The Heart of the Wave

The end of a 3.5 hour hike through the desert and slick rock on the Arizona / Utah border brought it all into view. The months (years, actually) of entering the Wave lottery finally landed us backcountry permits to visit this special place. It's a difficult hike in 100+ degree temperatures and only a handful of visitors are allowed to attempt it each day.

We hit the road before sunrise, with about an hour drive down a rough dirt road, then the hike following only GPS coordinates. We reached the Wave late morning. Every angle of sandstone is literally flowing up and down this formation. After exploring all of it, we took a break to take it all in. We refueled on water and energy bars, snapped a few pics of ourselves to prove we were there, and made our way back in the afternoon sun.

Bucket list item: check.

See more photos of the Wave from an earlier blog post.

The Wave - Reflected Light

Unreal. That's really the only word to describe the Wave, a remote and beautifully twisted sandstone formation on the Arizona / Utah border. It's one of the most amazing places that I will ever see.

To visit the Wave, you need to apply 3 months ahead of your trip online in a lottery system. Only 10 passes are given out each day and is justified to preserve this fragile rock. I've been applying for years and finally was lucky enough to receive a pass. The access is down a 10 mile dirt road and then 6 mile hike through the desert and sandstone. There are no trails and it was easily over 100 degrees by mid-day. So we prepared with lots of water, electrolytes, and the GPS coordinates provided with the pass, then headed out by 6AM to begin the hike.

These are the first few photos of reflected light on the details of the Wave. Many more photos coming soon.