Havasu Falls

Havasu Falls

April 13-17, 2018

It’s time to fly to Las Vegas to meet up with Laura’s mother and our great friend Ike. Winds are strong and we’re stuck at the Colorado Springs airport. Ike is stuck in Denver. We know from our recent Patagonian experience with wind that current conditions are actually quite mild, but understandably, US airlines are far more cautious with their flights and therefore delay for less severe conditions. After an hour wait, we finally board the plane and get on our way to our next adventure.

Landing in Vegas we headed to Laura’s sisters home to catch a few hours of sleep before heading for the Havasupai Indian Reservation and our start point for the hike.

10 miles to camp with 2,500 feet of elevation change; we left the parking lot in gusty winds and cool conditions.

3 hours later we were at a small Indian village taking a break before walking the last two miles to camp. Upon arrival, I searched for a good camp spot without success until a contractor who was there building additional restrooms directed me to a prime spot right on the river flowing through camp.

I secured the space, then went back for Ike, Big Momma and Laura who had stopped to carry our 5 gallon water container she filled at the spring a half mile before camp. Exhausted, Big Momma rested at camp while Ike and I set up hammocks and cooked dinner.

The following morning we woke early and got moving for Mooney Falls, Beaver Falls and the confluence of Havasu river with the Colorado river. Climbing wet ladders and hiking through the river a few times, we all helped Laura’s mother to move swiftly through the difficult terrain. Sometimes pushing, sometimes pulling or helping her to balance - she did amazing! At over 70 and with a reconstructed ankle and knee, she was a trooper and an inspiration to everyone.

Reaching Beaver Falls at 10:20 am, and after 4 miles, Laura and I wasted no time and took off on an 8 mile trail run down to the confluence of the rivers in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Big Momma and Ike stayed behind so we did our best to make good time. Round trip including an hour at the bottom, we did the 8 miles in 3 hours. When we returned to the falls, I took the opportunity to cool off while throwing Laura into the cold water and splashing around like a kid in a pool.

We hiked out, once again navigating the slippery ladders and steep terrain without issue. At camp, I prepped our second night’s dinner. We all had a relaxing evening at camp - Laura and Big Momma headed for the tent while Ike and I people watched and bs’d before both crashing out in our hammocks.

Refreshed again, the following morning we hiked up to Navajo Falls and 50 foot falls to do some exploring for hidden caves. I attempted to swim under the falls to the cave but the pressure of the water was intimidating - especially since I am not a strong swimmer! We ended up relaxing at Havasu Falls for the afternoon while eating some fry bread and jumping in the water a few times.

Laura’s mother had trained for the hike out but after 3 long days in a row, she was worried that she’d slow us down a considerable amount on the way out, so she chose to take the helicopter ride from town, saving 8 miles of uphill hiking. Luckily, she was able to secure the last seat before the service shut down for the day and met us at the trailhead parking area. Laura, Ike and I made the 8 mile trip in a leisurely time of 3 hours with the pace being set by Ike hiking out front with his recently reconstructed ankle!

Arriving at the parking area, we were relieved to see that Big Momma had made it and we celebrated as it was a great trip for everyone and Ike’s first big hike since destroying his ankle in a rock climbing accident over a year ago. On our drive back to Las Vegas, we stopped at the Hoover Dam. Ike and I jumped out and walked across while Laura and her mother stayed in the car. Making our way to the airport the following day, we learned that Colorado Springs airport had a major fire and had cancelled all flights until further notice. We re-booked and decided we would spend the day on the Vegas Strip. We rode the high roller, the highest ferris wheel in the world, played some top golf, went to dinner and gambled some money away. Would I trade this trip with such amazing people for anything in the world? Probably not, but I will look forward to more of the same kind of fun in the future!

Zion Narrows

March 29 – April 1, 2018

Zion National Park

The Narrows – Top down

A day after we had completed the amazing Subway canyon in Zion, we had permits to day hike the larger, wider and longer 16 mile canyon called the Narrows. The Virgin River cuts through the high canyon walls and winds it’s way slowly down to the main area of the park. Most people choose to backpack the Narrows as an overnight trip but we chose to do it in a single day – why carry all that extra stuff?!

Entering the Narrows, the upper portion of the river was still frozen. Laura, Brian and I found ourselves walking on thick melting ice on the banks of the river. We quickly put on wet suits and began to make our way down river. We had estimated that the entire day would take us 8 hours or so, but weren’t moving as expected.

The canyon was interesting and the walls amazing. We took our time and soaked in the unique 1,000‘ tall walls while wandering down the 20’ wide canyon. Thinking about time, we stopped and looked at maps and determined that we had only gone 8 miles in the first 6 hours! Shit, we better get moving! We took off, picking up the pace for the following few miles.

Working our way down the river, we must have crossed back and forth at least 100 times. The progress was slow, but we eventually made it to the spectacular final sections of the canyon where once again we met lots of day hikers. This is the area that 95% of visitors come to to experience the Narrows. We felt fortunate to have experienced it, uninterrupted and without any other people for the previous 8 hours. 

Arriving at the Temple of Sinawava, we changed out of our wet suits, warmed our feet and ran the one mile back to the bus to head back toward the car Big Momma had left for us earlier in the day.

Zion Subway

March 29 – April 1, 2018

Zion National Park

Angels Landing

Subway Via Russell Gulch

I’ve wanted to go to Zion National Park for quite a few years but have never made a serious effort to get there. Every time Laura talked about the times she had been there, I made it a point to say I wanted to go as it was high on my list. It was January 5th when my email broke because Laura sent me too many messages about permits, hotel and flights. Later that day she called me to verify that I could take those days off of work. I thought we were planning on going to Havasu Falls around that time but apparantly one trip in a two week timeframe is just not enough!  She explains how they work together and proceeds to get permits for the falls as well. Awesome, I am so excited I can’t wait!

With permits secured, we invited Laura’s brother Brian on the adventures. Since he will be in Spain while we’re in Havasau, he chose to head for Zion with us. We made plans with Big Momma for a ride and shuttle service while in the park. Big Momma would then continue to Las Vegas to visit Laura’s sister.

Thursday arrives and after a game of Tetris with luggage for both trips, we manage to pull out of the drive at 3:30 am. Heading west to pick up mom and the dogs and on toward Zion, we made great time and arrived to pick up our first permit. Ready for the Subway the next day, we still had daylight so we decided to hike the few miles up to Angel’s Landing. We entered the park, jumped the bus and hit the pavement running.
We made great time on the steep trail to Angels Landing, although we did get some interesting looks from the “tourists”. We spent some time at the famous viewpoint and hiked a few more miles along the west rim trail.

6:00 am the following morning the alarm is blaring and we’re off for the Subway. Big Momma drops us off after a hearty breakfast and we start hiking at 7:30. There is no trail so we followed the directions we had only to find ourselves off course within an hour. We backtracked and found the proper canyon, finally entering Russell Gulch. Walking along, the canyon narrows and eventually comes to a cliff where a rappel is mandatory to continue down the canyon. Putting on wet suits, we rappelled over the first cliff and directly into a pool of water that we had to swim across. Spring snow runoff and only 35 – 40 degrees, the water is cold!!! We all made the swim and continued down the canyon reaching 3 more rappels and multiple pools to swim across along the way.

We eventually connected into the classic Subway portion of the canyon and were amazed with the beauty and uniqueness of the canyon. Very different from Russell Gulch, the Subway is one of a kind and a place I would visit many times over.  

Multiple rappels, swims and a lost pair of sunglasses later– Brian jumped into the water off a waterfall – we reached the end of the technical portion of the day. We met many people who had hiked up several miles to see the unique sandstone canyon carved by water. Walking along for an hour or so, we eventually found the exit up a very steep trail to the parking lot where Big Momma was waiting to pick us up at almost the exact time we had figured it would take us to navigate the 9 mile long canyon.

We jumped in the car, stuffed some food down, had a beer and headed for the ranger station to pick up tomorrows permit for the infamous Narrows.