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| 190' Mooney Falls |
I was just looking through pictures from our spectacular vacation, and putting together a photo book and realized that I never finished writing about our Grand Canyon Adventures! Not sure how I let that slip, but on any given day besides work, I'm helping, cleaning up after, distracted by, or chauffeuring 1, 2, 3, or 4 children, or any combination thereof. At any rate, I'm going to do my best to catch up on the details of our trip:
After a 14 hour day touring Las Vegas, we checked out the Hoover Dam, and then spent 2 days at Grand Canyon West (GCW). Although not as well known as Grand Canyon National Park, GCW is the home of the Hualapai Tribe
http://alacartegreen.blogspot.com/2011/08/july-was-blur.html , and we recommend visiting. During our visit, we were able to walk up to the edge of the canyon, look down into the canyon, and explore and take pictures without any railings to alter the views. We saw gorgeous panoramic sunsets at Guano Point, sunrise outside of our cabin door at Hualapai Ranch where we enjoyed archery, quick-draw, tomahawk throwing, roping, and horseback riding up to the rim of the Canyon.
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| Hoover Dam |
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| Sunrise at Hualapai Ranch cabins |
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| At the edge of the Canyon, Guano Point |
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| Sunset at Guano Point, Grand Canyon West |
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| Horseback riding at Hualapai Ranch |
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| Switchbacks as we descend from trailhead |
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| The Canyon view as we hike |
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| 30' Rock Falls - Rosebud and Rhody jumped from the top! |
After exploring at GCW, we continued east to the Grand Canyon Caverns. We toured the caverns and after a hearty dinner in Seligman at Lilos, we settled in so we’d be ready for the next day. After a 4am wakeup, we packed up and drove down dark, vacant Route 66 a short distance to get to the turnoff for the 62 mile ride to the trailhead, Hualapai Hilltop. It was around 7am when we set out from the trailhead, and it was still cool. We hiked into the Canyon, 8 long miles; the first 1.5 miles were steep switchbacks with loose footing, and it was cool since we were in the shade, and the sun hadn’t heated the canyon walls for the day. As the trail leveled out, the terrain was less rough, and the “soil” was finer, looser, red sediment that has washed into the canyon over thousands of years. Soon after we’d made it to level terrain, it began to heat up, and we trekked the rest of the way in the July heat continuously sipping the water from our Camelbacks which were nestled into our backpacks. We stopped along the way for photos, for breaks and snacking on dried fruit, granola, and peanut butter crackers. We reached the Village of Supai, home of the Havasupai Indian Tribe in about 4 hours.
After resting and having lunch, and checking into the air conditioned Lodge, we decided to hike 1.5 miles further to Rock Falls, a 30 foot waterfall. Rosebud and Rhody jumped from the top! After picking up some pb and j, bread, cheese, nacho chips, salsa, crackers, and water (lunch and dinner supplies) at the General Store, a good night’s sleep, and a big breakfast at the Café, we decided to hike 2.5 miles to the furthest fall that we would visit, Mooney Falls, and then backtrack and enjoy two other falls as we made our way back.
Getting to Mooney Falls is not a leisurely 2.5 mile hike, and it’s not for the faint of heart, or someone afraid of heights. Mooney Falls, is the tallest of the Havasupai Falls at 190’ tall. Getting to the base of the falls is tricky, because the trail winds down the face of a cliff, and then through a short tunnel. The tunnel ends at a ledge that has a great view of the falls at about 120’ from the bottom. There is a thick chain link “rail” to keep hikers from falling. You don’t want to fall from here…Mooney Fall is named after a miner who fell to his death in 1882. The trail continues in a second, narrow, steep tunnel that emerges about 80’ above the canyon floor. At this point, there is a very steep descent along rough rock, and more chains that are anchored to cliff walls with rebar and eye hooks. Without this chain and rebar for handholds and footholds it would almost impossible to descend safely. Hikers cannot pass along these sections, there is only room for one person, and it’s necessary to take turns descending and ascending. At about 15-20’ from the bottom there are old wooden ladders to make the final descent. Hikers should note that the constant mist from the falls can make the climb dangerous and slippery. But it’s so worth the adrenalin rush to get into the water at the base of the falls. Due to the mist, it was tricky to take pictures without getting the camera wet, but we managed. The water actually felt cool even though it was a hot July day because of the mist. If you dared to get near the pounding water, it prickled the skin! We explored downstream a bit, snacked, and jumped off some of the smaller falls there. Be sure you remember to pack lots of water, snacks, sun screen, beach towels, and water shoes to keep your feet safe as you climb and jump from the falls. You also might want to pack a small foot power to help dry off your feet before putting the hiking boots back on. And as you can see, a camera is a MUST to capture the brilliant colors and beauty of Mooney Falls.
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| Hiking down to Mooney requires you to pass through narrow rock tunnels |
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| Climbing up/down to Mooney Falls is a bit tricky! |
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| Hang on tight to the ropes and wooden ladders |
No, I'm not talking about the 140 character or less posting, or update on Twitter. I'm talking about the sounds of the birds that are twitter-patted and excited about the warm weather, building their nests, and mating. As I was cleaning out a patch of garden yesterday, the sounds of the birds struck me, and made me smile even more. To me, the sounds of birds herald spring, and this spring has come earlier than usual, with record 80+ degree weather here in the Boston area in March! March is the time of year I start to watch for my favorite bird, the Eastern Blue Bird. 
