As I had no desire to hike in the summer, I was going to Europe in September / October, we opted for November. Working backwards, you enter the lottery four months in advance, and therefore this would be July and on August 1st, they pull the winners. We all decided to enter to increase our chances and in targeting Veteran's day weekend, we could see what days were most popular from prior lottery submissions on the website. We opted for Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday surrounding the holiday.
On August 1st, Marie and I had not made it in, but Steven did for Monday! When I conveyed the news to Kristin, she told me she had 6 spots for Thursday. When I asked why 6, she was like "I picked the largest drop down!" Hence, Marie and Steven ended up inviting their neighbors Steven M. and Leanne, and we were all in Southern Utah on November 9th, 2017. For $7 each, we were going to experience this elusive hike!
Here's a link to enter the lottery in case you're interested!
At 8 am, we met at the Kanab Tour Company which had the most amenable rates. A hiking guide doesn't need to be included in the lottery as they have their own permits, but as the trail is unmarked, 30% are known to not find the Wave. Our guide was Cory, and we drove about 1 hour to the Wirepass Trailhead - most of it was smooth, except for the last bit which was on an unpaved road. Apparently, folks have gotten stuck there in the rain and once, a couple's car flipped over, but the couple persisted onwards to the hike because the permit was so valuable. We listened to Cory talk about the region, his background, and ate wonderful pastries from the Kanab Bakery courtesy of Steven M. and Leanne.
I know Kristin laughed at me, as we are in the desert, but honestly, I didn't expect as much sand as we did. It can definitely tire you out. But we trekked slowly, taking in the route and we stopped only a few times as we wanted to reach the Wave by midday. Here's some of our stops and along the way pictures:
Right before you arrive at the Wave, there are the Neon Buttes!
We reached the Wave by noon and there were only a handful of people. Here are a few shots as we are about to enter the main part of the Wave:
I felt like I was in an Impressionist painting and the wave formations were like paint brush strokes - here are a few photos from Marie's camera:
Then we started taking fun photos:
Our group photo at the top of the Wave!
A fun photo at Cheeseburger Rock!
In front of what they called the Brains with brainy Kristin!
So there is even a Second Wave a little beyond the First Wave - you can see Steven on it and myself trying to surf it:
Then we zig zagged down here behind both the Waves:
We explored Fatali's Boneyard:
And saw some Dinosaur Tracks:
We started our return to the trailhead. We did have an option to explore the slot canyon, but as we were weary, we thought it would be best to check it out on Monday. We also saw so much of the Wave and more on our first day of hiking, folks were a bit tired. I read somewhere many are so consumed and nervous about finding the Wave, they don't try to find the Dinosaur Tracks and Fatali's Boneyard. And we got to see it all due to our guide!
On our return through some more sand and Steven M. reconnecting with his lost camera lens cap that was left on a trail marker, we piled into Cory's van for our return to Kanab. After some Jacuzzi and showers, we met for dinner at Rocking V Café. Thank goodness for our travel partners, who researched restaurants and were avid Yelp reviewers. We had a lovely dinner as we let the first day of hiking settle in.
Tomorrow, Steven M. and Leanne will return home to Scottsdale, while the rest of us continue to hike and wait for our second trek to the Wave on Monday. As the Kanab Tour Company's voicemail says, "we're having fun somewhere in Southern Utah!"
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