The Wave (Coconino County, Arizona)

For many months, I have been entering the BLM's lottery trying to obtain a permit to visit a very famous sandstone formation near the Utah-Arizona border known as "The Wave". While you may not know this place by name, I'm quite sure you have seen pictures of it. As the BLM only allows ten lottery winners and ten walk-ins to visit the extremely fragile site each day, I had to wait for some luck and that happened to be for an entry I requested for today! The entire trip that I'm currently on was all based around the Wave and I had been looking forward to seeing it for many months, but now the wait was over.

The drive from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon past the reddish hues of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument was quite scenic. The dusty roads carried me far out into the Arizona desert and finally to the Wire Pass trail head, where my permit authorized my entry into the Coyote Buttes - North section of the protected area. The parking lot was very full, as there are a number of other trails to less fragile sites departing from this same area. I take a few minutes to put my hiking shoes on, sign the register, and affix my permit to my pack, before heading out down the wash. 

The BLM was kind enough to provide a detailed set of instructions for reaching the site, which is helpful as there isn't much of a trail here. The instructions lead me about a half mile down a wide, flat, sandy wash before turning onto a side trail, which had a sign posted warning those without permits to keep out. Rising over the ridge, I'm in the open desert. Surrounded by fields of sand and large reddish buttes of various hues. It's hot, but I've got plenty of water and the wind is still blowing pretty hard, providing a mild sandblast treatment. 

Continuing, I follow the trail up the red sandstone of a small saddle and then out onto the uneven rock slabs of the other side. I'm looking for a pair of small, pyramidal buttes spaced together like a bosom. This is one of the obvious markers of the correct path and before too long they become visible. About this time, I encounter three younger adventures (early 20's) who seem to be lost. I share my directions with them for which they are appreciative, but later complain to me that (in a friendly manner) that I walk way too fast for them to keep up.

In the distance, a large sandstone face comes into view and in that face, a long vertical crevasse stands out. My directions indicate that the Wave is directly below this crevasse and so, I had that way. The path cross over a number of small ridges and across the washes in between them. eventually arriving at the base of sandstone mountain containing both the crevasse and the wave. I'm presented with a river of sand at the base, which I imagine as a raging torrent after a monsoon rain, but for now, it's just sand. The climb up to the wave will not be an easy one. It's not that far, but the grade is very steep and to make it worse, the path is almost entirely over loose sand, which is always difficult to climb. 

Finally reaching the top, my jaw drops and I am in awe of what I see before me. I narrow corridor between two faces, every surface of which is covered with uniformly undulating bands of red, white, and orange. A few yards beyond, the last rain has left a small pond on the surface and the bands enter and escape it on the far side. The sun is beaming down overhead and making for a spectacular light show off to the water's surface. I stop for a few moments to take pictures and just immerse myself in this unbelievable place. 

A short time later, I skirt the pond to see what lies beyond, only to find two more corridors running at approximately 60 degree angles to the original one. These are smaller, but no less spectacular. Heading back to the entrance, I pause for a few minutes for a snack of some cashews while waiting for the sun to move slightly and remove the shadows from my pictures. About this time, the group I had given directions to earlier arrives and goes to work launching their drone, which makes for some interesting entertainment. 

After taking the scenery in for nearly an hour, I decide to head back to the jeep. I really don't want to leave, but I have a couple of more hours to drive before getting to my hotel for the night and I don't want to be lost in the desert in the dark. As it turns out though, the way back is fairly simple. 

When I arrive back at the jeep, I find that I have hiked about 6 miles, but it didn't seem like very far at all. I think I was just overwhelmed at the majesty of this place. I also notice that the trail crossed from Utah into Arizona and then back again. It was a long drive to get here, but it was completely worth it. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, please do, but tread lightly and preserve this place for others to bask in.