Havasu Falls is on the Hualapai Indian Reservation outside the Grand Canyon National Park. Ellen had planned a trip here 18 months ago that I couldn't join her on, but this time she planned a second trip that coincided with my spring break. I was able to go with her and four other people from 19-23 March. I am so glad I did! It's one more trip to check off the Bucket List. My only flaw is that I should have packed a few days sooner, as I couldn't find my ultra-light tent and backpack that I bought in 2010, before and after the John Muir Trail.
I met Ellen at her house at 10am Wednesday morning. John, another club hiker, was already there. We left at 10:15am to drive north on SR90 to Benson, where we picked up Rod, another club hiker, and the four of us drove to Flagstaff. We each paid for a tank of gas. At Flagstaff that afternoon we met up with two more hikers, Marc and Victoria, who were driving in from Las Vegas. Marc is an active duty soldier now on PCS leave at Fort Lewis, and he was able to join us in the last minute. That made us six people total, from age 31 to 68 and all in good shape.
Ellen had two free nights at the Flagstaff Fairfield Hotel. I was able to share a room with her for free (which really helped my expenses). By 4:30pm Marc and Vi were with us and together we ate at the Beaver Street Brewery. I was hungry and ordered a four-cheese pizza, which came delivered swimming in oil. I ate it without leaving any leftovers, while Ellen's sausage ravioli was smothered in sausage. The beer was darn good, though.
Rod and John shared a room at the High Country Inn a mile from our hotel. Ellen dropped them off there and the rest of us stayed in Ellen's room. Room 344 was a small room with two full-sized beds, not enough for four people. It had a view of the parking lot Marc and Vi slept on the floor with added sheets and pillows, but not before Marc rearranged his gear. This was his first backpacking trip and despite being an active young man, was unsure of what all to pack. I kept emphasizing keep the weight down, which with my 6.5-pound tent and 7-pound backpack was a bit hypocritical. We all went to bed by 11pm. I was the last one with the light on.
Wake-up the next morning was at 4am with a departure time of 5:30am. That was too early for the "free" hotel breakfast, but hotel staff packed us a bag with four bagels, four cream cheese and four peanut butter servings, four small milks and four small yogurts and bananas. The milk was given to a stray dog at the trailhead parking lot a few hours later, and the yogurt was eaten there as well. My pack by now was weighing down with the bananas no one wanted to carry, but which I knew they would appreciate the next morning.
We started our hike at 9:31am. The early morning shade was still over most of the canyon, and it was cold at the trail head. The parking lot was already full with backpackers, most of which had already left. A local ranger took our group shot and off we went, down the first steep 1.5-mile descent into the canyon. Mule trains were already climbing up this steep grade, which we politely yielded to.
