11 of us enjoyed a little bit of
heaven on earth called
Havasupai. It is 13 hours from Salt Lake. From the trailhead you hike down to the village campground 10 miles. We landed a fantastic camp site near the river, frog pond (not so great at night), bathrooms, and the water hole (natural spring). Our campsite was also halfway between Rock, Havasu, Mooney, and Beaver Falls. We were able to hike around and play in the pools each day we were there.
I have been to Havasupai twice before and I have been telling my sister about this trip for a decade. She was able to come and I loved having her there. We had a blast. There were three pairs of siblings: Ben & Dustin, Marissa & Marci (twins), and Amy & me.
The water was cold/freezing but the air during the day was 80-90 degrees so we heated up quickly before and after the dips in the pools. I found many great places to cliff jump. The highest I went off was probably 15+ feet.
Havasupai was weathered by a mud slide from a ranch above the falls in 2008. The falls, trees, and campground has been altered slightly but not enough to change the gorgeous views and blue-green water. Heaven!
We hiked down to Beaver Falls (3 miles) and it took all day. We played in water holes the whole way down. Our goal was to hike to the confluence (not the consulate, my bad) where the Havasu River and Colorado River connects. The day was getting late and our feet (my feet especially) were hurting from the rubbing of the chacos and blisters from the hike in. Luckily we choose to hike back to camp after Beaver Falls because Dustin's Teva sandles both broke. He used a camel back strap to doctor up his 10-year-old shoes.
Out of the 11 of us who came down I could not say anyone clashed or complained. We had a blast! I could hike or play next to anyone in the group and have a good time. We all were up for the adventure and took advantage of every moment. Nothing could get me out of the water - even the cold water didn't stop me.
Our food supply consisted of meals that could be heated up with boiling water or already ready. Some of the favorites were: oatmeal with craisens, cereal, tuna, instant potatoes, salad the first day chilled next to a frozen water bottle, apples, oranges, Mountain House meals (even if they had 670mg of sodium and 40g of fiber per serving), couscous (herb flavoring), humus, peppers, and cucumbers.
Navajo Falls were destroyed by the flood/mud slide and a new set of falls were created called Rock Falls. This area had a fantastic swimming hole with a great current to do laps. The bank was perfect for cliff jumping too.
Ben/Dustin and Leanne had a National Parks pass so we stopped at the Grand Canyon on the way home. We stopped at three of the look outs. I loved my sister's comment, "They all look the same. Do we need to do another stop?" I love her! The grand canyon view was GRAND and sure makes me want to come back when it is cooler to hike it rim to rim. On the ride home we played leap frog into different cars and all got home safely by midnight ready to go to work the next day. Not me...I am off track for another week and a half. Until the next adventure!!!
