| heres some info, read up...
http://www.havasupaitribe.com/index.htm http://www.havasufalls.net/ http://www.rockhounds.com/grand_hikes/hikes/havasu_canyon/ http://oak.ucc.nau.edu/rlt23/Havasupai_photo_gallery.htm (this shows in order what you see when you hike) it costs $30 plus $12 per night per person, so basically the longer you stay the less it is per night. They take credit cards, crazy right! Last time i left at about 7am got to the falls at 2 (walked slow) Its approx 8 miles to the village and another 2 miles to the first set of falls. I would love to go to beaver falls but that is an additional 2-4 miles depending what site i look at, and i read mention of climbing down a rope to get there?!?! I will look into it a bit more. First hand hiking info. It is hot and far, but if you think the pic's look awsome, just wait until you see them in person. Its like the best reward ever, you hike 11 miles and get to a paraside in the middle of a barren canyon. Average aug temp is 99 degrees, but it was cooler last time, goes into the 70's at night. Comfortable Socks and shoes are probably the most important thing after clean water. I had some socks that had a seam across my toe and i got a blister filled with blood, not fun. I hiked in wearing era vans, and out wearing vans hiking shoes. The hiking shoes sucked and hurt my feet for about a week after. The era vans were perfect. You just have to be careful because it would be really easy to twist an ankle on the rocks. You might want to hit up a sporting goods place and get some inexpensive gear, and probably the best softest most expensive socks they have, trust me on that. The initial descent is very steep, nothing you actually have to climb down, just walk on a steep declining path. Once you are at the bottom you cross the canyon and go into a tall narrow canyon (about 50 feet high and about 30-50 feet wide) this is really good because it offers alot of shade on the way there. Most of the trip you walk across sand, rocks, gravel, cactus, cattle bones, and whatever else you might expect ti find in a genuine canyon. There is no water until about 1/2 mile from the village and the don't recommend drinking it since its so high in mineral content. You have to carry in and out all your shit, including garbage. There is a store in the village that sells junk and has a grill, i can't imagine that place being too clean. There is also a market where we bought fresh fruit last time, at a pretty reasonable price, actually not much above your local stop and shop, they have gatoraide and kit kats too. The campsite is a patch of dirt under some nice trees, lots of shade. They do have toilets there, and they stink. But if you do have to shit a seat is nicer than leaning on a tree without a doubt. It sounds pretty secluded but last time there were about 50 people within about 1/4 mile, nice and comforting when its pitch black out at 11pm. They have a free spring there but the water has to be treated with chlorene tabs. This will basically make the water taste like a pool. but it didn't get me sick. I brought a tent, sleeping bag, camera, battery operated lantern, canned soup, mac and cheese, granola/ power bars, a foldable stove, with burners, back mat, book, extra shoes (necessary for walking in the water, sharp rocks) I'm sure you could bring an ipod, probably awsome to listen to the mummies or slayer in the middle of fucking nowhere. Remember though what you bring in has to be carried, on your back. You can wash in the stream if you use biodegradable soap, but there is no disco club to impress girls at so being dirty aint so bad. I would have to imagine there are some wild animals out there although i didn't see any last time. I saw a horse, dog, mule, bats and some wacky bugs but no polar bears or great white sharks. Some people warned us about a rattle snake last time but we didn't see it. Hiking out is a bitch, its slightly up hill, and you know you are leaving one of the coolest places so that sucks. I did make it out faster than i did in, because my slow ass girlfriend took a horse out. There are other options to hiking, you can ride a horse in and out, have a mule take your pack, or take a hellacopter, basically i say fuck that. If you can't carry your shit and walk there you don't deserve to see it. Also this shit is expensive $75 each way for the horse and i don't even remember what for the copter. You can do this trip for a little bit of money, the exact same thing a travel company charges $1700 for. For me i wanted to be able to say i walked 22 miles to see a sick waterfall, and even though my gf offered to pay for the horse, i wanted to walk out and complete it. Personally 2 nights is not enough for me, i would say a min of 3, this also gives you time to rest up your sore legs and feet before you have to hike out. So let me know what you guys think. Its definitely something that only a few hundred people do each year, you gotta think about being one of only a few people alone in the middle of a canyon, if you freak out there is no way to leave until the next moning and then its 11 miles to the car. But its without a doubt some cool ass shit, and so relaxing and refreshing to just sit and chill and swim all day long. Nothing you can do, no one you can call, basically life just stops while you are there. I would recommend walking or biking alot a few weeks before you go, get those legs ready. Heres some personal pics, i have lots more if you want to see... |
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| rope swing |
| how you get to and from mooney falls (highest falls 200 ft)below &>> |
| our campsite |
| water looks 100 times more blue than this... |