near Page, Arizona
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The Wave (Coyote Buttes North)
near Page, Arizona |
April 14, 2011
My number came up! Having been selected in the online lottery on my third attempt, I am one of just twenty hikers who are privileged to visit this area today. Ever since the North Coyote Buttes region was discovered and popularized, largely by European visitors, interest has increased exponentially. BLM has felt compelled to establish a quota system for this place in order to maintain its environmental integrity.
Heading down House Rock Road
At the Wire Pass Trailhead, several other parties are preparing their own equipment. This must be the right time for me to get started! Of course, it is likely that not all of those folk are headed for The Wave, because other fun places are accessed from here as well.
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| It looks like a good day to go walking | The cows must be kept in |
The trail leads eastward down Coyote Wash toward Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch; but I turn right at the sign indicating that I must have permission to be here.
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| The dry wash provides easier walking than the trail | My permit is in order |
The trail heads south across the desert toward various oddly shaped formations. I soon pass a group of six gentlemen from Minnesota and Wisconsin. They have stopped to unload unwanted extra clothing. I am wearing two sweatshirts myself, being leery of a potential afternoon wind which was of gale-force magnitude yesterday.
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| Paintbrush | I am catching up |
Along with the permit, BLM provides a first-rate brochure featuring driving directions, a map, and GPS coordinates and color photographs of key trail points. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost mine already; it must have fallen out of my pocket when I doffed my outer sweatshirt. Bummer. Having researched the trek extensively, however, I continue undaunted, relying on reassuring footprints to show the way.
The route becomes more interesting as it leads up and over the slickrock
There is something different to see in every direction
I remember the instructions saying indicating that one should keep to the right of the twin buttes, which must be those little guys just ahead, so I do that. Just beyond them is a first clear view of the destination.
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That dark cleft in the mountain is the key landmark
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| There are lots of these around | |
I have just crossed the state line into Arizona. Although many writers seem to associate this area with Utah, The Wave itself is actually four-tenths of a mile south of the border. Oddly enough, the trailhead and destination are in different time zones!
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The special stuff is just ahead. Can you spot three hikers in the photo? ⇔
I am not quite there yet. As scrambling up any steep slope of deep sand is difficult and tiring, it is best to find a route that is as rocky as possible. I should have thought of that sooner.
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| Views from halfway up the slope | |
Success! This place looks like Antelope Canyon turned inside-out; maybe it is!
Entering The Wave ⇔
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The main body of The Wave is not extensive; in fact, there are only a couple of nooks and crannies to explore, such as this gem:
This is why I go hiking ⇔
Just being in this magical place is exhilarating! I impose upon one of the Minnesotans to take my photo, if only to remind myself that I actually was here.
Yours Truly
Relocating one's camera just a few feet can create a significantly different scene. The next photo includes the spot where I was standing just a moment ago:
A photographer's paradise ⇔
The quintessential Wave scene already is well-documented; but I must offer my own version:
Heart of The Wave ⇔
Coming down from above is Photographer Phil, who also is hiking solo. Just one permit had remained available at the morning walk-in drawing at the ranger station, so his wife was unable to attend. Phil already has used up 30 gigabytes of memory in his fancy camera. Wow! My own memory chip is only 4 gigs, but that's enough for several hundred photos at my maximum resolution.
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| Philip from Baltimore | This guy is serious |
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| Such color | |
Sorry, Philip — we should have used a fill-flash or had him face the sun more directly. In any case, he points the way to an 'upper' section of The Wave. That seems like an appropriate designation, but most call it the "Second Wave", so I'll go with that. It is interesting up here, but not nearly as colorful as the area below.
The Second Wave
I can see Top Rock Arch above me. Also up there are Melody Arch and The Alcove, which I want to see. Continuing northward, I get cliffed out eventually, failing to discover a relatively easy way to access those features. That's what I get for losing my maps.
With some dismay I abandon the attempt. I have another seven or eight consecutive days of hiking planned, which is unprecedented and unpredictable; so perhaps I should not overdo it on the first outing.
Top Rock Arch
In an area rife with fanciful formations, this one is particularly easy to name:
Hamburger Rock
I head back down into the swirling bowl, stopping to rest my feet and munch some gorp.
Overhead view of the petrified sand dune ⇔
Nearby, the midwesterners are procrastinating over their departure. One man seems inordinately interested in my every movement; so I playfully remove my hat and adjust my hair a bit, while being careful not to catch his eye.
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| They are getting ready to leave, as am I | |
A final portrait of the sublime spectacle ⇔
A last glance back. Note the distant arch
On the return leg there is ample opportunity to admire the surroundings.
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Sometimes it even pays to look straight down!
Eastward view ⇔
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| Advertising? Or just marking territory? | Up and over |
After surmounting the cute little saddle next to the two little buttes, a rock ridge appears ahead of me, and I am not sure how best to proceed. Spotting two women lounging on a boulder over to the right, I head in that direction which, as it turns out, takes me away from the trail. Eventually I continue down and around the rocky area, which puts me about a quarter-mile off-track; but then I encounter the familiar wash and head upstream toward the west.
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| A coyote's lunch? | The trail must be over there somewhere |
The only wildlife I have seen today
Eventually, familiar territory reappears. Around the next corner is the trailhead.
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| Back in Coyote Wash | An animal's lair? |
Near the junction with US-89 is an interesting visual effect:
The highway runs between the two hills
§: Every serious hiker and landscape photographer should visit The Wave, for
there is nothing else like it in the known world. In this slickrock
wonderland of the American Southwest, which sports a plethora of unlikely geologic
phenomena, The Wave lies unique among the rest.
Go there (but avoid May-September; otherwise, it can be way too hot).
Coyote Buttes North
The Wave
Wire Pass
Hamburger Rock
Top Rock Arch