Havasupai, AZ

The second weekend in June I was invited to go with some friends to Havasupai in Arizona.  It was hot, tons of hiking, lots of bugs, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Those small cons were nothing in comparison to the pros of being with good friends, beautiful waterfalls/hikes, my first attempt at backpacking, and tons of fun.

Day 1, Friday: 5:30 a.m.
Here we go!  The start of the 1 mile switchbacks.  10 miles down to the campground.

A horse making it's way back to the village on it's own.  For cute.

I'm really doin' it!  My first backpacking trip.

Mule packs stopping for some water on the way up to the top.

Making it to the village--only 1.5 miles to the campground, plus photos of two waterfalls we swam at.  Fellow camper Jared really knows how to pack a sleeping bag.

 Mom is that you down there?!!

Day 2, Saturday:

On our way to hike up to the waterfall to swim.

9 of our crew of 13.  We're missing Jason, Rachel, Jared, and Karen (the friend, not the aunt).

Denise, Jordan, Cubbie, and Darren jumping from the top.  Almost everyone did this, except Veda and I.  We did jump from the small ledge underneath.  We're real dare devils.  Most of the days were filled with us boiling up from the heat, getting in the freezing water till we couldn't stand it, getting out, getting hot again, and getting back in.  Lot's of indecision.

We ate lunch and then hiked to another waterfall and swam.

Ooooooooooo pretty!

Then we headed back to camp for a break, and then hiked down to Mooney Falls.  To get to the bottom you hike through the rock and down the side holding chains.  Up top:

The run-off from the waterfall.  Gorgeous!  This is where I took the opportunity to wash my hair with my biodegradable soap.  There was a little waterfall you could swim under right behind us.  Veda and I didn't try it.  When Brad went under he hit his head pretty hard.  I assume I probably would have done something similar, but worse.

Day 3, Sunday:

A day of rest, but still swimming--but not crazily.

A tour of our camp.  There was a spring nearby for water, and bathrooms about 5 minutes away, but I didn't get photos of those.

That morning we got up and hiked down to a waterfall for a quick swim, and then headed to the village for church.  Aunt Karen wanted to buy lunch and have a picnic for everyone, which was extremely nice of her.  When we got to town, we found out we had missed church.  We ate a great lunch, and then met up with some local kids who showed us where the locals swim (non-tourist).  They had a rope swing, so the boys had fun swimming with the kids while we sat in the water.

When we got back to camp we packed up everything but morning food, water bottles/camel packs, and sleeping bags and set our alarms for 2:30 a.m.  It's best to hike early or late to avoid the sun while hiking in and out, but especially on the way out.

Day 4, Monday:

By the time we got everyone together, packed, and stopped by the bathroom we were headed out 2 hours later than we planned.  It turned out to be okay, and we made it out before it got hot.  Four of us chose sanity, and put our packs on mules to be taken up.  I was one of those sane people.  It made for a great (light) hike out.  We made it to the top at 9:00 a.m.

Switchbacks:

It was a super fun trip, and I hope to some day get to experience again.  I highly recommend going at least once in your life.