the upper set of two new waterfalls at Havasu
I took a day trip to Havasu on June 4, curious to see how much it had changed.
In August of 2008, Havasu Canyon was devastated by a major flood, drastically altering the landscape and character of its famous waterfalls. I was fortunate enough to hike to Havasu before the flood in 2008. You can take a look at some of those photos to compare “before and after.”
Navajo Falls has been completely obliterated – and now exists only in the history books – but the good news is that two new waterfalls were carved out of the canyon, upstream of the old Navajo site. The landscape surrounding these falls still needs quite a bit of work and healing, but they are beautiful with great potential.
I first heard that the upper falls (Pictured above) are called Lewis Falls and that the lower one (Shown below) is called Auxier Falls – both named after historic prospectors that mined the local area for gold – but as far as I know these names are not yet “official.”
Update: According to the Havasupai Tribe web site, the new upper falls are tentatively called “New” Navajo Falls and the lower one is called Rock Falls, though the tribe has yet to finally decide on official names. Nobody seems quite sure what to call the new falls yet.
Havasu Falls is now a leaner version of its old self, and the riparian paradise around the pools is different, but it still retains much of its original beatuy. I did not continue down to Mooney Falls, but it reportedly has changed very little, except for the pool at its base.
first steps below Hualapai Hilltop
This was a long day trip for me. I stayed up too late the previous night with wine and spirits, and didn’t leave the South Rim Village until 9am. The drive from the South Rim to the Hualapai Hilltop takes about 3 to 3.5 hours, depending on how fast you go, so I didn’t begin hiking until after noon. I moved along at brisk pace, intent on making good time. Passing through the Supai Village at 3pm, I only had about two and a half hours to check out the falls before hiking back out after 5:30. It was nearly 8:30 when I returned to to the Hualapai Hilltop, looking ahead at another 3-hour drive back home. The day totaled about 18 miles of hiking, and over 6 hours of driving, but it was all worth it.
toward the end of Hualapai Canyon, and its confluence with Havasu Canyon
On the hike down to the village, I noticed very little difference in the canyon from my previous visit. A few large trees still stand at the floor of the canyon, but after reviewing last year’s pictures, it looks like area is now a little less green.
A first look at the aqua-colored water, at the bridge above the village – the old bridge is still there.
The Supai Village seemed unchanged to me as well, without visible damage to the structures or “roads.” The only thing I noticed was considerably more stray dogs than my previous visit.
The damage readily became much more apparent below the village, with a large swath of dirt cut along the creek. I could see that they had been hard at work to repair the trail and re-develope the area.
This is the lowest of the two new falls. It’s the most accessible, so I went there first. I arrived just in time to meet a group of kids having a great time jumping from the top.
From Auxier Falls, it’s possible to pick your way upstream to the first of the two new falls, Lewis Falls. Maybe in the coming months they’ll make these areas more easily accessible.
These upper falls were gorgeous.
the stream between the two new falls
These two photos (Above and below) are a good depiction of the area surrounding the two new falls. This is all upstream of the old site of Navajo Falls.
Don’t miss the next page (This day continued)
