Havasu Canyon July 2-4

I just got back yesterday from a great 3-day backpack trip into Havasu Canyon, a lush tributary of the Grand Canyon. The canyon has a marvelous spring-fed creek the whole length of the hike with 4 major waterfalls (up to 200 feet) and countless smaller cascades. Blue waterfalls in a red desert. Travertine dams, cave formations, maidenhair ferns, refreshing mist, world-famous falls, swimming and cliff-jumping in deep pools of improbably-blue waters- I was in heaven. The blue color is from an abundance of calcium carbonate in the water. The water is so clear that the creek is about 1.5 times as deep as it appears and because of refraction it always looks shallower 3 steps in front of you. The middle day I hiked from the lowest falls all the way down to the Colorado River (further than I thought) with nothing but swim shorts, sandals, hat and watch. I left everything else behind thinking I wasn't going to explore much further, but the canyon just kept getting more interesting and I couldn't turn back (a little water and sunscreen would have gone a long way!). It seemed endless as every turn in the canyon ahead of me looked like it could be the junction with the Colorado. This happened at least 6 times. Every time I overheated I would just jump in another swimming hole and cool off. Apart from a few friendly rafters, I didn't see anyone the whole day of hiking. The hike out was painful in the mid-day sun.

I am currently in Flagstaff, AZ, enjoying the superb hospitality of close friends.

Some snapshots of Havasu Canyon (yes the water is that blue!):