After a quick one night stop over in Vegas (no report yet as we make a return trip so you’ll just have to wait) we drove further into the desert. Past the Hoover Dam and into Arizona we went, still fascinated by the stark landscape and impressed with the sunshine and warm weather. We spent a couple of days camping in Kingman doing some work on the car as we had discovered a broken engine rubber (possibly from Mongolia) in the hope that it would soothe the vibration we have been feeling, and organising permits for Havasu Falls. Making our way to the Grand Canyon I remembered that we had been given a National Park card by Regina, a German girl who shared our room in the hostel in Seattle. She had recently been to the Grand Canyon and was returning to Germany so had no need to keep her card. Thinking it would be handy to get a discount I started practising Regina’s signature in case the situation at the gate called for it. We drove up to the gates and thought we’d give it a shot driving through the ‘annual pass’ gate. I handed over the park pass and waited. I was then asked for ID. With a quick ‘sure’ I pulled out my Australian Drivers License and waited for the rejection. Both cards were returned to me along with a map and a ‘have a nice afternoon’, we drove off with a big thanks to Regina for our free entry!! Arriving just on sunset we parked the car quickly and headed to the viewing points. My breath was taken away. We pretty much just went to the Grand Canyon as a tick off the bucket list, but it turned out to be way more than that. The enormity of it is just something else and it just goes on and on and on, you just about get vertigo by looking over the handrail. The colours and and lines on the rocks made me feel like I was staring at one of those optical illusions where if you stare cross-eyed at a picture long enough and then blink ten times fast a picture of a naked lady appears! You could never tire of the view but as the sun was going down we needed to head for the campground. We thought that we would be the only nutters choosing to camp (particularly as there was snow on the ground), but we were wrong, we were lucky to get a spot! Of course about half the campground was closed, but after doing a few laps we reversed into a secluded spot and set up camp in the snow. We found out in the morning from the park ranger that we were supposed to be parked on Tarmac, but I just smiled and gave my apologies in an extra thick Australian accent explaining that it was dark when we came in and the park was full. No harm done we packed up and headed to marvel at the view. We stared out into the abyss noting the major lack of health and safety considerations, there are no railings and very low walls in many parts and too many small children running around unsupervised!
Unfortunately we had to drag ourselves away from the scenery to investigate how we drive to Hualapai Hilltop (where we plan to park the car whilst we hike into the canyon). Our TomTom was telling us we had to return all the way south to the motor way, head west then north, totalling a touch over 300km in over four hours, but Google maps was implying there was a road heading almost directly west. We popped into the visitor centre and met Don. Don informed us that there was in fact a road there but we may run into some difficulty such a popped tyre and that it would be quicker to go the motorway. We explained that we don’t go that fast on the motorway and that our vehicle was designed to handle rough dirt roads, making that the better option. Don tried to put us off by saying that the road was hard to follow and we would need to carry lots of fuel, but we simply bit back with ‘we have driven in Mongolia, the whole country is unmapped dirt roads and fuel is about 500 miles between pumps’. Eventually Don realised we weren’t your average tourists in a Toyota Prius rental, but in fact we have a Land Rover with two fuel tanks. We politely thanked Don but left with the stubborn teenager attitude of desperately wanting to do something even more when someone has told you that you can’t.
We turned off the highway onto a dirt track with a sign stating ‘primitive road, privately maintained road, enter at own risk’. Maggie was made for bumps and it wasn’t long before we were rolling along leaving a trail of dust behind us. The road was simple enough to follow and a few miles in the TomTom even picked up where we were so we really had no chance of getting lost. We drove past a few cows, an old burnt out car, at a large gate we had to open and close, but other than that not a soul was around. Many rocky bumps later we once again reached Tarmac and practically floated the last few miles to Hualapai Hilltop, all in around 2.5 hours, practically half of what it would have taken us had we followed Don’s orders. The late afternoon sun was beating down on a few hikers making their way back up the hill and we were thankful for our decision to camp overnight and start walking when it will be cooler. We set up our little tent and settled in to watch the sunset when a local who had just hiked up the hill came over for a chat. It turns out he hikes down and back in a day quite frequently for tribal meetings. He warned us that whilst it’s perfectly fine to camp the night in the carpark he just thought we should know that wild horses come through in the middle of the night and make their way down into the canyon to drink from a spring and then make their way all the way back up again. Yeah right. However, sure enough come about 3am there was a horse party in the carpark and despite our little tent being tucked away behind Maggie we were still a little nervy that the party might come our way, but they were more interested in having a good old time with each other instead of bothering with humans.
We were up early and it was a chilly start to the day, but we knew we would soon be warming up. We filled our backpacks with camping gear and a couple of days worth of food, made sure the water bottles were full and stepped over the edge of the canyon. The first couple of miles were steep switchbacks down the hill with very loose footing (we kept thinking about the midnight horses and how the hell they manage in the dark!!) Towards the bottom we encountered our first ‘mule train’. Up the hill came three horses under control of local on a fourth horse. We scrambled out of the way and let them pass us by and make their way up to the hilltop to collect supplies for the village. We meandered through the red wall of the canyon constantly amazed at the formations, taking it very slowly as it was hard to look up at the encroaching walls and watch the uneven ground at the same time. A few hours later we came to the small village of Supai. We ate lunch in the sun still baffled by the fact that the only way into the village is the way we just came- on foot (or horseback). Wandering through the village I was surprised at how large it actually is. Well, large is the wrong word, it’s tiny but has a few well stocked shops, a church, a couple of cafes, a school, an Internet cafe, a tourist office and a lodge for those who don’t want to camp (or rather, carry all your camping gear 8 miles into the canyon). Passing a few other tourists we carried on the last two miles to the campsite, much to Hayden’s dismay as he didn’t know that the campsite was so far out of town (it’s not entirely clear whether I didn’t tell him, or I did tell him and he can’t remember/didn’t listen…) Either way, the last two miles were a slow walk down hill through sand and we passed Little Navajo Falls on the way. Just before the start of the campground we reached the epic Havasu Falls. It was a sight like no other. The water appears rich turquoise blue due to high levels of calcium and magnesium in the water, and the contrast between the red rock, green trees and blue sky was a feast for the eyes. The waterfall itself is around 30 meters high and somewhat mesmerising. Eventually we tore ourselves away from the beauty of it all and went to find a campsite and relax for the rest of the afternoon.
Waking up feeling not as sore as we’d imagined was a bonus, especially as we planned to hike another few miles to Mooney and Beaver Falls. Mooney Falls was only about a mile away and it took us a moment to figure out how exactly to get down the steep cliff because at this point we were the same height as the top of the falls and looking over the edge was giving us vertigo. We headed towards the sign saying ‘enter at own risk’ complete with an arrow. It was then discovered that the next arrow was directing us into a cave on the rock face. With a quick glance at each other and a shrug of the shoulders we crept into the hole and slowly clambered down the carved steps. We came out on to a small clearing and saw the next arrow pointing down. This time we were expected to climb down a series of rickety wooden ladders and lower ourselves down the rock wall with chains. Challenge accepted. In no time at all we had reached the bottom and were feeling the mist from Mooney Falls. Once again mesmerised by falling water it took a while for us to get moving again. We carried on along the small path following the river. That is until the path ends and a small wooden arrow nailed to a tree indicates that we need to cross the river. Shoes and socks off we plunge our feet into the squishy lime scale deposits and wade across, dry our feet and replace our shoes and socks. The path wound up a hill and then down again to another arrow indicating it was time to lose the shoes again. We continued through paradise, following small arrows and taking the path most clear. We climbed a few more dodgy wooden ladders and found ourselves overlooking Beaver Falls. Beaver Falls is not as large, but more of a series of smaller falls but that doesn’t make them any less impressive. The fact that we had just walked an hour and half further into the canyon in, out and around so many obstacles made the beautiful scene feel rare and untouched.
We had a quick swim and made our way back slowly to the campsite, still not getting used to the stunning scenes around us. We climbed up the cliff with chains, hauling ourselves onto the ladders and minding our heads back through the caves. Time for a rest!
We woke early the next day, keen to beat the heat for the hike up. Up is an important word here as all 10 miles is uphill!! The first eight were relatively painless, especially after a coffee and breakfast burrito at the cafe in the village. The last two were up the steep switch backs and it became a case of ‘don’t stop or you won’t start again’. Heads down and puffing we only briefly paused to let the horses pass as they were loaded with supplies – including a printer! We made it to the top about an hour quicker than we had thought but could hardly speak or move for a good twenty minutes but the feeling that we had just witnessed something unreal will stay with us forever, it truly has been the highlight of this trip so far, if not the most fascinating place I have ever been to.
They don’t call it the Grand Canyon for nothin’
🙂