Sam Meek of Columbus, left, and Jacob Johnson of Plainfield, both 2018 graduates of Hauser High School, take a selfie near Mooney Falls during a Grand Canyon hiking trip last month, before flooding put their lives in danger. (Photo provided by Sam Meek)
Two friends who graduated from Hauser High School in 2018 narrowly escaped with their lives recently while hiking in the Grand Canyon region of Arizona.
After spending a few days in Las Vegas, Sam Meek of Columbus and Jacob Johnson of Plainfield traveled to the Havasupai Indian Reservation, located southwest of Grand Canyon National Park. Their plan was to spend four days backpacking and camping along Havasu Creek, a tributary to the Colorado River and through the Havasu Canyon.
Known worldwide for its series of waterfalls, turquoise water and beautifully sculped rock, the Havasu Canyon trail goes over upper and lower Navajo Falls, Havasu Falls, Mooney Falls and finally Beaver Falls before joining the Colorado River on the floor of the Grand Canyon.
Starting at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug 20, Meek and Johnson began their trek along the trail. The journey was enjoyable until late Thursday morning, after Johnson and Meek broke off from their group to make a two-mile hike to Beaver Falls.
After the sky began to look threatening and showers began to fall, Johnson said they agreed to turn around, cross a number of streams and return to their campsite to rejoin their group.
Disaster closes in
But suddenly, showers became extremely heavy rain.
As the two Bartholomew County natives approached the last river crossing between them and their campsite, Havasu Creek began rising rapidly, Johnson stated. The renowned turquoise water turned into a dirty brown, according to news accounts.
Rather than try to cross the river immediately, Johnson and Meek found shelter in a tiny cave under a cliff. While only about 15 feet wide and 5 feet high, Johnson said the cave provided just enough room to keep the campers dry.
About an hour later, at 1 p.m., both men realized disaster was closing in around them.
“The river was gushing with muddy water, and the rapids were very strong,” Johnson wrote. “We saw trees ripped off the shoreline, logs flowing downstream. We heard sides of the canyons falling in. A full-fledged flash flood was in effect.”
The water level rose by about 3 feet, which made the width of Havasu Creek double to about 40 feet, according to Johnson. When the rain temporarily stopped, the water level dropped about 5 inches, he said. But to their dismay, heavy precipitation returned by 4:30 p.m., causing the river to rise to a dangerous level.
“I knew it was monsoon season, but I never anticipated something like this happening,” Meek said. “Maybe on a small scale, but nothing like on the large scale that we got.”
Trapped
By 6 p.m., the two Hauser graduates had been in the cave for six hours with no food. Each was carrying about 32 ounces of water. And because the flooding didn’t seem to be slowing down, both men said they became very nervous.
After searching the shoreline for shorter crossings where they could link arms and make it to the other side, Johnson said he tried to convince Meek they could make it across and get back to their campsite.
But after each of the men took one step out, both came to the conclusion the current was too strong, Meek said.
“It was kind of a shock,” Meek said. “You don’t know how bad it’s going to get, how high the water is going to go, or whether you are safe or not.”
Meek used the SOS feature on his phone to call 911. Although the satellite reception was very poor, he was able to give an emergency dispatcher their coordinates, and was told an Arizona National Guard rescue helicopter was notified.
However, neither was aware that the flash flooding had stranded more than 100 hikers, as well as prompted the evacuation of many more Havasupai Tribal members who live in the area. While an overhead helicopter acknowledged their presence, it flew over them multiple times over the next several hours. News accounts state the guardsmen had to prioritize who was in the greatest danger, and the two Bartholomew County men were not at the top of the endangered list.
Trading one problem for another
Using wet towels as blankets and a duffle bag as a pillow, the friends spent the night in the cave. At 6 a.m. the next morning, the men checked the river level and discovered that conditions has significantly improved.
“From what we could see, the current seemed a lot calmer and the water level a lot lower,” Meek said. “We still weren’t sure, but we were prepared to take that risk.”
Their conclusions turned out to be true. Meek and Johnson safely crossed the river and finally made their way to the campsite.
But rather than finding co-hikers and sanctuary, the two men discovered they had only traded one problem for several others.
“Everyone was gone and everything had been washed away,” Johnson wrote. “We found our tent tangled in some trees a couple yards from our camping spot. My bag was washed away, which had almost all of my things.”
That included Johnson’s wallet and the keys to their rental car.
After salvaging what they could from the campsite, the two friends hiked a few miles to Supai, a village of about 200 native Americans. But there were as many as 400 people in Supai when Meek and Johnson arrived. Johnson said he was informed the flash flooding was the worst since the 1990s, and that he and Meek were among the final 10 people to the village.
An announcement was made that the canyon, including the village, was compromised and every person had to be evacuated. However, Supai has no roads for motor vehicles. Getting to or from the village requires an eight-mile hike, a horse, a mule or helicopter, news accounts state.
Because they were late arrivals, Meek and Johnson found their names were near the bottom of the list of people to be evacuated by helicopter, Johnson wrote. After eight more hours of frustrating hassles such as arranging for the rental car to be towed, rearranging travel plans and experiencing hunger and exhaustion, the two were finally flown out of Supai shortly after 5 p.m. and eventually made their way to their rental car.
A tow truck, which was an hour-and-a-half arriving, transported the two and their rental car four-and-a-half hours to Las Vegas. After eating a fast-food meal and checking into a hotel, the two finally got a shower and climbed into clean, dry sheets.
But neither slept well that night.
“Sam and I were still hearing helicopters everywhere,” Johnson wrote. “Any fan, any motor — we look around for a helicopter. That will fade, but I’m not joking.”
Counting blessings
Johnson described his financial losses — which includes losing his camping and hiking gear, his wallet, the costly tow to Las Vegas and the price of rescheduling his return flight — as frustrating.
But both men know they were far more fortunate that Chenoa Nickerson, a 33-year-old woman swept away by the flash floods. The body of the Gilbert, Arizona, woman was recovered 20 miles downstream three days later. Johnson and Meek also realized that the homes of more than two dozen Havasupai families were destroyed by the flood.
Johnson and Meek, who say they prayed while sitting in the cave and while waiting with other survivors in Supai, expressed their gratitude to God for allowing them to survive.
One week after the Aug. 22 flash floods, tourism officials announced the turquoise waters had returned. However, Havasupai tribe officials, who are authorizing repairs, will not permit camping sites and overnight stays on their reservation until the end of September.
