Posted: Jul 13 2005 10:13 pm
This is my opinion:
(1) It depends on if it's a weekend or weekday how many days you can handle. It get pretty crowded in there somtimes. 2 days should be fine.
(2) The trail is very easy to find below Mooney. I would rate it as a moderate hike, I did it as a day hike from Havasu down to the Colorado and back. Very pretty country, and no people till you get close to the river and meet the river runners on day hikes. Be prepared to wade/swim across parts.
(3) I would bring some MSR groundhog tent stakes for staking the tent in the sand. I left them home for less weight last time and ended up fishing my tent out of the creek about 50 ft. upstream of Mooney. The price of complacency. It can get real windy with thunderstorms in the area.
(4) The only bummer about this place is that they really pack a ton of people in this place and it has really been impacted. To get away from the noise, I would love to camp downstream of Beaver falls, but I don't know how legal that is. It can still get warm down there in the canyon hiking the 10 miles out, I would start early in the a.m. A long sleeve or vest type fleece should do you fine. The travertine in the water can really clog your water filter quick, make sure you know how to do basic maintenance on it to get it going again. Make sure you filter the water even from the spring at the campground.
Enjoy yourself, it really is a beautiful place. Take some good pictures, and stay away from the crowds. You won't believe some of the loads people hike in there. Most of them hire a mule for the way out, you will know what I'm talking about. It's unbelievable.
That's about it, I'm sure others will have more knowledge than I.
Dan
(1) It depends on if it's a weekend or weekday how many days you can handle. It get pretty crowded in there somtimes. 2 days should be fine.
(2) The trail is very easy to find below Mooney. I would rate it as a moderate hike, I did it as a day hike from Havasu down to the Colorado and back. Very pretty country, and no people till you get close to the river and meet the river runners on day hikes. Be prepared to wade/swim across parts.
(3) I would bring some MSR groundhog tent stakes for staking the tent in the sand. I left them home for less weight last time and ended up fishing my tent out of the creek about 50 ft. upstream of Mooney. The price of complacency. It can get real windy with thunderstorms in the area.
(4) The only bummer about this place is that they really pack a ton of people in this place and it has really been impacted. To get away from the noise, I would love to camp downstream of Beaver falls, but I don't know how legal that is. It can still get warm down there in the canyon hiking the 10 miles out, I would start early in the a.m. A long sleeve or vest type fleece should do you fine. The travertine in the water can really clog your water filter quick, make sure you know how to do basic maintenance on it to get it going again. Make sure you filter the water even from the spring at the campground.
Enjoy yourself, it really is a beautiful place. Take some good pictures, and stay away from the crowds. You won't believe some of the loads people hike in there. Most of them hire a mule for the way out, you will know what I'm talking about. It's unbelievable.
That's about it, I'm sure others will have more knowledge than I.
Dan