| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS |
Also on Backpacker.com
EDITORS' CHOICE AWARDS 2010: THE BEST NEW GEAR
OVER 3,000 GPS-ENABLED TRIPS!
DAILY DIRT BLOG: THE LATEST OUTDOOR NEWS
GEAR PRO: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
MEDICINE MAN: ESSENTIAL SKILLS REVEALED
BACKPACKING 101: GET STARTED NOW!
VIDEOS: FEND OFF A BEAR, PACK RIGHT, AND MORE.
PHOTOS: FEAST YOUR EYES WITH THESE SHOTS
Share your tales of travel & adventure with our step-by-step guide. Upload trail descriptions, photos, video, and more.
Backpacker Magazine – June 2007
Freefall: Tragedy in the Grand Canyon
Arizona's Havasu Canyon is a hiker's paradise famed for its jaw-dropping waterfalls. But now there's trouble in paradise—serious trouble.
**Editor's Note: If you would like to read the full "Freefall" article before reading the update added October 2007, click here.**
Supai Update, October 2007 In "Freefall" (June), Southwest Editor Annette McGivney reported on the murder of Japanese tourist Tomomi Hanamure near Havasu Falls, AZ. On September 18, Havasupai tribal member Randy Wescogame, 19, plead guilty in U.S. District Court, Phoenix, AZ, to one count of second degree murder. The plea agreement stipulates that Wescogame spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of release, and that he waives all rights for a trial or appeal. According to an account read in court, Wescogame said he encountered Hanamure on May 8, 2006, hiking alone on a trail to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon. Wescogame lured Hanamure off the trail with the intent of robbing her and then fatally stabbed her. Wescogame will be formally sentenced January 17, 2008.
Our investigation begins with the disturbing disappearance of a solo female backpacker, and culminates with shocking evidence of a larger, darker crisis—a tribal culture teetering on the brink of collapse.
PARADISE LOST
The trail begins at the edge of the Earth, where the sagebrush flats of the Coconino Plateau meet a 3,000-foot-deep expanse of rock and space. Just past the last hairpin turn on Indian Road 18, the Grand Canyon explodes into view. This is where the path to the community of Supai begins. This is where Tomomi Hanamure began her 34th birthday.
The 8-mile path dives through colorful layers of geologic time: ivory Kaibab Limestone, green Toroweap Formation, white Coconino Sandstone, the blood-red scree of Hermit Shale. Then the trail reaches the sandy, cobblestoned bottom of Havasu Canyon. Just above the village, an aquamarine creek emerges, for which the Havasupai tribe ("people of the bluegreen water") is named. The stream gurgles through town, then picks up velocity. In 4 miles, the waters cascade over four huge waterfalls, plunging into fern-decked, turquoise pools. Nearly every travel and outdoor magazine, including this one, has waxerhapsodic about this Shangri-La. More than a few have called Havasu Falls the best swimming hole in the world. And more than 20,000 vacationers a year follow the path to Supai to visit this famed backcountry paradise.
An independent, adventurous woman who lived near Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture, Hanamure enjoyed traveling alone to outdoor destinations worldwide. She had special feelings for the Grand Canyon, having spent several recent birthdays hiking to Phantom Ranch, a lodge on the canyon floor. No doubt, Supai seemed an enticing alternative. Like Phantom, the village is surrounded by a lush riparian area and dramatic buttes, and no roads lead there. And like the famous ranch 70 miles upriver, Supai has the creature comforts of a lodge, restaurant, and store, as well as a community at trail's end. All of which could provide a sense of security to a woman traveling solo.
Subscribe to Backpacker magazine
Sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter
Reader Rating:
-
BACKPACKER Food & Recipe Center
The ultimate trail-ready archive for all your recipe needs.
GearFinder
Find all the outdoor equipment you need.
Photo & Video Center
Essential gear, instruction, and more.
Backpacker's Gadget Guide 2009
The latest gadgets for technophobes, technogeeks,
and everyone in between.
YES! Please send me my 2 FREE trial issues of BACKPACKER
and my FREE digital Survival Skills 101
READERS COMMENTS
Supai is a place of great personal and spiritual importance to me. I have been there three times in my life and have been baptized in the creek by my father in the mid seventies and proposed to my wife at hualapai hilltop in 1989. i now am considering taking my children and friends to this paradise. I was however concerned about the safety of my party because I had heard of locals at least harassing campers 20 years ago. I never had a problem and in fact loved the place. finding this site has concerned me and I would like to know from those in the know if in fact Supai has become what some have described here. Should I read the entire backpacker article? the murder of a hiker doesnt comfort me much.
Posted: Mar 05, 2010 blaze
Jenn, I'm sorry to say you are very misguided in your comments. The few days you spent and the beauty you've witnessed are short lived. You are best to speak with those who know. Those who are aware of the problems have spent many, many years there. Should you desire answers feel free to contact me. I can be found !!
Posted: Dec 17, 2009 Mike G.
Just back from an 8 day adventure in Havasupai. The indigenous people there were only caring, thoughtful and kind as were the fellow tourists/hikers. The tribe has worked diligently repairing the trail damage from last year's flood to amazing results. It's tragic that you all are avoiding such a genuinely enigmatic and rare spot on this earth to justify your own lack of tolerance and acceptance--Discounting an entire population based on one incident is akin to apartheid--and No, JT This beautiful little canyon and Supai village are NOT places of violence and death, and NO whomever, robbery & rape are NOT everyday issues, and the person who wrote about the children attacking teachers and the 300% higher than national average addiction rate--did you make that up--I can't seem to find any evidence or information that supports that.
Jenn.
Posted: Oct 07, 2009 Jenn
It is hard to respect the Havasupai for doing this to themselves and their land.
You blame people who are long dead, and you are as racist as the worst racists.
You embrace misery -- perhaps some of you are right, and the recent floods were to smite you. The "white" people you so loathe take far better care of the land than YOU do. Look in the mirror for the shame that is so well-deserved. I did nothing to you. But you CONTINUE to be your own worst enemies. Pathetic.
No reverence from me for people who respect nothing, but expect everyone else to respect them blindly. You are NOT worthy.
Posted: Jun 01, 2009 Kia
This place, Havasupai Village, is filled with violence and drugs with an addicition rate 300% higher than the national average. Small school children have been arrested for trying to attach teachers and playmates while high on meth, the drug of choice in the Village.
Robbery of tourist/hikers as well as rape and beatings are every day issues in the Village. You can find more drugs in the Village per capita than you will in an major city.
This is a place of violence and death with no social justice since the Indians say they are a seperate and independent nation and not bound by the outsiders laws....good luck if you travel there.
Posted: Jun 01, 2009 JT
How sad! It is a beautiful area I am going to stay away from.
Posted: May 04, 2009 x, gong
ADD A COMMENT