Havasupai Falls Backpacking to incredible waterfalls in Arizona

Yes, I backpacked Havasupai earlier this year. And I did it solo. There’s a reason. If you’ve ever tried to get Havasupai permits, you know that it’s pretty hectic when they’re available online. You have to act fast. I may have acted a little too fast and accidentally bought a single permit. The idea was that Tina and I would hike it, but since I only got one permit, I ended up going solo. But I kept trying, and eventually got permits for two people.

So we backpacked it again. The hike in was pleasant, but enough to wear you out. We spent the rest of the day near camp and checked out Havasu Falls. The following day our alarm went off at 5:30 AM. The plan was to hike about 16 miles to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to check out the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River. But I was really comfy in that sleeping bag and hiking that far wasn’t very appealing at 5:30. So I hit snooze. Until 8:30. This guaranteed that we didn’t have time to make it to the confluence, which seemed like a winwin at the time.

Instead, we opted to hike to Beaver Falls, and that was just fine with me. The hike to Beaver Falls from the campground is more like 3 miles each way and every step of that is beautiful. It starts with the descent down a steep cliff face to the base of Mooney Falls. This descent freaks out a bunch of people, but I personally love it because my judgment is highly suspect. Anyway, we got to the bottom and decided to keep walking and check out Mooney Falls on the way back.

The hike to Beaver Falls was great. We even got to see some big horn sheep on the way in and back. When we got to Beaver Falls it was a bit of a circus since we’d slept in. But that’s what you get. I ended up swimming up to the ‘cave’ at the upper portion of the falls which was worth it but very cold. At least I can finally say I did it.

And then it was time to head back to camp. We checked out Mooney Falls and then headed to the top of Havasu Falls to the Navajo Taco stand. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a hot, freshly made meal after a few days in the wilderness, but if you haven’t, trust me, you’ll appreciate whatever you get. So take this with that in mind when I say these were the best Navajo Tacos I’ve ever eaten.

Then it was back to camp to relax for the rest of the evening. The next morning we got up at 3:30AM and headed to the village. I don’t recommend waking up that early unless you are highly motivated for something; in this case, we were after the first spot in line for the helicopter. Now if you’re reading this and thinking “Why did this loser take a helicopter instead of hiking”, then I’d assume you haven’t ever taken that particular helicopter. I’ve made the hike a couple times and really prefer the helicopter. I mean, where else can you get a helicopter ride out of the Grand Canyon for $100 and be back at your car in 5~10 minutes after an adventure like Havasupai? Now that I write that, it sounds kinda dumb since Havauspai is obviously the only place you can take a helicopter out of Havasupai. But then again, you’re the one that was criticizing my choice to take a helicopter, so keep your opinions to yourself….

We’ll ignore the fact that I just got into an argument with myself there and just agree that helicopter rides are awesome.

So that’s Havasupai. Again. This time with 100% more helicopter rides.

Music by Epidemic Sound:
We Are Giants Silver Maple
Morning Grieg
Skip Stones Franz Gordon
William Tell Rossini

Music by Artlist
We Found Each Other Birraj
Air on a G string (Bach) Ian Post
Minuet II Ardie Son
Something Left to Hold On To James Forest
Love of Mine The Hunts