Slippery stairs, ladders, and slopes stood between us and the base of Mooney Falls
It was a harrowing descent down the slippery stairs, ladders, and slopes to get to the base of Mooney Falls. There were backlogs going up and going down on the mostly one person wide trail that took you from the top of the canyon to the bottom of the waterfall. Mooney Falls is a few miles from Supai, Arizona; where Nick and I had camped the night before. We woke up early in the morning to beat the crowds and headed out on the trail to the falls.
Seeing these waterfalls was another highlight of our epic journey in Arizona and Utah in a fast-paced four day weekend. Nick had flown in from Texas, and I had flown in from Indiana--just a few short days after i moved from Colorado. Our primary endeavor on this trip was to hike to Havasu Falls, but there were many bonuses along the way. We got to spend the night at a casino in Las Vegas. We went kayaking on Lake Powell. We took a guided tour through Lower Antelope Canyon. We stayed the night at Zion Lodge in Zion National Park. And we hiked the Angels Landing Trail in the snow!
Mooney Falls sit along the Havasu Creek in Arizona. If you follow the creek for a few more miles, it eventually serves as a tributary to the Colorado River. At 190 feet tall, Mooney Falls is taller than Niagara Falls, and the tallest falls in the Havasupai Reservation. The water of Mooney Falls is known to be a milky blue color. This is due to the high magnesium and calcium content from the surrounding rocks. The water is also rich with calcium carbonate which helps to give the water its famous color. The calcium carbonate ends up leaving deposits around the canyon forming tufas and travertines.
I love the photo seen here because of the sharpness of the black and white that is caused by the jagged rock face. The water flowing over the edge of the cliff cascades down forming bright daggers before plunging into the pool below. You can see the higher canyon wall sitting above the falls. This does a good job of representing the 2,400 feet that we had descended on day one of this 22-mile hike. I hope you enjoy the contrasting effects of this photo!
Magnesium, calcium carbonate, and calcium help give the water of Havasu Creek its milky blue color.
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