The trail to Mooney Falls winds across steep sandstone walls and is not for the faint hearted.
Parts of the trail feel like caving past travertine formations left behind by a different waterfall from the geologic past.
Mooney Falls pours over 200 feet (60.96 meters) of rock less than .5 mile (.8 km) beyond the Havasu campground. It suffered the least change when a significant flash food swept through the canyon during August 2008, yet the pool was filled with silt.
Workers digging out silt
A sandbag wall has been put in place and already it is being calcified and covered by travertine. The pools will regain their previous shapes, as the process repeats itself like it has been doing for millennia.
Reservation dog & Jake, note natural arch
The overlook where we took pictures from…
…provided great views of the falls and down canyon.
Yet the continuing trail to the base of the falls requires climbing rock steps through the travertine, holding chain while negotiating slippery rocks and climbing two ladders.
Workers coming up from pool
Cloudy sky with possible rain in the forecast plus the treacherous looking climb to the base of the falls put us off for the day.
Did we return? Sure did. Hiked caved to the base of Mooney Falls the next day.
