When I first heard tell of Havasupai, I was enchanted. Blue-green water, huge waterfalls, red steep cliffs in the middle of the Grand Canyon. It seemed unreal.

So, when a group of friends invited me along last minute for Memorial Day weekend, I tripped over my feet rushing to grab my backpack and gear.

For most Havasupai trips, weekends are booked 4 to 5 months in advance (necessary for a campground spot and planning for the hikers), so I knew I would never have another last-minute Havasupai trip again. And I wouldn’t trade my trip full of last minutes for anything.

Day One

We arrived at Hilltop early Friday morning, ready for our 11-mile descent into Havasupai, Arizona. I was strapped into my 25-pound backpack, with the recommended three liters of water (and a Gatorade), and already feeling the bruises descend on my hips.

As we walked down into the Grand Canyon, I realized I would have to hike the steep switchbacks — lasting for 2 miles at the very start of the hike — back up at the very end of my trip. I dreaded that moment.

After four hours of intense Arizona heat, a backpack that was getting progressively heavier, and trudging through red, deep sand, I was exhausted.

A few miles in, I realized that hiking shoes really are necessary for hiking. I could feel my bruised toenails giving way under the pressure of the sand that filled my mesh tennis shoes.

We had reached the start of Havasupai Village and that meant we still had about 2 1/2 miles to go of our 11.

Just as we reached the edge of the campgrounds, we turned a corner and beheld the start of the first waterfall, Lower Navajo Falls.

After hiking for hours, I honestly thought I was dreaming, delirious or hallucinating. The water was the most perfect blue, without any sediment, and the best temperature for a hot May day.

I honestly couldn’t stop myself from exclaiming silly typical statements like, “Wow! Is that real? It’s so blue!” I felt stupid, but my filter turned off after the sixth mile and I continued gaping, open-mouthed and awestruck, at the water. I was little prepared for the majesty and beauty of Havasupai.

We reached our camp, ate dinner consisting of a freeze-dried, food-like substance, (My favorite type of freeze-dried food was Mountain House at about $7 for a two-person meal) and went immediately to sleep.

Foregoing tents because of the weight, I fell asleep under the stars, and as Day One concluded, I gazed upon the massive canyon wall that protected me from the outside world and marveled at Arizona’s hidden gem.

This was, in fact, the most beautiful place I had ever been.

Day Two

Because we went to sleep with the sun, we woke at an early 5:30 a.m.

After a few screams concerning spiders that had crawled into my cozy shoes while I slept (and who knows where else), we decided to hike to Beaver Falls, a 6-mile round-trip hike that included the famous Mooney Falls, named after a man who died cliff-jumping from that 200-foot waterfall.

We took the name as a warning sign. I was told about five minutes before the hike that getting to Mooney Falls, on the way to Beaver, was a little treacherous, but very doable.

Oh boy. It was a steep, slippery, Indiana Jones-type path that hugged, and was carved out of, the side of Mooney Falls’ surrounding cliffs.

Thick nails protruded from the rock and chains hung along both sides of the path. At most points, I was clinging onto the chains for dear life, hoping the nails wouldn’t give way and plunge me to almost certain death.

Needless to say, I took my time. Our entire group made it down with only a few scrapes, but after realizing the extent of the rock climbing portion, I quickly added rock-climbing to my things-to-do-to-prepare-for-Havasupai list.

After reaching the ground — and providing the dear, sweet ground with some kisses — we started off on our next stretch of hiking; this time, though, we hiked in the river.

Following the river down to Beaver Falls was a little dangerous and difficult, but a lot of fun. Cannonballing off small waterfalls in the river, swimming through deeper areas, and walking through strong currents were just some of the attractions.

At the end of the hike lay Beaver Falls.

A small waterfall, Beaver was perfect for cliff jumping. At just about 15 feet high, the water cascaded into a large pool. Beaver Falls was perfect for all ages, and our entire group, including one 7-year-old, jumped easily into the milky blue water.

We were jumping in and out of the water throughout the hike, so all of our packs were waterproofed beforehand.

Day Three

The next morning we hiked out of the campground, attempting to split our journey into as many bite-sized pieces as possible. We stopped at Havasu Falls on our way toward Navajo Falls, and naturally, we jumped off the 30-foot cliff.

I was feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the cliff, but I pushed myself toward the ledge just in time, right as the group decided to leave the falls and head toward town.

Strangely enough, after we had all jumped, each of the jumpers realized that there was enough time for two breaths of screams.

After venturing through the beautiful pools at the base and top of Havasu Falls, our group split into two: brave souls who decided to hike out, and less-brave (and more injured) who decided to take a helicopter out.

Last minute, naturally, I decided on the helicopter. I was very scared that my legs would stop working halfway out and I would be left in the middle of the Grand Canyon.

The helicopter service, Airwest Helicopter, provides a short 4-minute helicopter service in and out of Havasupai for those who are unable to make the trek.

Decently priced at $85 for a one-way trip, it was well worth it for my poor bruised and battered feet.

We did, however, run into an issue on our way out of Havasupai. Wind.

With the wind forcing the helicopter to shut down mid-way through the day, we thought about having the mule trains (also an economical way to make your load a little lighter at $93) take our packs out, but decided to stay overnight and hope for better weather the next day.

Because we hadn’t planned on staying an extra day, the Havasupai people invited us to their Memorial Day dinner and powwow. And, though our schedule was a little last minute, we ended up learning a lot about the Havasupai culture, their language and their everyday lives.

Day Four

On our last day, we took the helicopter out of the Grand Canyon and said goodbye to Havasupai.

As the helicopter took us up above the deep red canyon, I realized that, even though everything seemed last-minute, unplanned, and unorganized, that was part of the beauty of the trip. The spontaneous changes and spur-of-the-moment decisions made Havasupai even more unforgettable than it already would have been had I planned my trip more thoroughly.

Majestic, beautiful, Havasupai. Until next time!