By Mr Defy
In early October Miss Defy and I were looking for our next adventure. On a whim Miss Defy checked on permits to Havasu Falls, a place we had always dreamed of. These waterfalls are located in one of the many arms of the Grand Canyon and are renowned as one of the best backpacking trails in the world. Fed by a travertine limestone spring, the Havasu Creek winds through the canyon, depositing the limestone to form new structures, mixing with the clay to create the appearance of stalactites, and plunges over drops in the canyon. The plateau is a desert, all the other canyons seem like deserts, but Havasu Canyon is a watery oasis.
The Havasupai people have recognized the beauty and importance of this area for over 800 years while using the Havasu Canyon as one of their seasonal residences. They are one of few native tribes that are still located on their traditional lands (albeit on a much smaller area than their former migratory pattern) and the trail is managed by the tribe. Their largest town of Supai is located below the plateau, next to Havasu Creek and is only accessible by helicopter, mule or foot- no roads.
A desert oasis with crystal clear waterfalls and secluded from road traffic? What a spectacular adventure- and thousands of other people agree. Every year the Havasupai tribe opens the permit process on February 1 and they sell out the 20,000 permits typically within hours. It can take years for people to obtain a permit. And they’ve been having no issues filling all the permits after their price increase in 2018 to $300 per person for the mandatory 4 days and 3 nights (while the hike in and out does not take everyone 4 days, the tribe has decided it’s easier to manage with everyone on a 4 day itinerary).
So when Miss Defy was looking for permits our hopes weren’t very high. Occasionally people cancel at the last minute and open a spot, but with travel and scheduling it’s normally too difficult to make work. Unbelievably Miss Defy found a cancelled reservation for two people that started in 3 days. After hemming and hawing about the price, we decided to go for it. We hoped the experience would be worth it, and we didn’t see the tribe lowering the price anytime soon.
Most people fly into Phoenix or Flagstaff, rent a car and drive to the reservation trailhead. With our flexibility we elected to road trip the 13 hours from Denver to the trailhead, stopping in Durango for mountain biking and visiting Mesa Verde National Park on the way.
The 10 mile hike began on a plateau and drops down to a creek after 7 miles through an arid canyon. Another mile or so and we arrived in the town of Supai (population: 450) with children running around, pomegranates in the trees and horses in the pastures. Some of the houses were remarkably well maintained and other houses looked like they could use more attention or were no longer inhabited, likely a product of needing to fly or pack in all building materials.
There were a few restaurants/food stalls in town, but Miss Defy and I were anxious to reach the first falls about a mile past the town (a quick note if you do want to go to the restaurants- their hours are not set in stone, they only take cash, they’re expensive- one taco costs $15 and they close when they sell out of food). After rounding a bend and proceeding downhill Havasu Falls came into view. The blue-green waters plunge over the top of the cliff and down to the pool below. Because you’ve walked slightly downhill all you can see is the water careening over the edge, seemingly from nowhere. After marveling at the waterfall our eyes relaxed and took in the arid, orange-walled desert surrounding the greenery of the falls.
Another mile and we reached the campgrounds. Not realizing how packed the first-come-first-serve campground would be for us late-comers, Miss Defy and I ended up needing to walk until the end of the campground before finding a tiny spot just off the walking path. We certainly didn’t have the most amazing spot- other sites were near the water with picnic tables or had trees for shade and hammocks. We hoped the following day we would be able to trade up with other people leaving.
The tribe requires hikers to attach a color-coded pass on their bags and tent to display which day they were supposed to leave. Our pass was orange meaning we still had 3 days and 3 nights remaining. We kept an eye out for the blue passes- they would be leaving their campsites the following morning.
As we prepared camp we had an unknown challenge ahead of us. Prior to our trip we had read that you had to be wary of racoons, but what they really should have wrote is that you need to fortify your defenses against marauding pirates. These critters had found more calorie dense foods in the campsites than surrounding environment and they had the intelligence to get it. I didn’t believe the critters would be very aggressive, so the first night I put all the food in a ranger-supplied plastic bucket, and as an added safety measure I placed a pot full of water with the lid on top (thinking that if they were going to go after the food at least I would hear the pot and lid falling off). Sure enough, two hours into the night a clanging could be heard as the critters launched their assault. Unfazed by Miss Defy’s blinking flashlight, I chased them off. Fortunately, because I’m a bad fisherman and didn’t bring a down payment for tacos, they only made off with one ramen packet. Another camper wasn’t as lucky and awoke to find all her food gone- all that was left of her 4 days of food hauled 10 miles to the campsite was a packaging-littered campsite. Some blue-pass hikers and other campers came to her aid so she wouldn’t have to hike out. We learned to weigh our bucket down with the picnic table, removed all food from the tent/vestibules and kept our bags close to avoid squirrels who could work zippers.
The next morning we found a vacated creekside campsite away from the footpath and prepared to hike to the Colorado River. We took lighter packs, added enough snacks and started the 14 mile round trip hike. The trail cuts through tunnels and has hikers scale down a 20 foot wall using chains and etched foot/handholds. While downclimbing this adult playground was a blast, there is only a single file path, so the speed of the slowest, most-nervous-about-heights-and-climbing-on-slick-rock-from-waterfall-mist-hiker becomes the speed of all. At one point we were in the middle of a 30 person standstill while someone negotiated the last descent. A few people started getting frustrated that we were moving so slow; we just had to look up, see Mooney Falls and it all seemed alright.
Once we reached the bottom of Mooney falls we continued along the creekside to Beaver Falls which had a series of 5-20 foot cascades. Even in October the water temperature was comfortable while the sun was out. From my pre-trip research I thought after Beaver Falls the waterfalls were over, but in reality the water continues to go over awe-inspiring cascades all the way to the Colorado River. Every time Miss Defy and I would turn around a bend we would want to take another picture- variations of orange on the cliffsides, the blue/green clear water and the lush green of the plants marking the cliff, water boundary. Rounding one of the last turns we saw bighorn sheep sitting near the path ahead and based on their reluctance in moving away, I don’t think we were the first people they had ever seen.
After making it to the Colorado River and seeing the Havasu Creek clear water immediately turn muddy brown at the confluence we headed back to camp. It was dark for the last hour of our hike which allowed us to have the cliff climb back up Mooney Falls to ourselves.
The third day we spent as a rest day- enjoying Havasu Falls, reading and coordinating a sewer line replacement. The downside of real estate not being entirely passive income is that sometimes issues arise while your’e gone. The upside of dealing with it while in Havasu Canyon is that we didn’t have to be there when a backho pulled up the clay sewer line and replaced it with a new one.
The final day we hiked out. The trail is fairly flat to moderately uphill for most of the hike and then is steep for the final 1-2 miles as the trail leaves the canyon bottom and goes to the top of the plateau. On the way back to Denver we drove through Monument Valley, mountain biked in Moab, drove through Arches National Park and then biked again in Carbondale.
This trip was a reminder of the importance of flexibility and availability. While seeing Havasu Falls has always been something we’d love to do, the challenging application process and the Taylor-Swift-concert-ticket style permit acquisition led us to do other things. Having the time off allowed us to seize an opportunity that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. We also extended the trip on both ends, enjoying a southwest roadtrip instead of zooming in and out. The beauty of the falls is absolutely worth the crowds, helicopter traffic and commando critters.
5 Things I wish I knew about Havasu Falls beforehand:
- Sometimes the photos don’t live up to the experience- the opposite was true here. The falls are amazing and just keep giving.
- The critters are relentless- keep that food protected. Our best method was lifting the picnic table and putting the seat on top of the ranger provided bin. We could have used an extra rope to tie the food into the tree.
- It’s not just 1, 2 or 3 falls but many beautiful falls and cascades all the way to the Colorado River.
- The camping can be a Black Friday rush if you let it- waking up super early, rushing to get past other people and to get that perfect spot. Or you could enjoy the day, take one night of camping that may not be perfect, and take that blue-tag spot you’ve scoped out on the way in for the last two nights.
- If you decide to go to the Colorado River you’ll have many river crossings. Either make sure to bring shoes you can get wet or find a partner who doesn’t mind carrying you.
[i] MyGrandCanyonPark.com. “Native Americans Throughout Time in the Grand Canyon.” February 24, 2010. Viewed November 14, 2019.
[ii] GrandCanyonTrust.org. “Havasupai.” 2019. Viewed November 14, 2019.
