Havasupai or Bust — Candy Revolver

If you frequent outdoor, adventure, or travel blogs, you’ve probably heard of Havasupai by now. For those of you who are still unaware, Havasupai is a series of tropical turquoise waterfalls throughout the Supai Indian Reservation which is tucked away in the Grand Canyon along Havasu Creek. The reservation campground is about a 10-mile hike from the trail head at the top of the canyon, and it is worth every step to see.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my trip to Havasupai, it’s to let go of all expectations and prepare for the seemingly impossible, because when you plan a girl’s trip to Havasupai in May, your first thought probably isn’t “I wonder if it’ll snow.” But from my experience, it just might.”

Havasupai’s popularity has grown immensely over the past few years and it has become one of the top backpacking destinations in the US (I think? Don’t hold me to that). Of course, it’s easy to understand why it’s become such a popular destination, with the clear turquoise waters flowing through the tall red canyons and lush, green meadows. It almost seems too beautiful to be real.

Havasupai was one of those places that had been on my bucket list for a while. (I’m going to be a real big hipster right now when I say, “I knew about it before it was cool.”) Fantasizing about my hopeful adventure year after year with no luck of follow-through, finally one of my best adventure gal pals helped make this dream come true last spring with her determination to get those damn permits.

With its growth in popularity, getting permits can be difficult nowadays. They sell out literally within hours of going on sale at the beginning of the season. But thanks to 2 of my girlfriends, we got 4 passes and were set to adventure in the beginning of May 2018.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my trip to Havasupai, it’s to let go of all expectations and prepare for the seemingly impossible, because when you plan a girl’s trip to Havasupai in May, your first thought probably isn’t “I wonder if it’ll snow.” But from my experience, it just might.

Now I don’t want this to turn in to a “Top 10 things you need to pack for your first backpacking trip” type deal, but believe me when I say it’s not a terrible idea to prepare for every type of weather when heading out on any adventure. Especially when that adventure requires being outdoors for 3 days straight. When we left for the trip, the forecast predicted rain, some cool days, some hot. For the most part we thought we were well prepared for anything. We were not however, prepared for snow.

The extreme weather on this trip reminded me of that episode of Rugrats where they show the weather patterns of all 4 seasons as if a whole year has gone by, only for Drew to go to Stew and say, “Crazy weather we’ve had this week.”

Double rainbow after a desert rainstorm on our way to Havasupai.

So, day 1: The 4 of us girls left LA and drove through some of the most intense desert rainstorms I had ever seen. It was torrential downpours, lightning, and rainbows. By the time we got to the hotel an hour outside the reservation, we had made it out of the rain, but the temperatures were almost freezing. We warmed up some ramen noodles on our little camper stoves outside the hotel room, and then crawled in to bed since we had an early morning ahead of us.

The next morning, we got up at dawn and got ready for the hike, bundling up in multiple layers to stay warm. Roughly 30-45 minutes in to the drive, we couldn’t believe our eyes, but it had started to snow. SNOW! In May! At first, we thought we were seeing things, but before we knew it there was a blanket of white snow covering the ground and big snow flakes covering our windshield. This was a little concerning, but we laughed about it and kept on our way.

As we were driving on the desolate road, through the snow, only a few other cars behind us, we were forced to come to a halt. The road was blocked with cows and there was no way around them. We briefly waited, hoping they would move along, but nevertheless they insisted on standing there. After all, they were there first? It wasn’t long before one of the girls decided to take matters in to her own hands. So, she got out of the car, and started shooing the cows, in the snow. It surprisingly didn’t take much of her waving her arms and asking them to move before they picked up their hooves and moved right along. The road was open in no time, and we were back on our way.

Pulling up to the trail head, the road was lined with cars of all the backpackers before us. By the time we arrived, it had warmed just enough for the snow to turn in to a cold rain. We were still bundled up and I was wearing a pair of hiking socks as gloves. We gathered our things, strapped on our packs, and began our descent in to the canyon. As we shuffled down the trail, passing people whom I personally believe woke up way too early to hike out, the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds and it started to warm up. Before an hour had passed, we had stripped off most of our layers.

The hike through the canyons was wonderful and exhausting. 10 miles is a long hike. 10 miles with a 35 lb. backpack strapped to your shoulders and waist is even longer. To be fair, I could’ve been in better shape. But I wanted to do this, and I REFUSED to use a pack mule to carry my things. To every able-bodied person who opts for a pack mule (those poor mules), I am secretly judging you.

As we walked along the trail, the canyons kept getting prettier, and taller and more scenic. Every turned corner was breathtaking. Every minute that passed was more therapeutic and enlightening than the moments before. And every single step made me more consciously aware of how out of shape I was.

Making it to the village was a relief. We took a break to unload our packs and eat. My advice to anyone is to of course pack food, but also bring cash and buy food from the market or the little restaurant. Supporting the locals is important, and the fry-bread is delicious. After lunch, and more rain, we continued on the final 2 miles of our journey to camp.

By the time we made it to camp, it was mid-afternoon and the rain had stopped. We settled in next to the creek and enjoyed the next 3 days and 2 nights exploring the canyons, chasing waterfalls, playing in the water, taking photos, hiking even more, eating backpacking food, and having profound conversations at night under the starry sky. The days were hot, and the nights were cold, but overall it was an incredible experience. The views were amazing so how could it not be an incredible experience?

On the morning of the hike out, we planned to wake up at dawn and start our hike early to beat the heat. Even though our journey in was cold and rainy, the weather report for our final day was 90 and sunny. Side note: Another friend of mine went a few weeks later, and on his last day they decided to sleep in, enjoy another full day and then hike out later in the afternoon. His idea was better than ours. I wish we had done that. Or perhaps stayed an extra day to rest. He didn’t even wind up hiking out, but neither did we.

We were determined to hike in AND out. Wanting to claim those bragging rights, we packed up and started our hike out as the sun was coming up. I’ll be honest, it was brutal. I had a breakdown and I cried. After having spent the previous 2 days hiking 20 miles, and not giving my body the rest and sleep it needed, I wanted to give up. I can only speak for myself really, but I don’t think I was the only one who didn’t want to hike out that day and I couldn’t be more thankful. We made it up to town and decided to stop for breakfast. During our little break, we weighed our options and made the decision to helicopter out.

My ego was crushed, but my soul was happy. We put our name on the list and just lounged around town for a few hours while we waited. To be honest, flying in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon is a pretty incredible experience on its own. If you don’t care about the bragging rights of saying you hiked in and out of Havasupai, take the helicopter out. It’s actually really cool.

When we landed, I hopped out of the helicopter and I felt a wave of every emotion wash over me. I was relieved to be done, sad it was over, exhausted, elated, the list goes on. But that’s why we do these things, right? That’s why we seek adventure and push our bodies to limits we didn’t know they could reach. That’s why we seek solitude among friends (if you think I said that wrong, I know what I said). We go on adventures to see new things and to create new memories. We go on adventures to make life worth living. We go on adventures to feel. And of all the trips I’ve been on thus far, this experience was more than I ever could’ve hoped for. Snow and all.