Today is the day I have the permit to hike to The Wave. The Wave is best photographed mid-day, so we did a bit of homeschooling and then I headed out from the RV down to the trailhead:
The hike to the wave is a little over 3 miles long, and while there’s not an established trail in spots, the BLM does give out a map that’s pretty straightforward to follow.
The Navajo Sandstone makes everything brick red:
I found myself stopping very frequently and gasping in delight at the amazing landscapes on the way to The Wave:
The sandstone has been carved by wind and rain into interesting shapes:
The Wave is just below the vertical black line in the mountain face ahead:
At last, I reached The Wave:
I hiked out of the wave to photograph around it:
Here are two views of The Wave from above:
Sand and sandstone:
Back in to The Wave:
It was hard to leave, but I did have to get back before Shabbos. The hike back was beautiful too:
What an amazing experience! Good Shabbos from Coyote Buttes!
This morning we left our dispersed camping site near Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and drove into Kanab. The road is closed daily from 8:30am to 11:30am due to blasting for road widening, so we wanted to be sure to get through before that.
We arrived at the Kanab BLM office promptly at 8:30 for the lottery for The Wave. Each group filled out a lottery form and was assigned a number. Corresponding numbered balls are placed in a bingo spinning cage thing and the winning balls were read off. There were 20 groups there, and only 10 people are allowed in per day. The first four winning groups were each two-person groups, so there were two slots left. The next winner was a group of four, and they declined the permit as it meant only two of them could go. The next winner was a group of one, and I won the last permit. The other 11 groups went away empty handed.
Unfortunately, it means only one of us gets to go, but that’s better than no-one. Trish and I decided I would go, as the 3.5 mile hike to The Wave is not marked and it’s largely across slickrock, so there are no footprints to follow, and I’m the better map reader of the two of us.
After the lottery, we checked out the visitor center displays. The visitor center is also for the
After grocery shopping and getting gas, we drove a bit North of Kanab to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the world. Trish and the kids took a tour while I did some work in the RV. There’s a description and photos on Tricia’s Blog, and M’s blog and B’s blog both have descriptions as well.
We left Best Friends and drove 40 miles East of Kanab, then drove 8 miles south on House Rock Valley Road. House Rock Valley is a dirt road, and we had to keep it about 15 miles an hour, so it took a while to reach the trailhead. There’s no camping at the trailhead, but thankfully there’s a dispersed camping site just up the hill from the trailhead. See the trip map for details. The terrain along the road was incredible:
Tomorrow, we will do a bit of home schooling in the morning, and then I’ll hike to The Wave!
After a late start and exit from the Watchman Campground, we stopped by the Zion entrance booth to have our RV measured for passage through the East Tunnel out of the park. After some hand wringing by the ranger, they gave us the “go ahead” pass for the tunnel at the Eastern entrance. When we got to the tunnel, the ranger at the guard booth shook her head and moved the cone to let us in. The tunnel is a little over a mile long, and the clearance at the curb is 11’ 4”. We’re at about 10’ 4”, I think, so I stayed very close to the center line as we rolled through. We reached the other end without a scratch!
Having spent many a season in Zion, Mike recommended another petroglyph site on our way out of Zion. We pulled over at the appropriate spot and hiked off to investigate. Before long we found the site:
The second location had still more petroglyphs:
More rock texture:
We walked back to the road from the petroglyphs and under the tunnel supporting the road:
The formations on the East side of Zion are a bit different from the West side:
Continuing East towards Kanab, we decided to head South to visit Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The sand here is ground up Navajo Sandstone and is more of a deep orange than pink. The sand is very fine, like sugar, and is quite firm to walk on:
The kids beat us to the top:
There were many beautiful patterns in the sand at the dune’s crest:
M pulled B down the hill, and went so fast she had to turn her head aside to avoid the flying sand:
Leaving the state park, we continued East and stopped for the night on BLM land about 15 miles from Kanab. With the cellular antenna, we have a decent connection. It’s nice to be dispersed camping again, and with trees instead of cactus for the first time in several months:
Tomorrow we have to get up early to be at the visitor center in Kanab by 8:30am for the lottery for permits to enter The Wave. There are 10 permit spots given away per day, and this time of year about 35 people show up to fill those slots, so it may be a few days before we get the permits. See the trip map for details.
We’ve added a blog for Trish and M, they are listed in the Menu above, please take a look!
This morning I got out for a 20 mile ride that included an 800 foot vertical climb up Highway 9 to the Eastside Tunnel. You know it’s a good climb when multiple legs of the road can be seen in the same photo:
On the way up I was treated to a great view of Zion Arch:
On the way back to the RV, I stopped in at South Campground and met Mike of LightCurve.com. I’ve been following his blog for some time now, so it was nice to meet him and his dog Blue in person!
After lunch, we hiked up a local hill to look down canyon:
Next, we hiked the Watchman Trail, which leads to an overlook:
The weather got a little ominous:
We were rained on for 15 minutes or so, but then the sun came back out:
After completing the hike, we drove to a petroglyph site that Mike had recommended:
Yummy rock texture:
Tonight we had a campfire and roasted hot dogs. Tomorrow we will be leaving Zion through the East entrance. The width limit for going through the tunnel without a pilot car (and paying a fee) is 7’ 10”, and we’re 7’ 9.75”, so it will be interesting to see if we’re let through.
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