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  1. #1
    Member gophin's Avatar
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    Thumbs up Havasupai Solo Hang

    I hiked into Havasupai Canyon last week and slept in my DIY hammock for the first time! It was absolutely beautiful down there, full moon overhead and blue-green waters running past me.

    This was a perfect first time hammock hang for me as the Arizona weather was warm and dry, allowing me to forego the tarp. Also perfect was the Havasupai Campground, with the creek running through its length and its big cottonwood trees throughout with endless choices for hanging spots.

    The hike in from Haluapai Hilltop is really nice, with lots of shade along the way if the sun gets too hot. This was not the case for me, as the weather was actually quite cool until I got to the town of Supai, 8 miles from the trailhead. I had heard that the two big floods in recent years (2008 & 2010) had decimated the travertine pools, leaving the place less spectacular than it once was. If this is true, then I can only imagine how amazing it must have been before the floods. It was impressive, beautiful, delicate, powerful and all around awesome!

    I signed in at the office in Supai, paid my $81.40 (fee, 2 night camping fee, environmental fee) and hiked down to the campground. Along the way I passed the new (moved a bit after one of the floods) Navajo Falls, then Havasu Falls after that. The campground ranger checked my tags and told me to choose my site, basically anywhere that there was a picnic table. No site numbers, just lots of available places to pitch a tent or hang a hammock. I wandered through to the far end of the campground and found a great spot just a short stroll to Mooney Falls, which marks the end of the campground.

    My first night in the hammock was so great! I didn't have time to get/make an underquilt before I left for this trip, so I used a pad and a combination of a 40 degree down quilt and the 32 degree Ozark Trail down sleeping bag from Wally World. The temps that night were in the low 40's and I was cozy as could be. The gentle rocking of the hammock was all my hike weary bones needed to fall into a happy sleep, even with the full moon overhead.

    It turns out the best way to the bathroom from the other side of the creek was right past my hammock, which would have bothered me were it not for the steady stream of comments I got. "Wow, I love your setup there." "Is that comfortable?" "Hey, do you sleep in the hammock?" "I've always wanted to try that." And on, and on, and on... Maybe I'll tire of these questions at some point, but I am so high on hanging right now that I just loved to talk about it.

    The second day was all hiking and swimming. The descent to the base of Mooney Fallls is really cool. A bit exposed with some slippery travertine down-climbing. As many people commented, this is a bit different from what you would find in a National Park. Liability seems to end at the sign up top which reads DESCEND AT OWN RISK. Just don't let go of the chains on the way down! Beaver Falls, a couple miles further downstream, is an awesome place to swim and climb around, with ladders and ledges all around.

    With an early enough start, you can hike all the way to the confluence of Havasupai Creek and the Colorado River. I did not start that early. Next time. On the way in I was drawn to the amazing waterfalls and the creek in general. After being around it for a full day, what my attention was drawn to were all of the places where the water obviously ran at some time in the past. Ledges along the trail and under vegetation that were obviously travertine pools at some point. The area around Mooney Falls that shows that the water once ran as wide as the valley itself, not just the slot through which it falls now. So amazing

    I am so hooked on the hammock now...Gotta get more days off!!!
    There is no try, only do.

  2. #2
    Senior Member rcam1977's Avatar
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    that is awesome, it sounds like you had a great 1st experience , i am going on my first hang next weekend hopefully, and can hardly wait, just hoping for some fairly good weather here in Indiana, as funds are kind of low and have not had the chance to really get a underquilt, so im hoping a sleepingbag and maybe a mat will fit the bill. thanks for sharing your 1st hang with us., although the $81.40 sounds a little steep for 2 nights of primitive camping.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Catavarie's Avatar
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    Sounds like an awesome trip. I agree though $80 for two nights sounds quite expensive to me, not sure I'd pay that much to camp anywhere.
    *Heaven best have trees, because I plan to lounge for eternity.

    Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement. - Mark Twain

    Trail name: Radar

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  4. #4
    Senior Member MedicineMan's Avatar
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    $80 sounds like a lot

    and it is but it keeps the crowds down, well the Indian reservation system i.e. lotto you have to use to get a spot does that too, but look at this place and think hard about the $80:
    forgot to add that this is just one set of falls there
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  5. #5
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Havasupai Solo Hang

    Wow! What a choice for a 1st hang. Betcha the memory of that will last a ling, long time.
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  6. #6
    Senior Member Dos's Avatar
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    The Las Vegas Meet Up Group is going sometime this summer.

    I just didn't feel like being around 80 people.

    You have re-inspired me!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~

    AT '12. AT '14. FT '15. CA '15.

  7. #7
    Senior Member MuseJr's Avatar
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    Re: Havasupai Solo Hang

    That sounds like a great trip. That canyon is an amazing place and you couldn't have picked a better place for a first hang.
    "I'm a connoisseur of BACON." - Anyways - 6/9/13

  8. #8
    Senior Member rcam1977's Avatar
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    Havasupai Solo Hang

    That waterfall sure is impressive, it would be worth the 80.00 if you could camp on that Lil island in the pic

  9. #9
    Senior Member Scottybdiving's Avatar
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    gophin, congratulations! Havasu is one of the most beautiful places I have been. I didn't make it up for all the falls or to the village of Supai. I would have loved to have a hammock with me but my 8 nights sleeping on the ground on the lower 1/2 of the Grand Canyon is why I seeked out HF. I came up from the river. Here is where the turquoise water meets the muddy Colorado. Hope you took lots of pictures.

    As many people commented, this is a bit different from what you would find in a National Park.
    It is different from what you find on the corridor trails of the park. However, there are many many trails in the NP that are as trecherous and difficult as you want them to be. Many have a lot of Class 3 climbing and even some Class 4 if you choose. You definitely started out with one of the very best. There are many beautiful destinations that can be reached as day hikes from the river, but would require almost a week long backpack to get to from the top.
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    We are now ready to start our way down the Great Unknown.We are three quarters of a mile in the depth of the earth.We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknow river yet to explore.What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls rise over the river, we know not. Ah, well! We may conjecture many things. The men talk as cheerfully as ever; jests are bandied about freely this morning; but to me the cheer is somber and the jests are ghastly. Powell 1869

  10. #10
    Member gophin's Avatar
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    thanks, y'all!

    Thanks for all the positive feedback, everyone! I must agree, the fees are a bit steep, but this place is a true gem. Also, as I understand it, the Havasupai tribe makes their living exclusively from tourism dollars.

    Thanks for sharing pics, too. Reminded me that I forgot to post any of my own. Here are my best shots of Beaver, Havasu & Mooney Falls. Mooney is the tallest one, at almost 200 feet. They call it Mother of Waters.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    There is no try, only do.

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