Havasu - Hualapai Hilltop to Supai

Day 11 dawns a little chilly but I'm excited about today's backpack. So long to Moe, we square up on who owes who, farewell... It's a bit of drive ahead of me a little ways on 66 then on "Middle of nowhere" hiway 18 to Hualapai hilltop, the parking area at the start of the trail. Logistically this is only 35 miles west of Grand Canyon Village but it takes 140 miles to get there, luckily I have only the last 65 miles or so to cover this morning.

When telling people about this trip many thought it was near Lake Havasu, & the short answer is no, its not. Lake Havasu is about 160 miles to the SW as the baby Condor flys.
I arrive & there are a ton of cars, a group of frozen looking young people who camped at the trailhead overnight, & three loose horses who must know the way home as they jog on by & down the trail. The office where you would arrange freight is deserted as is the derelict motor home advertising with home-made signs for ice-cream & soft drinks.
I kit up & step of onto the trail, a well graded set of switchback reminiscent of the Grand Canyon Trails. Two noticeable differences though, first were the hand-made signs & second was the garbage. As a backpacker it is my instinct to pick up trash regardless if it's mine or not but it was soon clear that wasn't going to be possible. I never quite got used to seeing the discarded drink containers along the trail & in the campsite it was worse with abandoned clothing, food containers, broken gear. That's all I'll say about that because otherwise the area is spectacular, I just don't think it would take a lot of effort from all concerned to keep the place tidier. Once its tidy then picking up an occasional piece of trash is no big deal... but I digress, onwards down the trail to the bottom of the wash...
Todays specs: 13 km to the village of Supai, 3 more to the campground. 600m loss.

I love solo hiking, this was no exception. It was so quiet in the wash it was almost eerie. Very beautiful though, I took my time, lots of shots.



Some abandoned mining equipment.
A baby condor ;>)
CROAK...echos down the canyon. Cool, but I'm still not sharing my food with you. (Ok, I jest, it's a Raven of course...)
The village of Supai is home to 450 people & they get all their supplies either by pack horse or helicopter. In the GC the mules are trained together & lead by drivers. On this trail the horses are sometimes trained together but often loose & driven up the canyon especially when empty. One has to pay attention & get clear when you hear them coming. There was lots of traffic today; being a Sunday the Saturday crowd was pulling out.

You have your choices of getting down here. If you don't want to backpack you can use either a horse or helicopter for you &/or your baggage & you can stay either in the campground or the Lodge in Supai.



Entering the village past paddocks & orchards. Most of the housing is government built uninspired rectangles in various states of "who gives a shit" with the occasional one nicely kept up. Loose kids & dogs in the dirt streets. A combination of quaint & depressing.
These rock formations are refered to as Wigleeva and are the guardian spirits of the Havasupai people. A legend says that if they should ever fall, the canyon walls will close & the entire village will be destroyed.

A short stop at the office for my permit. No mention of needing a reservation, this isn't their peak time I guess. $57 later I'm on my way to the campground.
They specifically ask that you respect their privacy & ask permission to take photos of people, in particular children. I thought this house looked neat complete with a Halloween decoration over the door.