Last days at Havasupai

Monday; Our last day in paradise; We were determined to make it a good one.

We all got up early and decided we wanted to take one last dip in Havasu Falls. It took everyone a bit to warm up to it, but it was really nice, just chillin in the water. After about an hour or two, we decided to head up to some upper falls, pictured here. I mentioned in an earlier post, that these falls were not here the previous year, but because of a flood, they were created. I thought these looked fun because if you look close, you can see a lower ledge. I thought it would be SO FUN to walk behind the waterfall.

And so we did :)


I felt like i was in Goonies or something. It was so fun, i can't even begin to explain. A few of us went behind the falls (and decided that we should come here next time we need to shower for church) and then jumped through the waterfall into the water. The water was SO deep. As we were playing around, a group of kids our age went to the top (where i'm pictured above) and started jumping off... This seemed CRAZY to us because, it was about 30 or 40 feet tall, and WHO KNOWS how deep it was underneath or if there were any rocks below.... But, they all jumped and seemed to be fine.



Then an old man jumped. (What...!?!)He was about 50 or 60. I was like, man, i can't let this old man show me up! So i went to the top... I have cliff jumped before... but it was when i was like, fourteen, so it's been a WHILE. I knew, from back then, that you can't stand at the top for very long, because you'll talk yourself out of it. You just have to step off, before you can even really think about it. (someone in the group videoed it, but i have yet to see it. If i ever get it, i'll post)Everyone was really surprised... and because i did it, all the other girls felt like they had to. (although, only two other girls did it from our group of eight.) HA!

We stayed here for a little while longer, enough for the guys to jump off a few times and swim and play around. I headed back early to start on making lunch. (We had to pump the water from the river with a purifier. While it didn't take absorbinent amounts of time, it wasn't as quick as a tap, that's for sure.)

After lunch, i quickly packed up all my stuff and taped up my foot. I knew God would help me, but i was going to do EVERYTHING i could to make sure i could make it out ok. I put neosporin and bandaids on my blisters, and DUCT TAPED them all down, so there was NO CHANCE they were coming off. But, one minor problem... My feet were so swollen, that they wouldnt fit in my tennis shoes...!!! Ha. So, my only alternatives were flip flops (for a 10 mile hike?!) or my crocs... (oh geez.) And SO, i hiked out with my mary jane crocs and white ankle socks. Needless to say, i looked H.O.T. (especially in combo with my NBA basketball shorts.)

And so i headed out, before everyone else. I knew i would be going at a little bit of a slower pace and wanted to get a head start, but mostly, my main motivation was getting to the town before the convenient store closed. i REALLY wanted cold, normal tasting water for our hike back. (the water from the spring wasn't my FAVORITE flavor...) I got there with plenty of time to spare, and just lounged while everyone else filed in about a half hour to an hour later. (i put raspberry ice crystal lite in my camel bak. It looked like a giant IV filled with blood. Some people from Germany were looking at me with horror as i drank... Ha ha)

Soon enough, it was time to continue the journey out. We left the village around 6:30. I started out toward the beginning of the group, but slowly moved toward the back. (which was okay with me.) I hiked quite a bit of it alone, which was also ok.

For a few miles, a group of us played a game, at my suggestion, to make the time pass. My friend Shayla and i used to play it while training for our half marathon. It was an ABC game. You choose a theme (i.e. girls names, movie stars, countries, food, etc) and each person says one thing using a letter, beginning with A. For example, girls names, one person would start with A and say ashley, next person had B, brittany, etc. until you finish the alphabet. It proved fun and challenging at times. (a country or food that starts with x??) Most importantly though, it did fulfill it's purpose, which was to help pass the time.

Soon, the group widdled down to just Brent and I. I said he could go on ahead, but he wouldn't let me come in alone, especially since it was dark and we needed to use our headlamps. It was very kind of him to stay back with me, to make sure i was ok.

Remember how the last part was switchbacks, for TWO MILES, ascending 1,000 feet? yeah, me too. We kept treking, occassionally looking up and seeing a headlamp FAR (HUGE emphasis on the word FAR) in the distance. It was discouraging to see how far away they were. Like, we're NEVER going to get there...

One guy even hiked back down to find us and offered to carry my pack, but because i'm prideful, i wanted to say i carried my own pack in and made it out, all on my own.

SIDE NOTE! Ok., hiking in, i was SO exhausted when we finally got there. My calves were sore the ENTIRE trip. The other girls who came, were all like, "we do this all the time...", "you're sore? we're not sore at all." BLAH BLAH BLAH. But guess who DOESN'T carry their packs out? Yep. I'm the oldest and fattest of the whole group.. (and i'm not even "fat" but was larger than them) but was one of three girls (out of eight) who carried my pack out myself. I was pretty proud.

Alright, so back to the story. WE MADE IT! Hallelujah.

Now, only a TWO HOUR drive to town.

HA!

We made it, though, around midnight and went to Denny's. (although i just wanted to crash, rather than eat...) I made it a point to get a coke though, because i accidently swallowed alot of river water when i jumped off the waterfall... and one of the guys told me his doctor had advised him to drink coke when that happened. It kills the bacteria in your stomach. (THAT'S good to know... yikes.)

After our late night dinner, we got three hotel rooms, split between sixteen people; all showered and crashed. (me sleeping on the floor, but not caring because i was THAT tired)

We got up at 8 am (I KNOW. Who's idea this was, i don't know. We didn't get to bed until 3 am...) We got some Mickey D's and headed out. Stopped at the Hoover Dam to take a look. (HUGE) Stopped in Cedar City around 3pm to eat Arby's, and made it home around 6pm.

Whew.

Got all that? :)

It was great. If i did it again, i'd do things a little different, but i am glad i went. I'm thankful for the exprience. If nothing else, it was pretty humbling to go around for a few days wearing the same clothes and having no make up, and just enjoying nature. Just kidding. But it was amazing. (all except the port-o-poties...) I think everyone should go, if they ever have the chance!