Havasu Falls Traveling Introvert

If you have seen pictures of Havasu falls, you have probably been drawn to the out-of-this-world blue water of the falls. In 2017, I was talking to my older sister on the phone, and although I have no idea how it came up in the conversation, we began talking about Havasu Falls, and how each of us had dreamed of going. A few weeks later, my sister called me again, and asked if I was serious about wanting to go. I had maybe a moments hesitation before responding, and so began our plans of making our trip to Havasu a reality.

Planning the trip

We decided to make it a “sister’s trip” so my older sister, my younger sister, and my sister-in-law (my brother’s wife) all planned to make the trip. We had read to make the trip a reality, you really had to start planning a year in advance. The village of Havasupai is on Native American land, and you have to get a special permit in order to go down, to limit the number of people allowed at one time. Getting a hold of someone to answer the phone takes a long time, and literally they book out a year in advance. My older sister was the one that finally reached a real person to make the reservation for the permits.

Las Vegas

September 2018, we all flew into Las Vegas, and spent the night there. To be honest, other than the good food, the only other thing I enjoyed in Las Vegas was the fountain at the Bellagio. Then of course, I am introverted, so definitely all the crowds and bustle was a bit overwhelming for me.

Valley of Fire State Park

The next day, we headed out of the city and went to the Valley of Fire State Park and hiked the Fire Wave Trail, which was so beautiful but extremely hot. I drank nearly 3 liters of water, and there is no place to refill. Then headed out to the hotel in Peach Springs for the night before our big hike the following day.

Hiking the Wave Trail at Valley of Fire State Park. It was so extremely hot!

Havasu hike: Day 1

Backpacking

Basically the only way to reach Havasupai and Havasu Falls is a backpacking trip. Officially you can hire some mules to carry you down, or helicopter in and out (although it seems like I heard the Native American people that live in Havasupai get priority). So we decided to backpack. Our hike down the canyon to Havasu was about 8 miles. We started later than we had planned, just past 8:00. That was a mistake, the sun is not your friend and it hit us about 9:00. Moderately difficult with lots of sand and gravel to walk on. It was a long hike, and it didn’t help that it felt like we were stopping at every other corner to adjust something, get a snack, rest, or take pictures.

Showing some of the steep switchbacks the first mile or so of the trail

Toward the left side of the picture shows where the trail/switchbacks are going back up to the trailhead

These were the calm mules that came past us. Right after this mule train was a larger and wild mule train that almost trampled us. My younger sister was terrified of the mules the rest of the trip.

We are still up on a hill, but this picture shows the little canyon within the bigger canyon that we hiked out to Havasu

One of our many stops along the way. Notice that if there was shade, we would stop there. It was hot!

The trail that took off toward Supai village. We thought that it was right around the corner, and that was really deceiving.

Lodging

We did decide that we were going to “cheat” some and stay at the Lodge…we figured after a long hike carrying a backpack we would be sore and would feel better sleeping on a bed, and that a nice shower after a hot and dusty trip would feel nice (and it did). Also, by staying in the Lodge we didn’t have to carry extra weight of sleeping bags or tents. No regrets! We also decided that even though it would add extra weight, bringing my sister-in-law’s nice camera would be worth it (and it was). I would say, really pay attention to the weight you are packing in your backpack…those little things really add weight, and if you don’t need it, you will be regretting bringing it! We didn’t arrive at the lodge until about 2:30, and we were worn out, sore, and hot!

So glad that we stayed at the lodge instead of camping.

Navajo Falls and Havasu Falls

After a little rest, my sisters decided to rest a little more while I went to the local store to buy some fresh produce. The store was open when I got there, although I had heard that it isn’t always open when you might expect it. There was a nice variety of things, although not expansive, but it was expensive! I was almost tackled (in a friendly way) by 3-4 little kids from the village that tried to eat the cucumber and other veggies I bought when I got back to the Lodge. After that, we took a late afternoon/evening stroll to see Old (or was it Little) Navajo Falls. My older sister and sister-in-law were ready to call it a night, but I convinced my younger sister to go with me to at least look at Havasu Falls before calling it a night.

Not sure which falls we visited…either Little Navajo or Old Navajo

The trail to the bottom of the falls was a little washed out, but the view was rewarding

Havasu Hike: Day 2

Day 2 of our hike: Mooney falls, Beaver falls, and Havasu falls–total round trip of 10 miles.

Mooney Falls

The hike to Mooney falls was a relatively easy 2 miles, although we did have sore bodies. But getting DOWN to Mooney Falls was quite the experience. It was almost straight down 100 feet! There were some rickety ladders, and some footholds in the rocks with chains to hold onto. Some of the bolts holding the chains had come completely out, which doesn’t lend itself to much confidence in their reliability. Plus, because it is near the falls, the mist makes the trail, ladders, and chains, muddy and slippery.

We had already gone through one cave/tunnel and were waiting to go through the second cave before the straight down.

Starting the straight down portion. You can see the ant-like people at the bottom. Not a flattering picture of myself, but captured my feelings!

This was actually on our hike back up, but gives you an idea of the trail.

There she is…Mooney Falls! It was beautiful and the water so clear, and refreshing!

Beaver Falls

Heading on toward Beaver Falls was another 2 1/2 miles (one way) through beautiful scenery! The trail was not well marked and we lost it once or twice. Some of the trail was quite treacherous as well, with several ladders and steep climbs. We did like the river crossings, which cooled off our feet! The whole hike was gorgeous and Beaver Falls was very beautiful and not that many people there. The water was cold, but fun to play in. On our way back we stopped by Havasu Falls for a bit before heading back to the Lodge.

One of the river crossings (I think there were three) to get to Beaver Falls.

At Beaver Falls! It was very beautiful and refreshing after quite a hike!

Our sister group in a pool in the middle part of Beaver Falls

We missed the trail somewhere on the way back so ended up hiking up the river a ways. We ran into another group of about 4 people that also missed the trail. However, had we stayed on the trail we would have missed this waterfall as we neared Mooney Falls.

My sister-in-law getting water from the only fresh drinkable water (outside the lodge), unless of course you filter it (which both my older sister and sister-in-law also did)

Our group…tired but happy… at Havasu Falls

After a hot shower, all we wanted was to eat, and take care of our tired and hurting bodies

Havasu Hike: Day 3

The next morning we left the Lodge at 4:15 am, so we could hike while it was still cool, but the stars were beautiful, and we had a great view of Orion. We didn’t take as many pictures during the hike out, cause we were determined to make it out before full sun. It had been decided early on that we would be careful with our breaks. We would take one every 30 minutes, but rest only for 3 minutes. We met our goal of making it up the switchbacks and to the trailhead before full sun, just after 9:00 am. Our second goal, my younger sister and I met of getting up to the top before the mule trains so we didn’t have to worry about them pushing us off the trail!

It was beautiful as the sun was coming up and hitting the canyon walls.

There is not much space to get off the trail on the switchbacks, so I was glad to have reached the top before the mule trains came up.

On the drive back to Las Vegas, we stopped by Hoover Dam–which was my first time there. I wanted to walk across the Dam, but my sisters were too hot and tired, so they stayed in the comfort of the air-conditioned car while I took a few selfies.

It was a remarkable trip, and I had amazing travel companions–I really think I have the best sisters ever. If I could do the trip again, there is very little I would change, except to say that I would have given myself at least one extra day down at Havasu. That being said, I can’t wait to do another sisters’ trip, although it may be hard to rival the beauty of Havasu Falls.

For a video of this trip visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlzHxlps3Ho&t=3s