Chasing the Sun Through the 5 Falls of Havasupai
THE PLAN
The Havasupai Indian Reservation is a Native American reservation surrounded by Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Havasupai literally translates to "people of the blue-green waters" which is exactly what draws people to this destination.
The reservations hosts 5 incredible falls all of turquoise blue water - Havasu Falls, Mooney Falls, and Beaver Falls plus two new falls after the flood in 2008 Fifty Foot Falls and Little Navajo Falls.
5 Falls, 5 Friends, 4 nights. That simple.
THE GEAR
REI Co-Op 65 mL Pack
Nemo Dagger 3-Person Tent
Therm-a-Rest Z Lite SOL Sleeping Pad
Therm-a-Rest ProLite Sleeping Pad
30 Degree Sleeping Bag
JetBoil
Bear Box
Eno Double Nest Hammock
Rope
luminAID Shark Tank Bundle (highly recommend over the Luci Light!)
Teva Hurricane XLT2 Sandals
THE ADVENTURE
We began our hike in on the morning of Friday, April 5th. The hike to the reservation is 8 miles plus another 2 to get to the campground. Needless to say our feet were ready for a cool soak in the creek when we got to camp.
After setting up, hanging our solar powered twinkle lights and hammocks, we adventured to Havasu Falls for sunset. We played in the water took some photos and went to bed early, exhausted from the long hike in.
Taylor and I woke at 5 AM to catch sunrise. We headed back to Havasu Falls and spent our morning taking photos enjoying the constant changing light through the canyon as the sun peeked over the mountains to greet us.
After our dream team was awake, we got blocked and loaded (we put on sunscreen and packed our day packs) and ready to adventure to Mooney Falls.
The hike to Mooney Falls is an incredible adventure. You descend through two caves cut out of the limestone, both offering amazing views of the falls when you make it through the other side. Then you come to steep steps and ladders lined with chains that help guide you down to the bottom.
It's colder at Mooney falls, as you aren't facing the sun and much of it is in the shadow of the canyon walls. But it is gorgeous, and Havasupai's tallest Falls.
After playing on a rope swing, we made our way further down the trail to Beaver Falls, stopping to enjoy rapids and swimming holes along the way.
By the time we made it to the falls the sun had already dipped behind the canyon walls leaving a sliver of sun further down the canyon. We decided to chase it, ending up at a wonderful swimming hole that straddled the border line between The Grand Canyon and Havasupai Reservation.
On Day 3, we said goodbye to 2 of our compadres that had to make it back for a flight home. We walked them back up towards the reservation on our way to explore the last two falls, Fifty Foot Falls and Little Navajo.
The day was much more relaxing, with far less milage than the day prior. Little Navajo was a perfect spot to lay out or take a dip in the natural infinity-like pool. We ended our day with frybread, the remaining 2 cartons of Black Box wine, and got to bed early in preparation for our long hike out the following day.
You can helicopter out of Havasupai from the Reservation for $85 and man did that look attractive on the way out. The hike out of Havasupai is 12 miles and all gradually uphill. The worst of it is at the very end when you have to ascend up the steep switchbacks to the parking area. We were of course victorious and actually ended up hiking out faster than we hiked in (we have no idea how that was the case).
In the end, I think we wished we would have had more time. Even though we were there 4 days and 3 nights, we wanted more time at each of the falls and at different times of day to enjoy the ever-changing light of the canyon as the sun passes overhead.