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| Cascades Below Supai Falls |
Well, I finally got down to Havasupai.
The Shangri-la on native land contains one of two
tributaries of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon which run turquoise (with
the Little Colorado River whose mouth is almost 100 miles upriver) except
during rainstorms when it turns brown and can carry fierce, life-threatening
flash floods. I’ve wanted to shoot there
for a long time. Waterfalls, narrow
canyons, bounced light. What’s not to
like?
Despite carrying only the essentials, perhaps 40
pounds of mostly camera gear & water, this middle-aged body worked pretty
hard at the 3100 foot 10 mile descent.
Humbling, but that’s another story.
The falls, pools and cascades were breathtaking,
whether glowing blue or reflecting the orange morning light from the canyon
walls below.
Sometimes, living in the Southwest, we take our
color palette for granted. Easterners often comment on the red rocks of Sedona
and Southern Utah, saying that they can’t possibly be real. I’ve had similar comments about the turquoise
water in my social media posts from Havasupai.
We have a hard time comprehending what we’re not used to.
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| Reflections, Rock Falls area |
Navajo Falls was completely rerouted during the 2008
monsoon flash flood and now appears in two parts, both much more rocky than
travertine-smooth like the older cascades.
I was mesmerized by the abstract patterns and colors in the creek
between the two falls in the morning light.
I even did some satisfying black & white work in this area.
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| Havasu Falls and Cascade |
100-foot Havasu Falls is a short, easy walk from the
campground and available to photograph from a variety of angles night and day,
which we did.
The short but steep climb to the base of Supai Falls
(200 feet or so high) is legendary and not for the acrophobic. I thought it was good, dirty fun. There are some stunning cascades and pour-overs
downstream from Supai, so the climb is worth the trouble.
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| High Above |
Part of me wanted to head on down canyon to Beaver
Falls. I’d hiked there from the Colorado
River on several raft trips and liked the idea of covering the last few miles
of canyon I’d not yet hiked. The other
part (the middle-aged part) vetoed that suggestion. I’ll save it for another time.
I’m pretty sure there will be another time.
More images are in the Grand Canyon Gallery at
SkylineImages.net
