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| Backpack | 31.62 Miles |
5,555 AEG |
| | Backpack | 31.62 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 5,555 ft AEG | | 55 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Early April was a really great time of year to make this trip! First time to Havasupai for everyone in our group of 5, and first backpacking trip for all but one of us. We started calling for reservations the morning they opened, and on the 2nd day heard about the new havasupai tribe website in a facebook comment, where we immediately sent $600 without even being sure the website was real! I watched my card account carefully for the next couple days until the same link showed up on the grand canyon national park website which seemed much more legitimate.
I definitely over-packed, so even though we were only going for two days somehow i ended up with 57 lbs of gear (here's my pack list & weights: https://www.lighterpac... )and I didn't even carry any food... I think this will have to be fixed next time. A good portion of it was the 5.6 liters of water that wasn't really necessary, but I was a little paranoid after getting pretty badly dehydrated and running out of water on our cave trip the week before.
anyway, back to the hike! the parking lot at hualapai hilltop is in a beautiful canyon, not too far of a drive up from grand canyon caverns where we frequently visit. Leaving Tempe that morning meant we didn't check in at the top and get on the trail until 11:30, but the weather was nice and cool and the desert was green from all the rains we had this winter. The first mile or so of the trail is very steep, and downhill has never been friendly to my knees, so I was very glad for the well groomed trail and my walking sticks, but everything after that is very gentle (almost imperceptibly) sloped. We were passed by a number of overworked horses carrying everything some hikers need for their weekend, like generators, coolers full of illicit beer, heavy chairs, and tables. The animals didn't look particularly abused like I've heard about in some past horror stories, but a little consideration on the part of visitors and outfitters could probably go a long way to getting these working horses and burros better lives.
After the first mile or so the trail winds through the canyon where we are treated to beautiful geology. The majority of the walk follows a wash that is made of small rocks, so I'd suggest wearing boots with stiffer soles if you don't want to end up hurting the bottom of your feet.
We started to see little streams and pools a little more than halfway through the canyon, probably right when we passed the first spring. Greenery and wildflowers everywhere around the water were very pretty, so we snapped lots of photos and took our time on the hike. Arriving at the lodge and signing in to get our final permits was surprising, since I thought the campsites were assigned. After checking in, walking through town, and stumbling past the first few waterfalls , we finally found a nice available campsite with about 5 hours of walking (very slow). Campsites are very nice, each one has lots of flat packed sand and picnic tables at each site, plenty of trees for tying up hammocks, a few nice composting toilets around the grounds, and plenty of water whether you filter from the streams or the nearby spring. This most definitely was not "roughing it" but the experience was nice either way.
There was a little time to check out Havasu falls and Little Navajo falls before dark, and then dinner and sleep.
On the second day we hiked down past Mooney falls to Beaver falls. Lots of climbing up and down shady ladders made it fun, and there were plenty of knee-deep river crossings. I think we hiked about 12 miles round trip on the 2nd day, just exploring as much as we could. I think if I go again it would be nice to hike all the way down to the colorado.
Third day we woke up and got breakfast in town (burritos at the Sinyella store, the last building on the way out, were delicious) before hiking out. Tired legs for all of us and a few people with very hurt feet (again, you should probably wear good sturdy boots for this hike. maybe not vibrams) made for a slow, but enjoyable hike out. Spending more time in the canyon made it possible for me to start enjoying the landscape more and more. After a long day's hike back we drove back to phoenix stopping for dinner at Prescott brewing on the way. Great trip and I can't wait to go back. maybe with a lighter pack next time. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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