HAVASUPAI
INTRO
Havasu Falls blew my mind. It’s a waterfall oasis in the middle of the Arizona desert. I loved it so much I have a preset pack inspired by the trip! This was my first backpacking experience and I honestly only have a handful of things I would do differently. Let’s jump into it, shall we?
People who wish to visit Havasu Falls and enjoy its turquoise waters must purchase permits much in advance. Not only are they on a limited, first-come-first-serve basis, but the cost is also on a steep incline due to it becoming a very popular destination(around $350 a person.) My boyfriend and his sister, Colin, and Aris, bought their tickets in February 2019 when they were released. I was lucky to find someone selling theirs online for the same weekend that Colin and Aris would be there. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t lucky enough to get them the first time around, people buy the tickets before realizing this is not a day trip and back out by selling their tickets on the official site!
Arrival
We flew into Las Vegas, which was a first for me, but immediately headed north in our rental. We drove for four hours until reaching our Hotel and headed to sleep around midnight. We woke up at 4:30 am to take our last shower for the next few days, packed up, and hopped back into the car. Two more hours in the car during sunrise in the desert and BOOM, we arrived at the first checkpoint. Because Havasu Falls is located on a reservation there are very strict guidelines on what you can and can’t bring. We were instructed to get out of the car at this checkpoint so they could check our packs to make sure we didn’t have anything like drugs, alcohol, drones, or many other things. You can check out the full Tourist Guideline pack so you are super prepared! * SERIOUSLY * We heard horror stories of travelers getting turned around or not permitted because they didn’t follow the rules and come prepared. Believe me, this is not the trip to forget something important, so do lots of research. If you’re reading this that is exactly what you are doing so have a mini-celebration for your smart self.
Reaching the bottom of the initial summit into the canyon.
Hike
Once we got to the trailhead I got some serious butterflies in my stomach. I’ve never been backpacking. I’ve never been camping. I’ve never hiked more than 3 miles let alone with a 35 lb. pack on my back (I weighted it in the airport lol.) As we locked up our car and headed to the trail I had to give myself an internal pep-talk on how I’m a bad bitch and how I wanted to do this so I can grow as a person and blah blah. So much of what I read led me to believe that this trip is life-changing, it was all worth it!
I’m so glad I purchased some Walking Poles because the sandy and sometimes the rocky trail was really hard on my 24-year-old knees (lol.) I’m not being sarcastic, my knees had a very hard time on this hike. Get ones with a cork handle to keep the sweat away! Another thing I would have done differently was brought Advil and stretch a lot in preparation.
It took us about 30 minutes to get down the switchbacks and into the canyon. We had a rude awakening when we were yelled at by a local for taking photos of the horses being headed up the mountainside carrying their body weight in other people’s packs and supplies. I am planning on making a whole post on this situation so that is all I will say at this time. We hiked for about two hours before stopping to tape up our toes and have a snack in a shaded area out of the sand.
The first signs of water lifted all of our spirits. You can hear it faintly and tell its close by the increase in greenery during the hike. We arrived in the small reservation town of Supai where we got our wristbands and checked in the number of tents and campers we came with. Since that was our set weekend to come they had wristbands with our names on them that included how many people were in our group. They don’t take intruders lightly here. The town was a bit run down and a bit like a ghost town, yet charming with stray dogs and horses everywhere. We saw a helicopter overhead the whole hike up to this point, but it was cool to see it land right in the middle of this small rural town dropping off cargo for the villagers and picking up luggage for those leaving that day.
Camp
We dusted off our boots and set out for the last two miles until we arrived at Havasu Falls, the first of 3 beautiful waterfalls in Havasupai. You can hear it from a mile away and once you see it with your own eyes all your knee pain subsides and you’re just happy to exist in the same world as something so beautiful. After admiring the view, we picked a campsite across a small wooden bridge and lofted above the river. We set up our tent, made food, used the outhouses, and passed the hell out to prepare for another hike the next day! Since there are no campfires allowed and we did this hike in October, once it was dark we all felt like it was the best option to head to bed and cozy up in our tents because of the dark cold nature of this time of year.
The Descent
First of 3 Waterfalls: Havasu Falls
We woke up around 8 am to fetch water from the fresh spring and make a protein-packed breakfast. We still filtered our water (even though it supposedly came from a fresh spring) using the Platypus Gravity water filter system. We set out hiking to Beaver falls around 11 am. Once we arrived at the top of Mooney Falls, the biggest of the three, we soon realized how steep of a climb we were in for. You enter the climb in what seems like a black hole into the mountainside. You climb down carved steps and pop out with a beautiful view of the falls. There was even a rainbow above it all. The farther you get into the descent the more everything gets covered with mist from the falls. The metal and muddy chains and spikes are perfectly placed so you always have somewhere to hold. I highly recommend looking up videos of this climb if this is the first time you’ve heard about it… it is most definitely not for the faint-hearted. But if you’re someone who could achieve the 10-mile hike in, then don’t doubt yourself! Even though it is scary, it was my favorite part of the entire trip!
Once at the bottom we were stunned by the beautiful greenery and the crystal clear water. We decided we would spend the whole next day exploring that area, then kept moving because of the 2.5 miles left to get to Beaver Falls. This hike was much more interesting than the hike the day before. Ever turn there was something interesting. Example: a metal ladder leading to the top of the canyon, lush greenery covering the floor of the canyon making it look like a different planet, many smaller falls along the way, wild animals like mountain goats, and other free-spirited travelers who will make great conversation if you’re lucky! ;)
As mentioned before, I would change some things if I did it again. I would absolutely bring some kind of water shoe because we had to cross through the river three times to get to Beaver Falls. Colin carried me over two for fun and for a cute photo, but the pretty white rocks are actually kind of sharp. Colin even got a pretty bad scrape while jumping into the water on a rope swing.
There is one point on this portion of the hike right before arriving at Beaver Falls that I could just drop my entire life and live in… There is an outstandingly magnificent palm tree next to the blue river and a small crevice in the mountain. There were tropical bright yellow flowers and the calming sound of the river. There were pieces of wood creating stairs in the mountain side that helped us climb up, and it was just absolutely gorgeous.
Beaver Falls
Once we arrived we all had lunch next to the beautiful falls. It was a three-level waterfall that I so wish was warming in October. Never the less we enjoyed watching the crazies jump in and everyone take photos through the lens of romantic, adventure, explorer, and conquer! Aris, Colin’s sister, is an Elopement Wedding Photographer so she took some amazing shots of Colin and me having a moment under the falls.
On our trip back we were nervous about having enough daylight so we were in a bit of a rush. We were the last people to leave Beaver Falls so it put us a little on edge. The only thing that made us stop was seeing some amazing wild mountain goats (?) up close and personal in the river. There was a male, female, and young goat. They were so serene and we were sure not to disturb them except snapping a few photos and videos of the experience while still keeping a lot of ground between us.
The next day was my 24th birthday. We spent it exploring the two closest falls and taking an absurd amount of photos. We did the Mooney descent again which we were more prepared for the second time around. We did some tricks on the rope swing and got some attention from the other hikers, asking if I was a dancer because I was so graceful… LOL. Sadly I told them I was only a retired pole vaulter with good body awareness. Colin insisted on taking the GoPro into the base of Mooney Falls. I don’t know how he did it… I was freezing by this point after being in the mist for so long. This is another time I wish I had water shoes. The pictures turned out phenomenal!
The helicopter we took back to the summit.
Departure
We packed up and left our campsite on the third morning at 4:30 am. We wanted to be the first to the town of Supai so we could get on the helicopter and fly out. We didn’t initially plan on this part of the trip, but my knees were very beaten up at this point since I’ve struggled with injuries in the past. We arrived in town before sunrise and saw the eyeballs of a few critters looking back at us from the darkness thanks to our headlamps. It was probably the spookiest thing I’ve ever done. Walking through a desert in the dark is not something to do alone. We saw a baby skunk and almost tripped over each other to run away, haha. Even though we were so early to town, another group of travelers beat us by about half an hour. None of this mattered though because we all waited until about 3 pm for all the locals to get their rides out of the canyon before any tourists were allowed. Some local children were playing around and we joined them in their gymnastics tricks to make the time pass. The girls were stuck to my side after that and wanted to know all about Pole Vault once I showed them videos on my phone. It was a bummer to hear that even though they were 5-8 years old most of them had never been down to the waterfalls.
Once it was our turn for the Helicopter, it was about a 5-minute ride out of the canyon and right back in our car! They carried our bags under the plan in the cargo net. We drove straight back to Las Vegas and caught our flight. I am SO grateful for Colin’s sky lounge privileges because we were able to shower for the first time in 3 days before our flight. I have to share this photo because you can tell the pure happiness I felt right before the shower..haha.
Packing List
Gear
I wanted to have a separate section where I list the most helpful items I brought with me on this trip. I am so thankful for my friend Aris for being so helpful during the packing process. I would have been so miserable if I packed with no help!
Backpack - Borrowed from an amazing friend, perfect for this trip!
Tent - Borrowed from a homie. Perfect for 2.
Camera - Sony A7 iii - Have got so many questions from this trip about what I shoot with!
Platypus Water Filter - Super easy and filters a lot at once!
Jet Boil - Someone in our group had one and honestly, it was so much faster!
Metal Camping Cup - Wouldn’t have survived without this
Favorite Vegetarian Meal - It was so good!
Trekking Poles - Cork Handles!
Headlamp - $8.99 Batteries Included!
TIKTOK
Don’t be shy, say hi!
