Havasu Falls Trip - Day Two and Hiking Out
After our first day hiking, I woke up shortly after sunrise and saw that Adam had already left the tent. Unfortunately, it turned out this was because he couldn't sleep, which was mostly because I snore. Adam had brought earplugs as he says he's a habitually light sleeper, but apparently it wasn't enough, so he popped out of the tent and slept in the hammock. This actually worked ok since it was dry and not too cold, but still I was mortified.
After that awkward start, we had a leisurely breakfast. Adam refilled his water from the natural spring in the campsite (no filtration needed) and we got ready for our day hike. First we had to walk all the way to the far side of the campsite, which is very narrow due to the canyon walls, loses more square footage to the creek and the path, and therefore has to be correspondingly long to fit in the 300 people who can have permits at any one time. Since the permits are perpetually sold out in advance (we only got in because Adam's friend had two spares), the campsite is usually close to full. Our trip was no different, with many tents and quite a few hammocks or bedrolls, including one hammock that was strung over the creek! In fact, the very last tents we saw were very close to the top of Mooney Falls, the fourth waterfall in the sequence.
The Mooney in question is D.W. Mooney, a miner who fell to his death trying to climb the falls (or maybe the cliffs, stories are mixed). The cliffs in question are quite tall, and the trail to the bottom of them is the single most challenging part of any hike we did. The trail has basically been carved out of the cliff wall, and is large enough for people to move in one direction. At points it goes into two tunnels, before emerging half way down the cliff. From here, a combination of ladders leads to the bottom, with chains spiked into the cliff wall that you can hold (and will) hold for balance. For extra fun, mist from the falls coated the bottom part of the cliff. It wasn't terrible, but if you're afraid of heights or not particularly dexterous, it is not a good time. The line of hikers moved slowly, so you had plenty of time to contemplate the scramble down. For extra fun, one of the chains was attached to a spike that was loose; that was fun to discover. I was quite happy to have my feet on the ground. The gloves came out of my pack for this descent.
The reward is a lovely pool at the bottom of Mooney Falls, and then a three mile hike to the fifth and final waterfall, Beaver Falls. The hike involves three water crossings. At a few points it's unclear where the path actually is, but the canyon is so narrow here that you can't really get lost even with extensive ups and downs blocking the view. There are lots of trees and small waterfalls, as well as many, many wild grape vines. At some points they cover the canyon and climb high up the canyon walls. There are occasionally picnic tables to rest at and rope swings over the water. Toward the end of the trail there were ladders to climb up and over rock outcroppings, a few of which had ropes in the wall for balance. On the plus side, there was plenty of shade, so it wasn't too terribly hot despite the physical exertion.
Anita and Brenna and Adam and I were hiking as one group, and we arrived at Beaver Falls ready for a break. Unlike the other waterfalls, Beaver Falls is a sequence of several falls separated by large pools. Adam & I went for a wade, and I ate many of my snacks. Several other hikers (including some others who were nominally in our 'group') were there getting selfies and relaxing.
When we'd hit the first water crossing I had switched from my boots to my sandals, which worked well until the glue holding them together apparently dissolved and made a strap fall apart. This happened right as we reached Beaver Falls, but given the many water crossings to come I opted to take my chances with blisters on the return. Somewhat miraculously, my feet emerged from this without even a hot spot. Many other hikers were wearing sandals (Brenna swore by Chacos) and we saw one couple who were barefoot.
The hike back was uneventful. We did notice some sort of metal equipment (there's a photo of it in my album) hanging from the canyon wall. It wasn't sized correctly to be a ladder, and we aren't sure if it was old mining equipment or something altogether. The internet has failed me on this one.
When we reached Mooney Falls, we took a short break to film Adam swinging on a rope over a waterfall, and then climbed up the ladders and cliff. I had to psyche myself up for this, but it went pretty well. We returned to our campsite and had some more snacks. Then Adam & I made the not insubstantial walk to above Havasu Falls to one of the fry bread tents for a snack and a cold drink.
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing. We then ate our dinner (not to mention most of the rest of our snacks) and had a pleasant evening chatting with Anita & Brenna and finishing the (totally not allowed) alcohol that Adam had brought and listening to some music from his phone on a fancy camping speaker he carried in. Brenna had through hiked the Appalachian Trail and has interesting anecdotes about that.
I saw a bat at sundown, which aside from the mule trains and the horses being ridden by the mule train herders was pretty much the only mammal I saw on the trip. I did see one ground squirrel, which was odd only in that we were told "hang up all your food or the squirrels will get it." We didn't bother, and had no problems even though we left the packs out on the table at night and when we hiked.
Technically our permits expired at 11:59pm on our second day, but literally everyone ignored that and camped a second night. All the info we found said this was fine, as long as you got up and went the night day. Since we'd been up all day going to bed early and getting up early wasn't going to be a problem. Adam slept in the hammock from the beginning this time and reports that he got noticeably more sleep.
We got up, ate breakfast and packed up. At 7am we were on the trail. Brenna and Anita had arranged to stay later, so it was just Adam & I. We did the two miles mostly uphill to Supai. Alas, the post office was closed so I couldn't mail a postcard. Oh well.
From there I quickly learned that the ten miles to the parking lot had been a lot more downhill than I recalled, because the uphill was quite noticeable. Despite that, we made excellent time. We too one longish break (10-15 minutes) in the shade about two miles before we hit the switchbacks climbing the canyon wall, but aside from that we were moving quite well.
We passed many people who were leaving the canyon, and many more going the other way back in. Many people had opted to have their bags hauled by the mules. We also saw the tribal helicopter make many trips back and forth, most likely because paying for chopper extraction was an option, and we saw many people in line for it at Supai. I kind of feel like that is cheating, but I have to admit that when I was halfway up the switchbacks I almost regretted not going for the chopper.
In any event, we reached the top without incident. I drank the last of my water in the last 100 yards. We got a picture taken and changed into some (cleaner) clothes for the car ride. My overshirt had gotten soaked with sweat, and I didn't even notice until we reached the top. From there, it was 60 miles back to the main road.
The only thing we didn't do on the trip was the Convergence Trail. If you continue from Beaver Falls for another three miles, you reach the point where Havasu Falls converges with the Colorado River at the main branch of the Grand Canyon. Given how long it took us to get to Beaver Falls and the trails reputation for being even more rugged and challenging, we would have had to get up much earlier and hustle to avoid hiking in the dark (including those water crossings). Since none of us wanted to try climbing that cliff at night, even with a head lamp, this was certainly the correct decision.
Aside from that and not mailing a postcard, Adam & I felt we'd thoroughly explored the options available in the Havasupai Trail. That's one from the bucket list crossed off.
After that awkward start, we had a leisurely breakfast. Adam refilled his water from the natural spring in the campsite (no filtration needed) and we got ready for our day hike. First we had to walk all the way to the far side of the campsite, which is very narrow due to the canyon walls, loses more square footage to the creek and the path, and therefore has to be correspondingly long to fit in the 300 people who can have permits at any one time. Since the permits are perpetually sold out in advance (we only got in because Adam's friend had two spares), the campsite is usually close to full. Our trip was no different, with many tents and quite a few hammocks or bedrolls, including one hammock that was strung over the creek! In fact, the very last tents we saw were very close to the top of Mooney Falls, the fourth waterfall in the sequence.
The Mooney in question is D.W. Mooney, a miner who fell to his death trying to climb the falls (or maybe the cliffs, stories are mixed). The cliffs in question are quite tall, and the trail to the bottom of them is the single most challenging part of any hike we did. The trail has basically been carved out of the cliff wall, and is large enough for people to move in one direction. At points it goes into two tunnels, before emerging half way down the cliff. From here, a combination of ladders leads to the bottom, with chains spiked into the cliff wall that you can hold (and will) hold for balance. For extra fun, mist from the falls coated the bottom part of the cliff. It wasn't terrible, but if you're afraid of heights or not particularly dexterous, it is not a good time. The line of hikers moved slowly, so you had plenty of time to contemplate the scramble down. For extra fun, one of the chains was attached to a spike that was loose; that was fun to discover. I was quite happy to have my feet on the ground. The gloves came out of my pack for this descent.
The reward is a lovely pool at the bottom of Mooney Falls, and then a three mile hike to the fifth and final waterfall, Beaver Falls. The hike involves three water crossings. At a few points it's unclear where the path actually is, but the canyon is so narrow here that you can't really get lost even with extensive ups and downs blocking the view. There are lots of trees and small waterfalls, as well as many, many wild grape vines. At some points they cover the canyon and climb high up the canyon walls. There are occasionally picnic tables to rest at and rope swings over the water. Toward the end of the trail there were ladders to climb up and over rock outcroppings, a few of which had ropes in the wall for balance. On the plus side, there was plenty of shade, so it wasn't too terribly hot despite the physical exertion.
Anita and Brenna and Adam and I were hiking as one group, and we arrived at Beaver Falls ready for a break. Unlike the other waterfalls, Beaver Falls is a sequence of several falls separated by large pools. Adam & I went for a wade, and I ate many of my snacks. Several other hikers (including some others who were nominally in our 'group') were there getting selfies and relaxing.
When we'd hit the first water crossing I had switched from my boots to my sandals, which worked well until the glue holding them together apparently dissolved and made a strap fall apart. This happened right as we reached Beaver Falls, but given the many water crossings to come I opted to take my chances with blisters on the return. Somewhat miraculously, my feet emerged from this without even a hot spot. Many other hikers were wearing sandals (Brenna swore by Chacos) and we saw one couple who were barefoot.
The hike back was uneventful. We did notice some sort of metal equipment (there's a photo of it in my album) hanging from the canyon wall. It wasn't sized correctly to be a ladder, and we aren't sure if it was old mining equipment or something altogether. The internet has failed me on this one.
When we reached Mooney Falls, we took a short break to film Adam swinging on a rope over a waterfall, and then climbed up the ladders and cliff. I had to psyche myself up for this, but it went pretty well. We returned to our campsite and had some more snacks. Then Adam & I made the not insubstantial walk to above Havasu Falls to one of the fry bread tents for a snack and a cold drink.
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing. We then ate our dinner (not to mention most of the rest of our snacks) and had a pleasant evening chatting with Anita & Brenna and finishing the (totally not allowed) alcohol that Adam had brought and listening to some music from his phone on a fancy camping speaker he carried in. Brenna had through hiked the Appalachian Trail and has interesting anecdotes about that.
I saw a bat at sundown, which aside from the mule trains and the horses being ridden by the mule train herders was pretty much the only mammal I saw on the trip. I did see one ground squirrel, which was odd only in that we were told "hang up all your food or the squirrels will get it." We didn't bother, and had no problems even though we left the packs out on the table at night and when we hiked.
Technically our permits expired at 11:59pm on our second day, but literally everyone ignored that and camped a second night. All the info we found said this was fine, as long as you got up and went the night day. Since we'd been up all day going to bed early and getting up early wasn't going to be a problem. Adam slept in the hammock from the beginning this time and reports that he got noticeably more sleep.
We got up, ate breakfast and packed up. At 7am we were on the trail. Brenna and Anita had arranged to stay later, so it was just Adam & I. We did the two miles mostly uphill to Supai. Alas, the post office was closed so I couldn't mail a postcard. Oh well.
From there I quickly learned that the ten miles to the parking lot had been a lot more downhill than I recalled, because the uphill was quite noticeable. Despite that, we made excellent time. We too one longish break (10-15 minutes) in the shade about two miles before we hit the switchbacks climbing the canyon wall, but aside from that we were moving quite well.
We passed many people who were leaving the canyon, and many more going the other way back in. Many people had opted to have their bags hauled by the mules. We also saw the tribal helicopter make many trips back and forth, most likely because paying for chopper extraction was an option, and we saw many people in line for it at Supai. I kind of feel like that is cheating, but I have to admit that when I was halfway up the switchbacks I almost regretted not going for the chopper.
In any event, we reached the top without incident. I drank the last of my water in the last 100 yards. We got a picture taken and changed into some (cleaner) clothes for the car ride. My overshirt had gotten soaked with sweat, and I didn't even notice until we reached the top. From there, it was 60 miles back to the main road.
The only thing we didn't do on the trip was the Convergence Trail. If you continue from Beaver Falls for another three miles, you reach the point where Havasu Falls converges with the Colorado River at the main branch of the Grand Canyon. Given how long it took us to get to Beaver Falls and the trails reputation for being even more rugged and challenging, we would have had to get up much earlier and hustle to avoid hiking in the dark (including those water crossings). Since none of us wanted to try climbing that cliff at night, even with a head lamp, this was certainly the correct decision.
Aside from that and not mailing a postcard, Adam & I felt we'd thoroughly explored the options available in the Havasupai Trail. That's one from the bucket list crossed off.