Havasupai and Antelope Canyon
November 19 - 22, 2016
Foreword — The social media generation. No place on Earth is safe from the new world trekkers anymore. With just a little bit of googling, hidden gems become exposed and ripe for the picking. By writing this post, I have shamelessly become part of the problem. Oh well. This is the case with Havasu Falls and the Havasupai reservation. This gem of a place was probably unbeknownst to many people just ten years ago. Now, the most difficult part of getting to Havasupai is not the ten-mile hike, but obtaining a permit. Luckily, we were able to secure permits in February (nine months ago!) and got the rare chance to visit this literal oasis.
Our journey started at the Hualapai Hilltop, overlooking a vast canyon that eventually leads to the Grand Canyon. We parked our car in the crowded parking lot, unloaded our backpacking gear, and prepped ourselves for the descent. The downhill part was easy, but we imagined a not-so-distant scenario in the future when we would have to climb back up this thing with all of our gear strapped to our already aching shoulders.
Fast forward ~8 miles: As we neared the end of our hike, instead of seeing less of civilization, we saw quite the opposite. We have reached the outskirts of Supai village.
This meant that we were only two miles away from the campground and the promise of blue waters. We took the shortest break possible while still allowing us to rest our tight shoulders and to also pay for our reservations at the tourism office.
We followed Havasu creek as it garnered richer hues and grew into a rushing river, passing several waterfalls along the way. We did not stop long to take in the scenery as setting up our tents before sunset was a bigger priority. At night, I wanted to get some shots of the stars, but alas, the weather did not cooperate. Photography would have to wait until the next morning:
After watching the sunrise at Havasu Falls, we packed a much lighter load that day and hiked further into the canyon. The next spot on our list was Mooney Falls. This is a tall waterfall, twice the height of Niagara Falls. It took us a second before we realized that we had to literally go into a tunnel to descend the cliffside and the descent was not without its dangers. The ladders and chains were bolted onto the cliff and we were engulfed by a constant blanket of mist coming from the waterfall, making the slippery footholds quite treacherous.
Upon reaching flat land, we admired the towering might of Mooney. Another waterfall checked off of our checklist, and we trekked on.
The trail that we followed seemed to continue on for miles and signage was nonexistent. The trail was supposed to lead to Beaver Falls, but we constantly doubted ourselves, thinking that maybe we had somehow already missed it. Luckily, we persevered and we finally encountered this sign:
Beaver Falls marked the end of our hike, so we took a break here before heading back to the campground.
We went back to Havasu Falls to look for sunset colors, but instead of the colors being behind the waterfall, it was on the opposite end. A beautiful sky wrapped up our second day and the night encroached upon us once again.
The next morning, we woke up to rain. It was unpredictable and came in mighty bursts. We did not have time to wait it out; we had a long hike back up to our car — what seemed like an impossible uphill journey. Hence, we packed up everything under the brunt of the rain and thus began our slow ascent.
Fortunately, we were soon delivered a short reprieve from the rain, and so we paid brief visits to Navajo Falls and 50-foot Falls along the way. Later, when we reached Supai village, we witnessed a helicopter hauling goods to-and-from the village. Much faster than mule trains.
The rain clouds swept past us multiple times during this trek, cooling us down in the process and making this hike much more tolerable. It also blessed us with two double-rainbow sightings.
After a couple of hours, we reached the foothill of the canyon. The most difficult segment of the journey stood between us and the parking lot. Slowly and surely, we inched our way up the switchbacks, making some friends along the way:
At last, both sore and relieved, we finally made it back up to the Hualapai Hilltop. This concludes my third backpacking trip — I’m beginning to like this kind of thing.
To wrap up our multi-day journey in Arizona, we drove to the not-so-nearby Antelope Canyon, a site famed for gorgeous photographs of various light plays on the backdrop of slotted canyon-walls. Upon arriving on time for our tour, we unfortunately still had to wait almost an hour due to the sheer number of visitors that day. Due to the previous day’s rain that forced the tour to be shut down for safety reasons, all bookings for that day were moved to today. Walking through the canyon felt like taking a long, packed elevator ride with people breathing down your neck. Not the best experience, but at least now I can say I’ve visited.
With that, we bid farewell to the surprisingly diverse landscapes of the state of Arizona. Despite the onslaught of massive crowds and globalization, there is still beauty to be found and discoveries to be made. Take the time to really appreciate the world you live in, and I’m certain, the world will reward you in return.
fin
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Copyright 2016. Photos taken by Kevin Yao and Audrey Guo. All rights reserved.
