6-1-15

Martin: Buddhist temples everywhere.

Me: (5/30 hike continued)…

So the 3 of us left Havasu Falls (above) to visit Little Navajo Falls (below).

There are two sections to Little Navajo. You can see the front falls in this photo & the other falls are in the far middle.

The two falls are connected with these emerald green pools.

We walked down the trail & across some rocks.

And in no time we were swimming...

… in PARADISE!

(these are the far falls)

Little Navajo Falls (aka Rock Falls) was formed in 2008 after a horrible flood. The flood caused a lot of damage & many in Supai had to evacuate. It also destroyed the old Navajo Falls. It was interesting to see the changes from 9 years ago. We used to love playing in Navajo Falls but Little Navajo did not disappoint.

It just might be my new favorite place to swim & play!

After about 7 hours of playing at Mooney, Havasu & Little Navajo Falls it was time to hike out of the canyon. We left the village at 3pm & hiked a strong pace to the top.

We reached the rim in 2 hours & 40 minutes from Supai Village. It was a hot hike out, legs were tired and the guys had some pretty good blisters from the day.

BUT, we were happy!! Really stoked the 3 of us pulled this day off.

PS: You can also call us "The Millers"! ;-) 

PPS: After the hike we jumped in the car, grabbed a bite in Seligman & drove all the way back to Phoenix (arriving home at 11:30pm). Ouch…took us all day Sunday to recover. Worth it!

5-31-15

Me: (5/30 hike continued)...As we walked through the campground we spotted some empty hammocks. They were colorful & inviting. I just wanted to use one for an hour. :-)

We waded through cold water.

Loved the tall grasses lining the stream.

And there it was…Havasu Falls waiting for us!

Can you see why I ended up with so many photos!?

The best water park (nature made)!

Spectacular!

Morning yoga class. It's the thing to do!

Tree Pose.

Muscle Pose.

(unofficial yoga pose)

Nate & Bob relaxing.

Ahhhh.

Must we ever leave?

We love it here!

Picture Perfect.

Leaving Havasu Falls & one more stop (Little Navajo Falls) before we hike to the rim.

(Little Navajo Falls pics will be posted tomorrow)

5-30-15

Me: I hardly know where to begin…so I guess it's best to start with Saturday (5/30) when Bob, Nathan & I started hiking at 4:00am! We had driven 5 hours on Friday to the Havasupai trailhead parking lot to camp. No facilities (gas, food etc) are within an hr & a 1/2 from the trailhead so we had all supplies packed. We pitched our tent & got a restless 5 hrs of sleep.

The 8 mile hike to the village is pretty. 2 miles of switchbacks, some high canyon walls & most through a rocky wash (which can take a toll on one's feet).

We were in good spirits & made great time going down. BTW: Nathan is a long time friend & was on our last trip to Havasupai (9 years ago) when I took a group of 40 people to see the falls. Today was  a mini reunion for the 3 of us & we had fun reminiscing.

2.5 hrs of hiking & we arrived in Supai. It's a small village (208 people) but has a church, school, grocery store & cafe.

I've been to Havasupai at least a dozen times & find the village & people interesting. Tourism is their main source of income as they get a steady stream of visitors from all over the world that hike in to see the land of blue-green water. And this destination has gotten even more popular due to social media. I still find it sad that the properties are very run down & depressed. :-( We kept walking since it was another 2 miles past the village to the first waterfall.

1st sighting of Havasu Falls! 

And 1st sighting of Mooney Falls!

The falls were a sight for sore eyes...

...and therapy for tired feet!

We had to climb down some chains & ladders to get to Mooney Falls. It's definitely a challenging route.

Once down we unloaded the backpacks, ate some snacks & hung out.

This is the tallest waterfall in Havasupai (190 ft).

Smaller falls & pools are all around it.

The clarity & color of water was amazing! This stream keeps heading down all the way to the Colorado River (another 8 miles). Maybe we'll hike that someday (but not this trip).

We did hike a little down stream to explore & found some neat things…like my own personal shower. ;-)

Mostly we were goofy. Yogi Nate!

Us & Nate (who is photo bombing behind us (L).

Now if only these guys would carry me out of the canyon!

Um…what can I say here?! haha.

After a good amount of time at Mooney we hiked up the chains to head for Havasu Falls.

Several mule trains run during the day carrying luggage & supplies from the rim to the village or  campground. There is no road to Supai & I hope it always stays that way or this area would become Disneyland. You can pay for  a helicopter ride out.

Bob made a friend en route to Havasu Falls…

(Pics of those falls tomorrow)

5-29-15

Me: Foreshadowing…

This is the photo that will be taken tomorrow (5/30/15).

That's my hand & phone on the left & Bob's hand on the right. At this point we are 8 miles into our hike to Supai Village & 3 miles from the blue/green waterfalls of Havasupai! 

It's a beautiful place! Photos will be posted in the near future! :-)