These last few weeks have been amazing! I have always wanted
to go to Havasupai Falls but it seemed so far out of reach for some reason. It
seemed complicated with permits, location, navigation, etc. I am one that
always looks for the easy way to do things – I use logic. I met a man on the
Vegas backpacking trip that was heading out to Havasupai so I hit him up for a
ride and on my way for 3 days. He had 2 other men with him and we all piled in
and began our journey.
We got there around midnight and I had an awful nights
sleep in the front seat of a Ford Excursion. We woke up around 4am and started
to head out for the trailhead. It was so beautiful and refreshing being back in
the Grand Canyon - I missed working and watching the sunrise and sunsets daily.
We hiked down into Supai Village; I had no idea there would be a village in the
Grand Canyon. Huh. It reminded me of Shiprock with the shacks of houses and
food stands with fry bread, “Indian tacos,” rez dogs all over the place and
chizzy kids running about without their shoes, holes in their clothes and runny
noses with dirt in their fingernails. I was home.
We stopped at the café to get some breakfast – homemade
tortilla with potatoes and sausage, best meal ever. Now this is funny because I
don’t get embarrassed easily and I am not ashamed of other people’s actions for
making asses of themselves; however one bilagaana (white person) I was with
stood up to the counter scrutinize the menu and ask why they didn’t have many
options for “gluten intolerant” options. The tranny cashier looked at him like,
“bitch, please, this is what we got on the rez.” He/she patiently waited to
write down his order as he went over and over the menu asking, “What is in your
___? Can I get this without wheat? How come there aren’t many options for
gluten intolerant people? What’s in your salad? I can’t have that.” Normally
coming from Portland, a very diet diverse city, I am ok with these questions,
but bitch please you be on da rez ‘dey got what ‘dey gots and ‘dey get it here
by helicopter or asses.
We finally ate and watched the helicopter fly back and forth
from the top to the pad within a total of 10 minutes. I watch the rez kids not
be shy in touching my pack or just hanging around the tourist/backpackers. We
head down 2 miles into the camp and are greeted by another fry bread stand that
also has frozen Gatorade. I ask how much the fry bread is and he tells me $5,
the bilagaana asks, “What’s fry bread? It is gluten free?” The guy rolls up a piece of dough and
says, “You see this? I pay 10 cents for this flour to fry it up and charge you
$5.” They girl next to him says “Ayyee!” He looks at me, squints and asks if I
am Navajo, then says, “Ok for you, $3 and you know Natives get into Supai for
free.” Say whaaat? I just paid $90 for the camping, etc and to hike 11 miles
down with broken toes I camp for free and I could have helicopter in for
$35?! That whole doing things
easier needs some practice.
We carry on and set up camp and enjoy a relaxing fun time
exploring all the falls – Opera, Lil Navajo, Havasu, and Beaver Falls. During
our movement and exploring falls, we run into a cute young lady named Tommi hiking without her shoes. We catch up to her and the guys and her start jumping
off Lil Navajo Falls. We take pictures and start walking and began conversing. She
came down by herself because none of her friends or family was able to and
she’s always wanted to come. She just graduated grad school and was on a weeklong
road trip to here and Southern Utah. I understood her adventurous spirit and we
ended up camping and spending the next 3 days exploring the Canyon.
Tommi was a breath of fresh air. It was awesome to meet
another girl not afraid of getting after what she wants. She had a passion for
her degree, life and anyone she came across. She was fresh out of a 3-year
relationship and lost it to traveling abroad to study and was only in the
states for a short time. She made the best of it to go to Havasupai and explore
Southern Utah, and then needed to get back to Texas to fly out to Australia.
“Ugh I hate that stupid cute couple,” she said as we passed a couple being
affectionate, I couldn’t agree with her more. It was obnoxiously adorable and
at times I think it would be nice to share these sunsets, rises, mountains,
canyons, rivers and experiences with someone special but I’ve also even thought
it would be nice to create some type of lightweight, solar powered sanitation
device for dildos.
Anyway, speaking of stinking cute couples, backpacking can
take a relationship to a whole new level and it is interesting to see how
couples interact while away from society and it’s seemingly luxurious items.
From what I have seen there are 2 different types of couples: one is the
obvious boyfriend dragging the girlfriend. That’s always a mess that could even
break it up.
I like to think the other types are two smart, focused
people that can communicate well, have long physical stamina, plan, coordinate,
work together and most importantly remain positive in all circumstances. At least that's it what I would love to get paid to facilitate.
Finding a good person to backpack with can be difficult,
you’re taking someone away from small comforts such as a stable temperature
controlled rooms into natural settings. There are no bathrooms, phone chargers,
toilet paper (if there is you pack it out used next to your food), you walk
into the unexpected and into animal territory where you live in harmony with
the insects.
Everyone needs to experience it, even if you’re dragged.
It’ll give you a glimpse of who you really are outside of society. You don’t
need all those shoes in your closet, money, you will not want to carry hair
products, extra clothes or that favorite purse – it’s all weight that will kill
your shoulders and back. You’ll have a lot more respect for the things you do
have and look at people differently. There is a community of people taking care
of people no matter if you know each other or not. You understand the reality
of right and wrong and gain a respect of the unforgiving wilderness. It is a
humbling experience to sleep away from light pollution and under the stars,
falling asleep to the sound of the river, waking up to natural light, not
knowing the time but understanding it. You walk away with a deeper respect
within yourself and environment. I find it is quite the indescribable accomplishment I can walk away
with; I get emotional at the end of my trips knowing you caught a glimpse of what it was like living like my ancestors.
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| These kids got engaged |
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