What Kijubi doing?

Recipe for a life altering adventure:

• One 30+ pound backpack full of camping supplies
• Two grueling 11 mile hikes to and from the secluded Havasupai Native American reservation in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
• Good friends
• Sweltering 100+ degree heat
• A dash of this:



• A splash of this:



• And a lot of this:

Have you been to Shangri-la? No? Me neither. Too bad because it’s a utopian city first described by British author James Hilton. It’s depicted as a mystical, harmonious valley that’s synonymous with paradise on earth. Although if such a city exists is still a mystery, there is a place that comes extraordinarily close. However, like all legendary places, you have to cross some perilous terrain to get there.

The Grand Canyon is a desolate and foreboding place — its land is barren and only the toughest creatures can call it home. It only takes a quick glance to deem the two thousand foot walls impassible, and the blistering heat succeeds in deterring all but the most determined backpackers and canyon loving hippies.  However, like the old adage: ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’ — there is definitely something extraordinarily surprising hidden deep within this place. No it’s not home to Shangri-la, it’s usually called Supai and its as damn close as you’re going to get.

Your journey starts at the very top of the canyon, overlooking the crimson red, bone dry terrain that seems to stretch over the horizon. Your 9 mile hike to the Havasupai village is eagerly beginning. You descend over a thousand feet in less than your first thousand steps, carefully trekking down switchbacks carved into the cliff-side. No signs of water await you in-between the canyon walls and the only signs of life are the eagles and vultures circling overhead, supply mules (Supai is the only place in the U.S.A where mail is still delivered by mules) and the surprisingly large lizards scattering away as you approach. You begin to question your decision as the canyon is beginning to feel more like an oven than a tropical paradise.

The first sign of water you see is a peculiar dampness in the middle of a canyon that disappears as quickly as your own water supply. After a couple more miles you notice that a small stream has punched its way through the large red boulders that dominate the landscape and now trickles in-between them. As you near the village, the stream gives way to a creek that guides your path. Small bushes and trees now guide you along as you pick up your pace to reach the village.

The Havasupai village mostly consists of small farms that enclose cows, horses and other animals, and a few houses that are dotted with satellite dishes. It’s a small agricultural community of about 600 people which mainly makes a living off the thousands of tourists that visit each year. A general store, café and church await your arrival and it’s the last place you can stock up before reaching the campgrounds.

The campgrounds are a short 2-mile hike away. As you get nearer, and the roar of the water gets louder and your motivation grows. A long dirt path descends past the first of many stunning waterfalls and soon you’re in the midst of dozens of, literally, happy campers. There are plenty of places to establish your campsite, and also a freshwater spring that provides you with needed fluids.

The beautiful thing about Supai is that it’s ever-changing. Yearly floods invade and shift the land so that the paths of rivers are never the same and new waterfalls spring up as old ones disappear.  Here are some of the destinations that I recently enjoyed:

Yet-unnamed Falls

In August 2008 a Havasu Creek dam burst after days of very heavy rain. The floodwaters caused the evacuation of the entire village and resulted in one devastating casualty, Navajo Falls. The falls were around 70 feet tall and actually consisted of two separate falls that converged into one.  Thankfully, Navajo was replaced by another, yet-unnamed waterfall. The new waterfall is very wide and about 30ft high, with plenty of places to jump from. However, the most intriguing part about it is the you can walk behind the fall, and there is a sitting area naturally carved in to the wall!

Havasu Falls

A very short hike from the campgrounds, Havasu Falls is the second waterfall in the canyon. It’s one 120-foot chute off a vertical cliff. It spills in to many different pools that invite lots of lounging, splashing, and horse play. Also, there are a few places to climb around and behind the falls for the more adventurous crowd looking for a cliff-jump.

Quartz Mine

A half-mile hike from Navajo Falls and up a 100 foot embankment is a system of tunnels that formerly housed a quartz mine. Head lamps and shoes with a rubber sole are required as there are plenty of places where a misstep would cause a quick end to your journey. The first four levels are accessible by scaling down a few holes (thankfully the ropes are already in place), while the rest of the mine is blocked off by rocks and rubble.

Mooney Falls

The largest falls of the canyon, which feature a 210 foot vertical drop, are named after Jame Mooney – a miner who tried to scale the falls with an injured colleague tied to his back and subsequently fell to his death.  In order to get to the bottom of the falls, you must scale down the cliff using a system of strategically placed chains and ladders. Like Havasu Falls, there are also plenty of places to lounged and swim and also a couple of good jumps. If you walk away from the falls, you’ll see a hiking trail that will lead you to a mysterious ladder about 30 feet of the ground that leads you to a cave a few hundred feet above the bottom. Thankfully, none of my friends thought they were skilled enough to make the climb.

Beaver Falls

The fourth set of major falls in the canyon is located about a three and a half mile hike from camp. This hike is the most gorgeous I’ve ever been on, with many areas featuring dense vegetation stretching from wall to wall. It’s more reminiscent of a South American jungle than anything you would find in the Grand Canyon – thankfully without the enormous bugs and warring guerrilla factions. The Beaver falls are a system of three or four waterfalls that spill into a large pool that’s perfect for swimming cliff jumping. The east side of the cliff features two platforms, 40 and 50 feet respectively, that offer the best jumping the canyon has to offer. The pool also has a small cove at the far end that provides the faint of heart an excellent place to watch the crazy people jump.

I must stress that no words, pictures, or even those fancy moving pictures can truly encompass the natural beauty that Supai and only Supai posses. The water is the bluest and clearest I’ve ever seen! The people are even named after it – Havasupai means ‘people of the blue green waters’.  Also it is a place of deep contrasts, the lush and green canyon bed and the barren red walls of the canyon. It’s truly unimaginable until you’ve actually seen Supai with your own eyes.

The closest thing I have near home is a canyoneering adventure in the Los Angeles San Gabriel Mountains, so I urge you all to go and visit Supai. However, please note that you might have to make the camping reservation up to a year in advance, and if you’re not happy with that, you can go to Shangri-la.