Paradise Lost

We expect Mother Nature to change around the furniture in her room once in awhile, but I am still sad to hear that Havasupai Canyon was hit hard. The popular backpacker’s destination west of Grand Canyon National Park just reopened since major floods wreaked havoc last August and the buzz is not good.

Oh, and I'll just apologize in advance. This post contains a lot of photos. I just loved it there ... can't you tell??

You may have heard me mention this magical place before. It is the place of my first official backpacking trip in 2001 (you have to hike 10 miles to get to it), which turned into the first place (and hopefully the last) where I was lost for several hours. On a much better note, it was at Havasu Falls where J proposed to me in 2005.

2005
2007
I swear this place is akin to pure paradise. Towering blue-green waterfalls and lush cottonwood trees are not something you regularly find in the desert. Which is what made it so magical. We have no immediate plans to revisit the spot, but I am so curious about how it looks now because from the sounds of it, much of the paradise was lost. They say the most noticeable changes are to the waterfalls and campground because of the mudslides. Navajo Falls was lost and the others are changed.

Boo hoo. Navajo Falls ... according to reports, this one is all gone. It was never my favorite anyways, mostly because the first time I was there, I tried jumping off of it like everyone else, and instead I slipped and fell the whole way down it. I had a bruise the size of my leg. We made amends over the years, although I never attempted to jump again.

Beaver Falls ... Not sure the status on this one. You have to hike an extra 4 miles beyond camp to get here. And not just hike, but bushwack. It's quite the thrill to get there though. Plus, there's also a 70-foot cliff dive nearby for the brave (J & I have both jumped it twice, but I wouldn't do it again even if you paid me. I just about had a heart attack both times). PS - My hair is REALLY short in the first photo (2001). Mooney Falls ... there's been some damage here as well. To get from the spot in the first picture to the spot in the second picture, you have to do some serious rock climbing without the equipment. It's intense, but fun. According to reports, the rocks are even more unstable then they were before, so I'm not sure it's smart to try anymore. Wait, was it ever smart in the first place?

Labels: