I definitely wanted to get to the trailhead early and beat the heat.  I still had some good sinus pressure and my head still felt fuzzy from last night (I was praying that I wasn’t getting a damn cold).  I made oatmeal in my hotel room using the coffee pot for hot water.  My early start dictated getting on the road before any restaurant in the area opened.  It is a 61 mile drive to the trailhead down Route 18.  The drive is pretty as it takes you to the end of the Hualapai reservation to the Havasupai reservation across some beautiful open range.  Since it is open range be ready for those unexpected bovines to meander onto the road (explain that one to your insurance company).  The last 2 miles of road descends through the Kaibab formation to two small parking lots near the trailhead.  Good luck finding a place to park – I lucked out and squeezed my small SUV between two large pickups.   

I tossed on my rig on and descended the trailhead – I was a bit horrified to seen huge amounts of trash all over the trailhead area (my first guess was that maybe a trash can blew over).  The trail to Supai is 8 miles long with another 2 miles to Havasu Falls camp.  This trail is one of the easiest in the canyon.  I made short work of the switchbacks and made it to the foundation of what looks like the beginning/remains of a rest house.  I rounded the bend and you are rewarded with a spectacular view of the Esplanade break and Mt. Sinyella.  The trail to Supai follows the break through the Supai Group and down the wash all the way to the village.  There is no need even for a map (which I am an avid believer of having with me at all times).  The path is as defined and all you need to do is follow the thousands of footprints.  I entered the Esplanade break and came across a Supai villagers and their families making there way back home.    

As I continued down the Esplanade break and into the wash, I couldn’t help think what happens to this area during the monsoon season and all the flash flooding.  There is hardly any high ground to get to as you descend into the break.  The trail, as you descend into the break, is almost level.  I use hiking poles and after I entered the Esplanade, I actually carried them almost all the way to Supai.  Now, as I hiked I became increasingly disgusted.  Everywhere, there was trash along the trail.  It consisted mostly of discarded water bottles and I was starting to fume at the complete disrespect by us “tourists” of an incredibly beautiful area.  Although, as I hiked I started to wonder how much may have actually been contributed by the locals as I also started to see other trash such as feed bags and such. 

At one of the bends I heard the rumble of horse hooves.  Yes rumble. I leaped to get out of the way – the mules and horses are driven up and down the canyon like a cattle stampede by the local wranglers when they are not carrying any loads.  As I stood on a big rock in the middle of the wash they all went flying past in a cloud of dust (cough – gasp).   

I made it Supai about 2.5 hours – made great time…  The village of Supai is quaint, but also reflects what I also found on the trail.  The lodge and camping office are also here.  I stopped in the camping office to briefly pick up my permit and then headed down to the falls.  On the way down you get a glimpse of Navajo Falls and the water is a blue green- Havasu falls comes into view and that view is awesome.  I descended the trail and into camp.  The camp follows the stream below Havasu Falls and there are campsites on each side of the stream. 

There was a lot of activity going on and the campsite which seemed like one big party area.  The camp was primarily comprised of by youngins (from the Dictionary of Briski: youngin (Someone in their mid twenties that still like to whoop and holler at the top of their lungs because they think it’s cool).  I finally found an open camp site down a ways secluded by some brush and trees near the canyon wall.  I was thoroughly disgusted by the fact that I had to clean the area of trash before I could pitch my tent.  In the brush someone actually left behind a homemade port-a-potty!  I thought about pitching my tent near the canyon wall but it was clear people were using it as a urinal (I would see several use it for this purpose while I was in camp). 

After relaxing a bit I headed over to the falls for a dip.  The youngins were whooping it up and having a good ol’ time.  So much for any serenity.  At least the eye-candy was worth it (hmmm young 20 year olds in their teeny-bikinis – may need to rethink this here – grin).  While I was wading into the cool (somewhat cold) blue green water – I still couldn’t help notice all the trash along the falls.   What a crime – such a magnificent area and complete disregard for protecting the area for one’s own hedonistic pursuits.  I parked my self on the ledge making sure I didn’t block the view of a couple.  I was starting to doze a little, but all the hollering and carrying on by the kiddies offered little reprieve – it was nothing more than one big party.  I headed back to camp and snoozed and read a while before dinner.  There is drinking water from a spring located in the middle of the camp.  There is also a small hut near this spring where the water is treated with chlorine (the nozzle is on the other side and at first I didn’t even see it).  Fortunately by dinner time all the partying seemed to die down and there was a peacefulness in camp.  Also note – there are NO food storage canisters at this camp (like you have in the Grand Canyon National Park) – bring some rope to hang your food bag.