Its breathtaking beauty makes Havasu Canyon in Arizona an attraction for hikers across the country.
“It's a highly sought-after trip. It's a, you know, hiking trip of a lifetime,” said Paige Renae.
Renae and Whitnye Raquel, friends from Fort Worth, still haven’t unpacked from their trip to Havasu Canyon last week, where they witnessed Mother Nature's wonder and power.
“I honestly still feel like I might be in shock because I'm still processing what it is we truly went through,” said Renae.
After several days of camping, they visited one last waterfall before planning an eight-mile trek out of the canyon.
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“As we were leaving Fifty Foot Falls, we started getting pretty soaked and there was lighting and thunder crashing all around us and we thought we should probably start booking it and we started running towards the village,” said Raquel.
In a matter of minutes, flash floods crumbled canyon walls, turned turquoise water brown and washed away campsites.
“We're watching people come in from the campground with less and less things and more tragic and scary stories about 'It took my tent, it took my bag, I don't have a phone, it took my hearing aids, it took my daughter,'” recalled Raquel.
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The body of an Arizona woman was discovered 20 miles downstream three days after the flood.
Boulders left the trail impassable, so survivors said their only option was to take a helicopter out of the canyon. Raquel and Renae said they waited a day and a half for their flight.
“We were balling, we're alive, uncontrollable tears, relieved, hugging strangers that we rode out on a helicopter with,” said Raquel.
More than 100 trapped tourists had to be evacuated by the U.S. National Guard.
Raquel and Renae returned home early Saturday morning.
“Grateful,” Raquel said tearfully. “Grateful to be here.”
They said they want to work with local officials to look at safety protocols that could better help people in emergencies.
