Havasu Falls Adventure 2008

Here is my personal account of the Grand Canyon Flood on August 16-17, 2008.

We arrived at the trailhead Thursday night about 9pm. Eager to be rested for the long hike on Friday, we plopped our sleeping bags down on the road next to the guard rail about 10 feet from the Canyon edge. The night was relatively calm, the wind picked up a little then would die down and pick back up. Then we got inundated with Mosquitoes doing fly bys which sounded like B52 bombers. After a while we all finally settled into sleep with our bags tightly pulled around our ears. We were completely unaware of the huge storm brewing in surrounding areas.

At first light we dig the dirt from our eyes, gathered our gear, and the twelve of us headed down the trail. The hike down was gorgeous. Chris & I had never met the group before, other than Dave & Ginger, so we introduced ourselves as we made our way down everyone was smiling and happy to have a chance to be in such an amazing place. There were lots of people hiking in & out that we passed along the way. About ¾ of the way down the trail, just before Supai, Ginger & I met a nice kid named Mike that was making his way down behind his group with a heavy pack. He snapped a picture of Ginger & I with his phone with the canyon in the background. He wanted to take his time so Ginger & I kept moving. We all caught back up with each other in Supai at the camper check in station. We paid our fees, & decided to eat in the café’ there in the village. This was, well… interesting. We put our orders in at the counter. The short story is that the either regular staff was on vacation or customer service for non residents was not on the mission statement. About an hour later we got our “food”. We ate what we could and headed back onto the trail.

The village is set up in sort of a big horse shoe shape than winds around down through the trail. It’s basically a ½ mile dirt trail with houses, a store, a community center, an Inn, and a café’ sitting alongside the trail. In the center there is a grassy field used for their helicopter airfield next to a horse corral & another big open dirt field surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Between the fence and the trail is a mound of manure and a dry creak bed. The mode of transportation in the village by locals is walking, ATV and mule or horse. As you pass this center area you begin to descend down the trail toward Havasupai Creed & Falls. There are Supai houses all along the way with corrals with pack mules (most so thin that their ribs were visible) which was heartbreaking.

A couple of miles out of the village we passed Havasupai Falls. Chris, Gary, Tracy & I were ahead of the group and kept going into the campground passed the falls. The rest of the group stopped for a swim. We couldn’t find an empty camp site big enough for our group so we kept walking until we found one way down by Mooney Falls. Ginger came down to find us and she & I went back up to Havasupai to get the group. We picked up the rest of our gear from the mule station. It had arrived just as we passed by which had to be an omen that everything was running like clock work.

We set up camp, explored a little bit, & swam in the gorgeous clear blue creek. We had a great night. Dave made dinner then we hung out, drank & were merry. We were all looking forward to the amazing Mooney Falls Hike on Saturday.

We woke to a beautiful day on Saturday morning with clear blue sky, a few fluffy wispy clouds, and a slight breeze. We ate breakfast, drank camp coffee, or Brian’s tea, and headed out for Mooney.

This is actually were my heart pounding adventure begins. I’m terrified of heights. Mainly because, due to an accident I was in a few years ago, I don’t have full control of lifting up my left foot so I’m not as quick or stable on my feet as most others. I had done a little research on the place before I decided to go on the trip and came across some pictures of the trail down Mooney Falls. I was concerned but based on the pictures it’s less vertical than it is. Ginger & Dave assured me that it was not big deal; so easy in fact that “I could do it in flip flops.” the “trail” basically scales the side of a sheer cliff with posts, ropes and chains screwed into the rock so you don’t fall 200 feet face first to your death. At that point I was wondering what Dave’s idea of dangerous was, maybe cougar wresting, cliff jumping, tornado chasing? I had 20 people behind me on the trail lined up so I had to keep going. My heart was pounding so loudly that I couldn’t hear Chris giving me guidance on what step to take next or when to pry my death grip hands from one chain handrail to the next. About ¾ of the way down someone pointed to the easier way, which meant climbing down a 20 foot boulder to the beach rather than an inverted rock face & a questionably build ladder. I chose the boulder, not knowing that over the next 24 hours this practice was going to really pay off.

Mooney Falls Trail:

The plan was to hike to Beaver Falls, which was supposed to be a few miles past Mooney and then stop at Mooney and swim on the way back to camp. As we were walking away I realized I’d have to go back up that rock later that day. I tried to put it out of my mind and headed down the trail. About 30 minutes later we found a small waterfall & a rope swing into the most beautiful lagoon I’d ever seen. We took a break there and most of our group tried out the swing. About 30 minutes down the trail we ran into a few hikers on their way to Mooney up from the Colorado River. They told us we were a ways away from Beaver Falls but we were headed the right way. Every 30 minutes or so we would pass a group of hikers who would tell us Beaver falls was about 30 minutes further & that it was worth the hike. After making our way through think brush & heavy foliage (that looked like something out of a South American jungle, we crossed the river, passed some crazy kids jumping from the side of the cliff into a lagoon. A little further down the trail and we arrived at an arch/cave like stricture in the cliff with a huge palm tree growing in it. The trail dead ended into the river & went up to the right on another 20 foot questionably built ladder. At the top of the ladder was a landing on the cliff with another trail similar to the one at Mooney Falls. I was done. I tried to get up the ladder but knew I’d have a really hard time getting back down. A hiker, not from our group, suggested I wade down the river rather than hike up the trail. Chris hesitantly agreed to come with me. We swam then crawled down a series of small falls & rapids before the rain storm hit. We stopped a few hundred feet later when Brain signaled us from above. We by accident found a trail on land along slide the river, took that back to the Palm Tree cave by swimming across the river. I huddled under the cave next t the warm clay wall while Chris went up the ladder to let the group know we were heading back to Mooney. Minutes after Chris went up the ladder a huge boulder crashed down over the ladder and splashed into the water (I thought the boulder was Chris!) followed by an avalanche of water which continued to flow on both sides of the cave trapping me inside. The waterfalls began to subside & finally Chris & the rest of the group could safely make it back down. We decided to head back to Mooney. We were all exhausted.

The hike back seemed faster. We marveled at all of the new waterfalls emerging from the cliffs. The canyon was gorgeous, it seamed to sparkle after the recent rain. After another quick stop at the rope swing we headed back to Mooney, wading through the crystal clear river as we made the last turn toward the lagoon at the bottom of the falls. It was around 4 or 5pm so the plan was to swim in Mooney Lagoon for a while before we made the climb to the top. As we got to the beach we looked up to see about a half dozen campers waving to us from the top of the cliff. It’s a ways up so we couldn’t hear what they were saying. At first we thought they were just saying hi so we waved back. Someone in our group said “I think they are telling us to get up to the top…there is a flash flood warning!”. My heart nearly slammed out of my chest. I don’t even remember climbing up that rock face. I just remember knowing I need to move my ass up as fast as I could and don’t look down! Once at the top the ranger said there was a flood warning. He said it was ok but to move our camp to higher ground. (Not to evacuate, but to move our camp at least 4 feet higher). We ran back to camp and moved our tents to higher ground.

At this point it’s important to understand where we were located. From the village the trail and the creek drop down onto a series of plateaus’ that end in waterfalls. The village is on the top side of Havasupai Falls, the camp ground ends at Mooney Falls which is the next waterfall down from Havasupai. With a 3 mile trail between them. Beyond Mooney, the trail then continues down through more of the same geography to the Colorado River. Because the camp ground was so busy we opted to camp at one of the last sites very close about 100 feet from Mooney Falls.

The canyon where the camp ground is at is a couple hundred feet wide with canyon walls 200-300 feet wide on both sides. The trail runs along the side of one of the canyon walls. The creek runs down the middle. The camp sites are between the trail & the creek. There are some camp sites on the other side of the creek. These people were the ones in the most danger during the flood. Remember, Mooney falls trail is basically rock climbing 200 feet down. The traditional trail ends there. Visualize yourself in a gigantic water side with a 200 foot drop off at the end. This is not a good place to be in a flood.

About an hour later, at dinner, two locals from Supai come by to check on us. They are very subtle and didn’t say we are in danger. They just said that the creek may raise a couple of feet overnight and to make sure our gear is on high ground. They made it seem like it was routine procedure. We ate dinner, packed up our gear for the hike out early the next morning, hung out for a while, and head to bed about 10pm. Despite the long hike that day I couldn’t sleep. I had a terrible feeling in my gut something awful was about to happen. I lay in the tent listening. I may have fallen asleep for a short bit because I remember having a dream about going over the falls in a wall of water. At about midnight I started to hear branches breaking and nudged Chris and told him the water was rising. I’m not sure if he heard me, but suddenly awake he went out to go to the bathroom. I heard him waking up the group. I grabbed my pack and ran out to help.

The camp site was already being surrounded by rising water. Everyone was yelling we need to get to higher ground. We were scared to death but we all knew we had to be calm and move our butts in order to live. Once everyone had shoes on and had grabbed any gear they could carry Bill & Dave started a human chain to cross to higher ground. The water was waist deep in every direction. We had to get to the side of the canyon to crawl to higher ground. It was pitch black except for what we could see with our headlamps. There was little dry land. Dave stood on the far side, Bill stood in the middle. Chris & the rest of the guys lined up behind the girls to grab us if we lost our footing. The girls went first. First Tanya, Ginger, Lisa & Tracy then me. Every one of us was too light to hold up against the raging water. Even with all of our effort and concentration our feet were swept out from under us and Bill or the guys grabbed us by an arm, neck or pants as we were being swept into the raging river heading toward the 100 foot falls. Once across, Dave told us to run and not look back. I could hear Tracy yelling to me to keep going. I stopped to get my bearing for a few seconds to decide if I should wait for the guys. I could hear Chris and the guys yelling and helping each other across but I couldn’t see them. A voice in my head said “go! You can’t help Chris, its better that Natalie have one parent rather than none! Go!” That was the most terrible moment of my life. Tracy & Ginger were screaming for me but I couldn’t see them in the pitch black night. I don’t know if I yelled back. After running along the side of the canyon next to the rising river over rocks & between sharp bushed and trees I saw lights high in the air above my head. The best way I can describe what it felt like was to imagine yourself in a horrer film. There is always that scene where some person is being chased through some dark woods. This is what it was like onlt the woods were sharp! I could hear Ginger calling to me. I looked up and saw her looking down at me from the side of what looked like the cliff. She told me to go back and come up the side of the rock. I climbed to the top of the rock which was a tiny bluff about 20 feet high in the front along the water with a 10 foot square top. There was a prickly tree in the middle of it and a pile of cactus. More and more people started climbing onto the rock. Everyone was worried that there wouldn’t be room and people would start getting pushed off accidentally. Ginger, Tracy, Lisa and I were sitting on the ledge along the back of the rock against the cliff. Ginger was actually sitting on the cliff side in a little cut out where the rock ended on one side. Finally the guys arrived at the rock. We were back together at least and safe as long as the water didn’t rise any more. I continued to pray for our lives.

After about 2 hours the guys spotted an area near the rock where we could be safe and try to get some sleep. We all moved to there. Everyone huddled together in groups trying to stay warm. There weren’t enough blankets and Bill & Tanya’s stuff was wet so Bill and Chris built a small fire to keep warm. Ginger & I just lay there next to each other watching the river. Trying to stay alert. At about 4:30am we starting hearing trees fall and more breaking branches. I knew this meant that the river was rising again. Ginger noticed saw water in a place where it hadn’t been before. We woke everyone up and moved back to the rock. This time the river was covering the path back to the shorter side of the rock so we had to climb up the face. There were more people on the rock at this point. I huddled as close to the little tree as I could with one arm around a branch and my head in the prickly thorns. As our group were making their way up and finding spots I overheard someone from another group next to me say, “at some point we’ll have to start pushing them off”. I didn’t say anything, I knew we’d all fit & they were scared. We all were. At day break we could see the destruction. The whole canyon was a gigantic raging river of thick mud filled water. Piles of logs, branches, and debris had created dams which diverted the river toward the sides of the canyon. It looked like thick milk chocolate flowing a hundred miles an hour past us. It sounded like a freight train.. At some point on that rock before dawn a calm peace came over me. I heard a voice tell me that we were going to live but for some of us we’d be forever changed. We sat up there until about 7am when gradually the water began to recede. Three guys from another group decided to scout toward the village. Chris & some of the guys had climbed off of the rock and were sitting below on the ground. Around that time Bill & Dave headed back toward camp to see if they could salvage anything. I asked Chris to stay behind. I could tell he wanted to go. I climbed down off the rock and sat a while with Chris. The guys had held us together all night. Re-assuring us that we’d be ok. Taking care of everyone but themselves. What they did was heroic.

I could tell Chris was exhausted. He immediately started trying to help me by digging out dry clothes from our pack and tried to get me to eat. I didn’t care about anything else really just wanted to hold him and thank God we were still alive. I knew he needed to move though. We had been sitting too long. It was time to figure out the next move. We knew we where not safe yet and the helicopters couldn’t rescue us any time soon from this rock in the trees. We decided to wait for Bill and Dave to get back and then maybe try to hike toward Havasupai or an open area where we could be rescued. Bill & Dave came back about 30 minutes later with a few packs. They said that they were able to get to our camp and salvaged some of our gear that was still hanging from trees. They also said that the area around the Mooney Falls trail was dry & untouched. It was safe, high ground. Chris & I decided to check out the camp area. Chris crossed over into the island that was now our camp. A huge pile of logs had created a dam. We assume this debris was from the two Supai houses near the Havasupai falls that were washed down when the water rose the second time. Brian and some of the others started coming down after us. The guys cleared out everything they could salvage.

We all headed back to the rock and got news that the camp ground was completely flooded wall to wall toward the village. There was no way out on foot from where we were.

Bill suggested that we head toward the Mooney trail where we could be seen. We grabbed our gear, told the rest of the people on the rock where we where going and headed out.

Here is a shot of Mooney that morning. We were up at Mooney for a couple of hours; all of us in sort of a catatonic state. We attempted to dry out our wet clothes and gear and reorganize so we could carry out everything when we needed to. It was about 9:30am & getting hot. We had been watching the water recede over the past few hours so we decided to try to get through the trail toward the village at 10:30am. Steve left first, then Ken & Lisa, then Ginger & I. Ken, Lisa, Ginger, & I were a about where our camp site was when they called to us that the helicopter had landed. They dropped off the co-pilot and the guys worked together to clear a space for landing. Just before the helicopter landed to get the first group Steve made it back. He was yelling telling us that we couldn’t get through that way when he realized we were being rescued. I think he said, "well thats good because we can't get out, the river is wall to wall on the way out.."

Right behind the Helicopter is the side of the cliff Mooney falls from and the trail down. This is the shot of us getting on the helicopter being rescued from the top of Mooney Falls. They flew us to the grassy field at the village. They took our names as we got through the gate onto the dirt trail. Hikers and campers were lined up all along the trail waiting for missing friends. Everyone was silent. Strangers came up to us and hugged us and asked us if we were ok and if there were other survivors. They were relieved to hear that there were more people alive where we were. We found out later that we were the first group to get pulled out of the lower camp ground. They all thought everyone beyond Havasupai were washed away.

After about 15 minutes we found out that we had to get on a list to get flown out from the village. We all stood in line and gave our names and weights. This was about 11am on Sunday. We found a shaded spot on the deck of the café’ which was covered in sawdust and only partially constructed. We didn’t care about anything but being alive. About 12:30 Chris talked me into getting some food in the café. At about 1pm, just as we were choking down our last bites Gary came in and told us they were starting air evacuations out of the village. What seemed like hundreds of us lined up in a single file line along the big dirt field between the barbed wire fence and the 6 foot by 50 foot pile of manure. They must have decided that the list wasn’t going to work so this was plan B. A little village kid showed up a few minutes later and proceeded to run around in the manure, bare foot & shirtless and grinning from ear to ear slinging poop bombs at us. The little turd slinger couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 and we never saw his parents in 24 hours we were there. After standing for about 45 minutes in the blazing sun the first copter landed, spraying us with a barrage of dried manure and dirt which caked on our skin, hair, and gear. Fabulous.

For the next hour the crew that came in on the copter set up the air field. Finally two Black Hawks arrived and they started taking people out. By this time it was after 2pm. So here’s the funny thing. Looking back we should have realized there was no way in hell we were getting outta there that night. There were two helicopters running people out. Depending on how much gear each person had, they were taking between 8-10 people per load. By the time they circled the village, (don’t know what this was about), landed, went through the long, long landing routine, & got the people into their seat belts it was 15 minutes later. So you do the math…40 people per hour (in a perfect scenario). But things ran FAR from perfect. There was a bunch of young horses running around the village. It honestly looked like they wanted to get on the helicopter because they kept jumping the fence and running around on the air field. Then they would run through the crowd of evacuees, some of which had no shoes, had been up all night, and were sleeping in the dirt on their packs in line in the blazing sun. The villagers thought it was funny; we didn’t. Finally a couple of the evacuees got fed up and wrangled the horses into what they thought was a gated area. Nope, not the case-the horses just went around a different way a popped back out down the trail to conspire about how to torment us some more.

About 4pm they announced that the copters need to refuel. They’d be back in an hour. Keep in mind; we had been waiting in an organized line designated by our gear. Things weren’t optimal but the formation of the line was the only reality we really had to cling to. No one in charge could tell us what the plan was if they couldn’t get us all out or if we were still in danger. There were still rumors at that more water was coming. No one could give us a straight answer.

When the Black Hawks returned from fueling the villagers started to come out of houses and walk to the front of the line. For the next two ours we watched as the villagers were evacuated. People were pissed. What we didn’t know was the Army had kept the village from using their own helicopters to get themselves out. So the Chief required them to get the villagers out. HOWEVER, all they had to do was TELL US what was going on! Instead, when the crowd started getting restless, they told everyone to stand up and form 4 single file lines. What the heck?? So everyone got their gear and all squished together by the gate and stood for another hour, being hammered by dust and horse crap, while the rest of the villagers were evacuated.

At dusk we knew it was futile. After what seamed like 30 minutes, the head guy FINALLY addressed the group. He told us the evacuation was cut off for the night; they would start up again at first light. He told us to report to the community center. Most of us headed for the center to get out of the dust. Gary decided that wasn’t going to work so he headed to the village motel. He negotiated rooms for all of us at a cut rate of $45 per night instead of the usual $145. The rooms were used because the cleaning staff had been evacuated but we got clean bedding from the laundry room and we all got hot showers. That was the best shower I’ve ever had.

At midnight I woke up. I swear I heard trees breaking, people yelling, and the sound of rushing water. I stood up on the bed like I was surfing and yelled to Chris that we needed to get out! Slammed awake he got up and looking out the window. False alarm! Sorry Chris! Ginger had a similar experience about the same time that night which was triggered by the toilet flushing on the second floor. Good times.

We wanted to be first in line so we agreed to meet outside of our rooms at 5am. It was still dark. We knew we were back at the circus like the day before when no one, not even the officials, even knew what air field they were using.

As the crowd was gathering in the am we heard that the news reported that we had volunteered to stay in the village that night. This was NOT TRUE!

At about 11am the National Park Service landed. Bless them; those guys had their act together. The new head guy got out, talked to a few people, got up on top of the big electrical transformer box next to the field and addressed the crowd. You could have heard a pin drop. He proceeded to apologize for the lack of communication and that this was now his operation. He explained how many helicopters they had and the process for each, and the process where they were taking us. He asked if we had any questions or concerns. Everyone felt more assured.

Within an hour we were on our way out. We all flew out on different kinds of helicopters. Some, Ginger, Dave, Chris & I went in the NPS copter which meant we had to wear flight suits and helmets. Some of the group few out on the DPS copter, and others on the Black Hawks.

We were dropped at the top of the canyon then walked a block or so to where the Red Cross had set up an intake area. We had to sign in and then were shuttled to the parking lot, on another bluff where our cars were.

For most of our group, this is where the story ends. Not for Dave, Ginger, & I. The bad news is that Dave’s keys & wallet were washed away in the flood. The good news is that Ginger’s sister & dad had (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU GUYS!) driven a spare set of keys up from home. However, we had no cell phone coverage and couldn’t contact them and they could not come up to the parking lot since it was blocked off.

So…while Dave hitched a ride with the local assistant police chief to Peach Springs (where people were being diverted) Chris, Ginger, hung out in the now deserted parking area (hilltop) hoping Dave found the keys and Ginger’s family. A few hours later Dave returned to Hilltop with a DPS guy, we loaded into the car and headed home. (There is a whole story here with Dave & the pissed off assistant police chief who really didn’t want to help us. I’ll let Dave tell this story he tells it much better!

What an amazing adventure!
Hey Dave I hear waterfall base jumping is in plan for next year!

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