Here is our group Leila, Kristen and her daughter, Sydney, Helana and her mom, Bridget, Shalmarie, me, Kristy and her daughter McKelle. Only Bridget had hiked it before and that was when she was 15. So I had a group of inexperienced hikers who were very experienced by the time we got out two days later. We left at about 5:00am and it took us about 4 hours to make it to the bottom, pretty good time when you consider we have 8 and 9 year olds.
One thing that everyone learned quickly was to get out of the way when you could hear the horses coming. They come along pretty fast and they have the right-of-way.
In August of 2008 there was a huge flood that went through the village and the river changed course creating two new waterfalls and eliminating one of my favorites. I hadn't been down in a few years and was anxious to see what it was like since the flood and the changes that had taken place.Here is our first view of the second of the new falls. The first is just above this one and can be seen from this one but not until you have hiked down further. The new falls don't have 'official' names yet but this one is being called the New Navajo Falls until the counsel decides for sure.
You can see the beautiful color of the water hasn't changed and vegetation is coming back but there are no big trees for shade and it was hot.
The next falls we hit was Havasu Falls and it has changed as well. The huge pool at the bottom of the falls had filled in and you can almost walk up to the waterfall now. Everyone in our group was so impressed and was glad that it looked like the long hike was worth it.
We quickly found a place to put our things down and headed for the water.
Unfortunately, about 1 1/2 hours later the beautiful clear water turned to mud. They were excavating up the river aways to prevent future floods from taking out the cemetery. The rest of the day the river was a mud mess and they were suppose to excavate the next day as well. Who wants to swim in that? I was so upset that the Indians would take our money and not even mention that you wouldn't be able to swim in the water.
After setting up camp, we decided to hike back up to the new falls which were above the area they were excavating. As we hiked back up, we found this great little swimming hole and played around here for awhile.
Then we went back to the falls we had seen on our hike in. They have a large pool at the bottom and are about 35 feet high. They are perfect falls to jump off of.
We watched a few people jump off and then Shalmarie and I decided to jump. Here is Shalmarie taking off.
After playing some more in the pools below this waterfall and jumping off some ledges, we headed back to camp for dinner and some well deserved rest. I think we all went to bed about 8:00.
The next morning we got up early and hiked the 1/2 mile down to Mooney Falls we wanted to see them before the water turned to mud again. It too had changed and the large pool at the base of this fall had filled in as well, but it is still spectacular.
After setting my timer on my camera about a dozen times, I finally got a good picture of us. We are getting soaked right here from the spray of the falls and it is early and a bit chilly. That will change quickly though.
Luckly the water never did turn brown again and we played at Havasu Fall and then later Shalmarie and I decided to hike up to the very first falls that we hadn't really seen. What a good decision that was! From down below you can only see a very small portion of Rock Falls - their temporary name. They are wide and lush, but difficult to get to. You have to do some boulder hopping to get to them.
More of Rock Falls.
Shalmarie in front of part of Rock Falls.
And me in front of Rock Falls.
Again we hit the bed early because we had a long hike out the next day. Bridget and Kristen started an hour earlier than the rest of us because they were worried about how their girls would do. But everyone did great and we made it out in about 4 hours. When the rest of us got to the top, Bridget had cold watermelon waiting for us and that was heaven. We don't look too much different from our pre hike picture but we sure smelled different!
The worst thing was having to wait a couple of hours for the horses to bring up our packs, but we found some shade, ate watermelon and talked. We then headed for the Road Kill restaurant in Seligman and had great hamburgers and fries - our Havasupi hiking tradition.
The next falls we hit was Havasu Falls and it has changed as well. The huge pool at the bottom of the falls had filled in and you can almost walk up to the waterfall now. Everyone in our group was so impressed and was glad that it looked like the long hike was worth it.
We quickly found a place to put our things down and headed for the water.
Unfortunately, about 1 1/2 hours later the beautiful clear water turned to mud. They were excavating up the river aways to prevent future floods from taking out the cemetery. The rest of the day the river was a mud mess and they were suppose to excavate the next day as well. Who wants to swim in that? I was so upset that the Indians would take our money and not even mention that you wouldn't be able to swim in the water.
After setting up camp, we decided to hike back up to the new falls which were above the area they were excavating. As we hiked back up, we found this great little swimming hole and played around here for awhile.
Then we went back to the falls we had seen on our hike in. They have a large pool at the bottom and are about 35 feet high. They are perfect falls to jump off of.
We watched a few people jump off and then Shalmarie and I decided to jump. Here is Shalmarie taking off.
After playing some more in the pools below this waterfall and jumping off some ledges, we headed back to camp for dinner and some well deserved rest. I think we all went to bed about 8:00.
The next morning we got up early and hiked the 1/2 mile down to Mooney Falls we wanted to see them before the water turned to mud again. It too had changed and the large pool at the base of this fall had filled in as well, but it is still spectacular.
After setting my timer on my camera about a dozen times, I finally got a good picture of us. We are getting soaked right here from the spray of the falls and it is early and a bit chilly. That will change quickly though.
Luckly the water never did turn brown again and we played at Havasu Fall and then later Shalmarie and I decided to hike up to the very first falls that we hadn't really seen. What a good decision that was! From down below you can only see a very small portion of Rock Falls - their temporary name. They are wide and lush, but difficult to get to. You have to do some boulder hopping to get to them.
More of Rock Falls.
Shalmarie in front of part of Rock Falls.
And me in front of Rock Falls.
Again we hit the bed early because we had a long hike out the next day. Bridget and Kristen started an hour earlier than the rest of us because they were worried about how their girls would do. But everyone did great and we made it out in about 4 hours. When the rest of us got to the top, Bridget had cold watermelon waiting for us and that was heaven. We don't look too much different from our pre hike picture but we sure smelled different!
The worst thing was having to wait a couple of hours for the horses to bring up our packs, but we found some shade, ate watermelon and talked. We then headed for the Road Kill restaurant in Seligman and had great hamburgers and fries - our Havasupi hiking tradition.We had a great time and even though the last mile and a half are hard when you hike out, everyone agreed that all the hiking was well worth it. I'm glad that one of my most favorite places is still beautiful and wonderful and I can't wait to go back again and explore the new waterfalls some more. Next summer!
1 comment:
Looks like a fun trip! I wish I could have joined you... it would be nice to see how it's changed!
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