The subject line of the October email gave me pause.

"Havasu Falls Camping Trip.''

I had agreed to the 10-mile trek into remote Havasu Canyon in northern Arizona months earlier when my friend Heather scored a golden ticket to the land of stunning blue waterfalls deep in the Grand Canyon. But as the early November trip approached, I was a little freaked out about the camping part.

The last time I'd slept in a tent was nearly 40 years ago, in the Connecticut woods with the Girl Scouts, and I couldn't wait for that weekend to be over. I'm not afraid of the outdoors and I love to run, hike and explore, but sleeping outside with no bathroom for my overactive bladder and no shower isn't my thing. At REI, I never venture into the departments with dehydrated food, tents and other camping stuff.

My camping fears were allayed thanks to a lot of pre-trip hand-holding from others in our 20-person group and my boss, Explore Arizona editor Jill Cassidy, a backpacking and camping guru. She outfitted me with everything I needed — sleeping bag, sleeping pad, inflatable pillow, backpack, first aid kit and more — and a couple of things I didn't know I needed: a backpacking stove and an animal-resistant food bag. Another friend had a large tent.

The night before the trip — we stayed at a friend's house in Flagstaff to shorten the early morning drive to the trailhead 260 miles northwest of Phoenix — I was still fretting about camping. Would I be useless when we put the tent up? Did I have enough warm clothes? The right food? Would I be awake all night, keeping my tent-mates up? Would any critters get us?

By the time we hiked out three days later, my iPhone full of otherworldly photographs, I couldn't believe that my distaste for, and irrational fears about, camping almost kept me from one of my greatest travel experiences to date. A 13-hour adventure on the road to Hana in Maui — where we jumped off cliffs, crawled through caves and hiked to remote waterfalls — topped my list of most adventurous vacation days.

Until Havasupai.

Highlights of the Nov. 1-3 trip

TUESDAY

From the start at the Hualapai Hilltop trailhead an hour outside Peach Springs, our group of 30- to 70-something women from Arizona, California, Colorado and Canada was one of haves and have nots: those carrying their packs in and those who sent theirs down on a pack animal. I was a have not since I had no backpacking experience.

The hike into the canyon is long but not difficult, though we had an ankle sprain in the first 15 minutes on the signature switchbacks. After the first mile or so, it felt like a long, leisurely walk against a backdrop of red canyon walls and blue skies dotted with clouds. The weather could not have been better. We needed gloves and light coats at 10 a.m. but were shedding layers within an hour and in short sleeves for most of the hike.

It was midweek near the end of the season, so we had the trail to ourselves for most of the day. Two and a half hours in, we stopped for lunch (peanut butter and jelly on Bagel Thins, trail mix and Swedish fish washed down with water) in a wash.

After four hours and 8 miles we arrived in Supai, the village at the bottom of the canyon. Supai is on the Havasupai Reservation and home to members of the small Havasupai Tribe, which administers the land and oversees the permit process. Havasu Canyon is part of Grand Canyon but is outside the boundaries and jurisdiction of Grand Canyon National Park.

The first stop: The Sinyella Store at the entrance to Supai for a caffeine fix of Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Coke. The store, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., sells drinks, snacks and ice cream as well as breakfast and burgers that earn rave reviews in online travel forums.

The tiny tourist office, which fields calls from around the world for hard-to-get Havasupai permits, was the next stop. Campers must stop there to pay the fees and get tags to attach to their bags to show they paid. (Rangers check for the tags in the campground). Supai has homes, a post office, community center, school, store, church, cafe and no-frills lodge for those who prefer not to camp. Camping gets you much closer to the most popular falls.

Twenty minutes outside the village we meandered to New Navajo Falls and caught our first glimpse of the blue-green water that fills countless Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest feeds. Havasupai means "people of the blue-green waters" and the color of the falls and pools below them defy even the popular #nofilter hashtag. The first descriptions that popped into my head to describe the color: Gatorade Frost Glacier Freeze and Cool Mint Listerine.

We spent so much time staring at the falls and then rushing to nab a primp campsite that we didn't even stop at Havasu Falls, the signature waterfall. It would have to wait.

By 5:15 p.m., 10 miles and seven hours after the hike began and 12 or 13 hours hours after we got up for the drive to the trailhead, our tents were set up. It's first come, first served in the mile-long campground that is bookended by Havasu Falls and the spectacular Mooney Falls. A few of our tents were perched alongside Havasu Creek. The best part, for me at least: We were thisclose to the cluster of three bathrooms.

Dinner was a smorgasbord of cheese and crackers, nuts, freeze-dried meals and Swedish fish served on picnic tables. We were in our sleeping bags, four across and one perpendicular in my tent, by 8 p.m.

We had big plans for our only full day at the bottom: Havasu Falls, Mooney Falls, Beaver Falls, reading at our campsite, yoga and snacks at Havasu Falls, dinner and board games.

RELATED: Celebrating 100 years of national parks | A travel guide to the very best of Arizona

WEDNESDAY

Sleeping in a tent was anything but restful. I was awake every hour, cold, my sleeping bag was twisted and I was too afraid to go to the outhouse in the dark even with my headlamp. I was thrilled when my tent mates started to stir at sunrise.

First on the agenda: A short walk to stunning Havasu Falls with two friends who were hiking out that morning. They had to leave for work and family reasons but were thrilled to do the hike and see a few of the falls. A sign notes that the "peculiar'' blue-green color of Havasu Creek is due to a high concentration of lime. The lime deposited on the creek bed builds travertine terraces.

Bonus: Our phones worked there and we learned that the Chicago Cubs won Game 6 of the World Series.

Breakfast at the campsite was a surprisingly decadent granola and bananas in a pouch from Backpacker's Pantry and coffee.

At 10 a.m. we headed for Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls. Mooney Falls is just beyond the campground and the must-see of the trip if you love an adrenaline rush and are not afraid of heights. A handmade sign warns, "Descend at your own risk.'' Hikers crawl through a cave and climb down a slippery wooden ladder with chains to get to the sprawling base of the falls, frolic in the water and take photos. (You can see the falls from the top but won't get the full picture.)

The ladder was intimidating, but hikers above and below help guide you and the scene below is priceless.

It's about 3 miles from there to Beaver Falls, a sometimes challenging trek that involves a few water crossings. Aside from camping, this was the only part of the trip where I felt like a rookie. The only thing on my boss' camping essentials list that I didn't bring turned out to be badly needed: closed-toe camp shoes or water shoes. I brought hiking boots and flip flops. I wore the boots to Mooney and Beaver Falls but took them off to cross the very cold water because I didn't want them soaked for the hike out the next day.

For one crossing, I switched to my flip flops and promptly sunk into the sand and nearly tumbled into the water, backpack and all. I switched to bare feet after that, but it was difficult to cross a wet, wooden bridge.

Beaver Falls is a series of cascading falls which you can see from above as well as hike down to. We chose the latter and hung out there for a while before heading back to the campsite around 2 p.m.

Somewhere along the way, three of us somehow veered off course. The first clue: more water crossings than we remembered. Then no more path, just water. One of the seasoned hikers tried to climb a boulder but realized we couldn't squeeze around it. She waded (in her water-appropriate shoes) to find a route out and summoned us. We ended up climbing up a small waterfall to get back on a path that put us in sight of Mooney Falls. It was after 4 p.m. and we still had to climb up from Mooney. Sunset was at 5:30.

We splashed around at Mooney, took a few photos and started our ascent. By 4:50 p.m. we were having dinner. We decided to forego our packaged meals in favor of fry bread from the Frybread Hut at the campground entrance. The sign on the hut read "Open at 10 ... but we are here at 11:30 ... Most of the time at 1:30. Closed at 5:00." A few members of our group had raved about the fry bread the night before and we were starving after foregoing lunch.

I hung up my boots in hopes of drying them out. We were snuggled in our sleeping bags by 8 p.m. I slept better, thanks to an Ambien.

RELATED: Are pack horses suffering on treks into Havasu Canyon? | Havasupai Tribe responds to allegations of horse abuse

THURSDAY

We were up with the sun again to clean the campsite and pack for the long day ahead: a 10-mile hike out and a 4.5-hour drive to Phoenix. My friend wanted to get to the departure point early to see if she could lighten her backpack for the trip out by sending some things on a pack animal. She lucked out and was able to pay for the one-way haul.

My boots were still soggy so I borrowed a friend's Teva sandals and wore them with socks to start the hike.

A text from our friends who hiked out the day before said it took them five hours to reach the trailhead with few stops. They also said the spigot near the end of the trail didn't work so we should bring enough water. And that the Cubs won the World Series.

Members of the group departed in waves depending on their schedules and pace. My group took off about 8:30 a.m. We stopped at the village store for a couple snacks, water (in addition to filling our bladders with water at the campground) and our last real bathroom for hours, and headed out.

It didn't take long to learn that the hike out would be significantly more difficult. The easy "walk" down was more downhill than we remembered and it was sunnier and warmer than when we hiked in.

It took us six hours with a few breaks. The last mile was like the final leg of a marathon: grueling and endless. We tried not to look up at how far we had to go.

At the top, we hit the bathroom, high-fived our friends and picked up drinks and snacks (I was never so happy to buy a banana) for the long drive home.

My Facebook post the next day was filled with photos and ended on this gushing note:

"The experience is as magical as everyone says. I can't wait to repeat this trip with my kids, permit gods willing.''

Hiking to Havasupai

About the hike: It's 10 miles from the trailhead to the campground. The elevation at the top is 5,000 feet, it's 3,200 feet at the campground. There are bathrooms at the trailhead but no services after that until the village of Supai, which is 8 miles in. There are several hikes beyond the campground. The most popular are Mooney Falls (less than half a mile away) and Beaver Falls (about 3 miles away).

Getting a reservation: No day hiking is allowed. Permits are required and are scooped up quickly at the start of the season, which begins Feb. 1. Obtain a permit by calling the Havasupai tourism office or booking online at havasupaireservations.com.

Camping: Up to 350 campers per day are allowed in the mile-long campground. The busiest months are May, June and September. There are picnic tables and composting toilets and water is available. No campfires are allowed. In 2018, the fee is $140.56 per person for one night, $171.11 for two nights and and $201.67 for three nights. Add $18.33 per night if you're staying on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, certain spring dates and select weekday holidays including Memorial Day and July 4.

Havasupai Lodge: The 24-room lodge is in Supai and reservations are required. It's sold out for 2018 already. Cancellations sometimes occur. Call 928-448-2111 or 928-448-2201.

Getting there: The trailhead is about 260 miles northwest of Phoenix. The closest hotel is in Peach Springs, about an hour from the start. Indian Road 18, the nearly 70-mile road to the trailhead, is paved but there are no services. Parking at the trailhead is free.

At the bottom: Supai has a couple of stores and a cafe. There's a fry-bread hut at the campground. We were occasionally able to send and receive texts in Supai and at the campground.

Baggage service: Cost is $264 round trip for up to four bags with a total weight limit of 130 pounds. Reservations must be made a week in advance of the trip. Bags must be at the trailhead by 10 a.m. for the trip down and at the campground entrance by 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., depending on the time of year, for the return trip.

Details: To seek a permit, call 928-448-2180, 928-448-2121, 928-448-2237 or 928-448-2141, or book online at havasupaireservations.com.