Havasu Falls at the Grand Canyon

June 4 to 6, 2004

Five of us went on this 3 day backpacking trip to Havasu Falls located on the Havasupai Indian Reservation in the western part of the Grand Canyon.

Friday June 4: We drove up from Sedona and started down from Hualapai Hilltop to Havasu Falls. The trail was significantly downhill for the first 1.5 miles, then mostly leveled out as it followed the canyon floor. At that time there was a LOT of mule train traffic on the trail, as all supplies to the village come in via mule train or helicopter. Some people and some hiking/camping gear also arrive that way, but we did regular old carry it yourself backpacking. The hike was HOT (near 100F), and felt longer than the 8 miles it took to reach the Indian village of Supai, where we treated ourselves to milkshakes, floats and sodas at the village cafe, before continuing the additional two miles to Havasu Campground. Just before the campground we passed Havasu Falls, looking down at the Falls (see pic below), and the turquoise pools that lie beneath it. Gorgeous - really spectacular! We then found a spot in the overcrowded campground and cooked our best backpacking dinner ever: round steak, french bread, beans, and fresh garden salad. Yes, steak - we had frozen it ahead and then kept it in a very small cooler on ice in my pack. It was GREAT! Beats the heck out of our usual dehydrated fare ...

Saturday June 5: We spent most of the morning at Havasu Falls (100' high), swimming and wading in the pools at the foot of the Falls. There were a few other people there, but not as many as you guess given the number in the campground. The water is SO clear when looking directly down into it, and has a beautiful blue color from an angle. Just terrific. After lunch we headed down the 1/2 mile to Mooney Falls (200' high), where the trail becomes nearly vertical and you descend very carefully holding onto to chains and spikes that have been mounted in the side of the canyon walls. If you are afraid of heights, it is a challenging spot, but all five of us made it down. Again, an awesome falls, with beautiful pools at the foot of the falls. Also a rope swing over one pool. Eventually we climbed back out (not nearly as scary as going down) and headed back to Havasu for the rest of the afternoon.

Sunday June 6: Everyone but me had a 4PM flight out of Phoenix back to Baltimore, so we got up at 3AM and headed back to Hualapai Hilltop. There were a surprisingly large number of hikers on the trail with us at that hour. We all felt strong and made it out without pushing in 4.5 hours - pretty good for 10 miles and 2600 vertical feet. And, the early start helped us avoid the sun, the heat and the muletrains.

Summary: Havasu and Mooney Falls are truly beautiful spots - they certainly fit my definition of an oasis in the middle of a desert canyon.


Grand Canyon from Hilltop

Trail Relaxation

Havasu Falls

Havasu Falls

Pools below Falls

Mooney Falls

Climbing up from Mooney

Trail near the Hilltop


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