The journey begins by getting there. We want the 8 mile hike to the village of Supai to begin early in the morning because it can get pretty darn warm for the hike as the days moves on, which required getting closer to the the trailhead at Hualapai Hilltop. So, with friends Dan and Diane from Rapid City with us, we traveled to Seligman, AZ, the day before the hike and stayed the night leaving the following morning for the 80 mile trip to the trailhead arriving at 9 a.m. Our hiking group going down consisted of 17 people from ages of 20s to 60s - quite the group. One of our group of 18 helicoptered in. Three of us helicoptered out.
The first 1 1/2 miles of the hike (Havasupai Trail) is the most difficult due to steep switchbacks and becomes easier with a gentle slope along a wash to the village of Supai where the Havasupai people live (an American Indian tribe who have lived in the Grand Canyon area for at least the past 800 years). There is a 24-room lodge run by the Havasupai in the village, a cafe and a small store. Two miles further on from the village is a campground with approximately 250 campsites. Surprise - I prefer the lodge! Love a shower and comfortable bed after hiking!
The only way to get to the village is by foot, horseback or helicopter - no roads. Which means anything you purchase in the village is going to be pricey because the only way it gets there is by horseback or helicopter. Lodging is not that expensive considering...in addition to the $35 fee for entry to the reservation, the room with two double beds and a full bath is around $100/night. Thanks Mike for making the reservations! It was the best trip yet for me. I wonder if that had to do with that I flew out of the canyon via helicopter! versus hiking? I don't think entirely though because seems like this trip we spent more time hanging out at each of the falls relaxing and visiting and we had a great group of people. Of the 18 in our group, 12 are related (siblings, their spouses and adult children) - great group!
The first picture is the view looking towards our destination from Hualapai Hilltop and the starting point of Havasupai Trail.
The lodge at the village of Supai - what a setting!
We headed out on our hike to the falls the following morning. This was our view of Navajo Falls.
This was our first view of Havasu Falls.
Another perspective of Havasu Falls.
Navajo Falls is about a mile from the village and Havasu Falls is just shy of two miles from the village. And then there is Mooney Falls! Oh my, I had forgotten how scary the hike down to Mooney was. Yikes!
What a process to get to the bottom! By the way...do believe we were some of the oldest people to have visited Mooney Falls!
We enjoyed our time at Mooney Falls. Some of the fellows headed on to Beaver Falls which I think was another two miles while the rest of us returned to Havasu Falls to spend some more time.
The following pictures are the guys trip to Beaver Falls.
The Beaver Falls hikers: (L-R: Tom, Drew, (or was that Drew, Tom?), Mike, Craig and Dan.
Larry said the area was covered in what looked like grape vines.
What a great day! We returned to the lodge around 5 p.m. We all woke early the next morning because the hikers wanted to be on the trail by 6:30 a.m. We generally all hiked down together but hiking out was at everyones own pace. Below is a picture of Larry and Dan and Diane heading out leaving me at the site where the helicopter came into the village.
I was anxious to be at the spot where people are helicoptered out to get my name on the list. It is a first come, first serve basis - no reservations. The Havasupai villagers have priority, then vendors for the tribe and then tourists. There were two people (tourists) ahead of me. Anyone who came after that, we let them know what number they were in regards to the list to fly out. Once the tribe member who was in charge of this important list arrived at around 8 a.m., he first made sure any tribe members' names were on the list first and allowed around 15 minutes for more tribe member arrivals before he let us add our names to the list. The helicopter arrived at 9 a.m. and the first group went out - 6 people and their packs. I was on the second flight and it took all of 5 minutes and I LOVED every minute! Incredible to be out that quickly. When we landed, the couple who flew out with me, their son had already hiked out and was waiting for our helicopter. This is a picture of my helicopter arriving and the second is a picture of the helicopter arriving on top - loved it
Below is a picture of Larry coming out. He did the hike out in 3 1/2 hours - amazing how much faster he can go without me in tow!
Dan and Diane did a great job of coming out - the hike isn't that difficult coming out because it is more or less a gentle uphill through a huge wash but that last 1 1/2 miles of switchbacks - now that's another story. And an 8 mile hike is an 8 mile hike - especially uphill! We had chairs and coolers and shade ready for the hikers as they came out.
What a great trip!
We don't have any immediate leisure travel plans. Larry has a trip to Chile in late September which means he'll miss the Eagles concert we have tickets for in early October. Sister-in-law Liz is going with me.
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