This past weekend I was invited to hike into the Havasupai Falls area with a group of 30 people.  I had been wanting to do this hike for years and thanks to a fantastic friend I was able to go.  We didn’t all hike down together, but in our group there were four of us.  Some shuttled their packs and some of us carried packs and those 10+ miles went by fairly quickly as we all talked, took pictures, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

As we approached Supai Village the landscape because much more lush with vegetation supported by the spring fed stream that meandered through the valley floor and then finally spilling down the numerous falls that we would be seeing in the coming days.

The village itself is a bit rundown, but everyone there was friendly and helpful as we checked in. There were horses, mules, and dogs along with the local residents, and other hikers.  Most of the animals looked quite healthy which was a good surprise after reading stories a few years back about the poor state of health in which the mules were often found.

We continued hiking through the village and then down to the camping area about 2 miles farther.  We began to see waterfalls at Navajo Falls, then Havasupai Falls.  Seeing that really brightened my spirits and then getting into camp and setting up ended the day nicely.

Below is the data from my Garmin 230 on the hike in to the area.

Our campsite was really nice, with smooth ground on which to place our tents, or trees to hang our hammocks.  As everyone arrived we introduced ourselves to one another and started making new friendships.  Later in the day a group of us walked up to Havasupai Falls to take some pictures and play in the water.

That night we all went to sleep quite early (9pm?) and then up early to begin Saturday’s fun of exploring Mooney Falls and beyond to Beaver Falls.

Saturday night was spent playing “Catch Phrase” and we all had some great laughs together. Another relatively early night and the next morning we woke up very early to hike back to the village to catch a ride on a helicopter back to the trailhead. Yes, it could be considered a lazy choice, but it’s not often we get an opportunity to fly through the Grand Canyon and turn a 4 hour hike into a 10 minute flight.  The winds were quite strong at the rim so there was a chance we would have to hike out, but we did fly out and it was a lot of fun! (video link below).

I’m sure I forgot a few things, but this was an exceptionally fun weekend where I was a able to reaffirm some bonds with existing friends and create new ones with people I may have never met in this huge city of millions.