April 21-24, 2019 | Vanessa
My friends and I have been looking at Havasupai pictures on Instagram for a while now and so when the registration opened up for 2019, four of us were trying to register but only one of us made it through the system. We told our friend to just pick any dates so we can secure our trip, and it just so happens to be right around my birthday: double win!
After celebrating my birthday on April 20th with my family, I headed straight for the airport to meet my friends in Las Vegas. I took the 7:40p flight and when I landed, it was 10:58p – still my birthday! Yay!
We headed straight for the trailhead, which was almost a 4-hour drive. When we got there at around 4:00a, we immediately took a nap.
Let’s be real, I was honestly too stoked to sleep and it was also a bit weird with 3 other dudes in the car – so once the sun started peeping at around 6:00a, I left the car to take some landscape pictures. The views were amazing!
There was a total of six people on this trip – the other two arrived in the morning and had to park really far away. So while we waited for them, we did some last minute prepping and splitting of weight until around 8:00a to really get our hike started! We wanted to go as early as possible since we knew the hike is roughly 12 miles (on average, a 6-hour hike) to beat the afternoon heat.
We couldn’t help but stop to take pictures of these beautiful rock formations. The views were absolutely stunning and the air felt so clean, the descend was great.
When we finally saw a sign to the campgrounds we were so excited! Little did we know, we still had another 2 miles to go… But we got to witness how this town gets resources — via helicopter drop-in! Oh yes and the horses, they get to freely roam in this village.
On the way to the campground, we pass by this signature postcard view of the Havasu Falls, and its surrounding was just as amazing and breathtaking! We took a longer than expected break here just to take it all in.
Because we got to the campground relatively late in the day, it was hard to find a campsite for three (3) tents. We ended up walking up and down the campground twice before finding this sweet spot by the waters. Once we’ve pitched up our tents, we ate, wiped down, and crashed immediately. It was a long day after all, and we had plans to hike some more the 2 days to catch some waterfalls:
Day 1
Mooney Falls
& Beaver Falls
Day 2
Havasu Falls
Just like that, three (3) days has passed. Mother Nature was very kind to us and only rained at night during our stay. To be exact, it rained 2 out of 3 nights, and it did not rain the last night we were there — this made packing up our tent the next day so much easier which we greatly appreciated.
We woke up at 4am to pack up, have breakfast, filled up water, and get ready to hike back out at 6am. Our goal was to reach the parking before noon and before it gets too hot.
The uphill switchbacks was exactly what I had expected: brutal. At least I had an uphill buddy! Looking back at how far I’ve come on the switchback, I was so proud and happy. Would I do it again? My instinct says no, but the rebel in me would say yes over and over again!
Overall, the hike itself was challenging, but super fun with the right squad. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment we had together and will cherish all the memories close to my heart ❤️
