village where they piled their gear on to mules for the trip out.
While there is no way we would have done the mule thing. We found out on the way out that you could put 4 packs on a mule for $100. So, $25 each to not have to carry our gear out? Hmmmmmmmmmm.
One of the reasons we started out early was that we wanted to beat the heat. However, the cloud cover took care of that - so cool. Much to our surprise, the friendly cloud cover turned to drizzle about half way out of the canyon. I swear it was supposed to be 80 degrees with 0% chance of rain.
We piled on the warmer clothing and soldiered on. Finally, we came to the switchbacks and started our ascent. The drizzle had stopped but it was still pretty cool.
Climbed out of the canyon and checked the time. 9:30 - killed it. We made it out of there way faster than expected.
We gorged ourselves on snacks that Chad and Kendall had brought - we earned it.
Hopped in the car ready to head home.
Jump back to the night we arrived. I had backed the car into the parking space. When I went to do that, the clutch had dropped to the floor and I couldn't get the car in reverse. Turned the car off, shifted and backed up. Hmmmm, what was that all about? I was wondering about this all weekend - figuring the clutch master cylinder was getting ready to no longer work.
When we went to leave, I pushed in the clutch, shifted to first and headed out. Whew, maybe it will hold till we get home. No such luck. When I went to shift at Rte 66, the clutch was just gone. Now what? MANY miles from home or help. It turns out you can start a car while it is in first gear and shift (carefully) without a clutch. This bit of gear fu got us to Williams - where we got gas and food at Mickey D's. And it got us back to I-17 and Carefree Hwy where we had met Chad and Kendall for the carpool.
That last bit was really dicey, so we decided to leave the car there and get it towed the next day. Chad and Kendall gave us a ride back to our house and continued on home to Tucson.
But it was all part of the adventure. I'd do it all over again in a second.
MANY, MANY thanks to good friends Chad and Kendall for the invite, the snacks, the ride home, and most importantly for being such fun to hang with.
Additional photos (and a couple of videos) here.
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