June 15, 2018
Sitting in disbelief and surprise, I gasped as they called our number. In a random chance of fate, it was us getting lucky. We had decided we might as well try to get a permit to hike to the Instagram and geological fame, The Wave, while we were staying in Kanab on our road trip to our new home in Florida. We didn’t have anything to lose, but here we were on our first try, completely blown away by our luck. We got a permit to hike out to The Wave the next day, and even our dog Buzz could come along.
I’m not sure how many times I said, “I can’t believe it” as we drove out of Kanab for the evening to camp close to the trailhead. It was definitely an annoying amount of times. The dirt road we turned on to off the highway was relatively well traveled and maintained. Beautiful desert and red rock landscapes stretched as far as the eye could see.
We felt right at home in our truck heading down the dirt road. Friends of my parents who live in Kanab graciously let us park our trailer at their house to make the going so much easier. It was fortunate we had a safe place to leave it even if it could have made the trip down this road with us.
My mind was running with excitement and awe. I was in Utah the year prior when I took my road trip from Washington to Texas and was happy to be back and see another part of Utah. The landscape had similarities to Moab, yet was extremely different. The diversity and beauty of Utah will always make me want to go back. As I write this I three years later am dreaming in desert and red rock, never needing a reason, but hoping for the timing to take me back someday soon.
The road took us by the trailhead which we quickly stopped to check out before we continued our search for somewhere to camp. Down the road a little further we strolled through a tiny and full campground. We continued to look in hopes of finding a nice dispersed site with some privacy and freedom for Buzz. Not much further we pulled off down a road and found a nice spot near a creek that was dry or mostly dry.
We set up camp, ate dinner, and went to bed early after watching the sunset. I slept comfortably on the soft wash sand of the valley excited for what’s lay ahead tomorrow.
We woke up early. Too early. As we drove last night we went far enough south to end up in Arizona. What little cell phone service we had turned our clocks forward an hour into Arizona time. We embraced the early wake up as we packed up camp and loaded the truck.
Dim light started to fill the area as we drove back to the trailhead. The brisk morning air woke us up as we got back out of the car to start our hike out. With instructions on how to get to The Wave in hand we started walking up a small canyon. The soft sand slowed us but we enjoyed the glow of the morning.
Soon we made our way to climb onto some slick rock hoping we were in the right place. The trail isn’t extremely difficult to follow, but some route finding skills and confidence in desert terrain were definitely needed. Buzz came with us joyfully climbing the rocks. A total natural. The sky was brightening up and sun rays were extending to the rocks that rose above us to the right.
Sunrise was almost here and we were totally exposed. This was certainly the best part about getting up early is we were able to stay out of the sun a lot of the way and it stayed mostly cool for the walk out to The Wave. It was especially great for Buzz since he has black fur and keeping cool in the desert sun is most difficult of all for him.
The sun bathed us in its warm embrace. A desert sunrise is always something so behold. The interesting buttes of the area caught and cast shadows across the rocky and sandy landscape. The rocks glowing brilliant hues in oranges, reds, and beiges. There was no doubt in our minds that we might be the luckiest two people and dog on the earth at that moment.
Now in the warmth and light of the sun we moved quickly across the slick rock toward our destination and goal. The journey was gentle ups and downs with room to roam across the rocks. As long as you were going in the right direction you could choose your own adventure.
We knew we were going in the right direction when we saw the described last climb up a sand dune to get into The Wave. We walked across a sandy area with gorgeous flowers. A light wind blew them gently as I stopped to take a video. It was so quiet except the wind. A perfect day with clear blue skies and we were almost to the pinnacle of the journey.
A slow slog up a sand slope led us to a rocky outcropping that we scaled up easily. Michael, always ahead of me, let out a “wow” as he crested the top. “Whoa,” I agreed. The entrance of The Wave was tall walls rising above on each side. The beautiful lines that make The Wave so famous flowed out from the main area that many of the pictures you see are taken.
We traced the walls and walked into the extremely unique and special beauty that makes The Wave a sought after destination. Lovely lines danced around the beautiful eroded area. It was just us and The Wave. We marveled and looked at every detail. Soaking it all up we took pictures and ran around like excited little kids. “Did you see this? Wow look at that!” we said over and over.
The shaded bowl was starting to let the sunlight in in some areas as we took a picture of ourselves to capture the moment. Afterwards, I climbed up above the area to explore and see what else was around. I found a few swirl fossils in the rock above the area and got excited about what it might be.
The view from above The Wave stretched endlessly with sandy low points and rocky highs. Nothing was obviously unique or special looking from here. Even The Wave was hidden extremely well, which I suspect saved it from becoming commercialized before the land was conserved. Plus it was way out here in the middle of nowhere. The desert hides its secrets well. If nobody told us where to go out here I doubt we would have found our way to The Wave. It would have just been dumb luck if we did.
We heard voices coming up and decided we should move on for the next people to get to experience solitude in the wave as we did. We didn’t know what else was around so we climbed and played on the rocks before picking a direction to head in. We wanted to keep The Wave as a beacon point so we didn’t get lost and could find our way back.
We played around and found some more wave-like rocks. Lovely soft and lumpy looking sections of rocks were laid out in front of us. We found a nice slanted place perfect for sitting and took a snack break. Buzz laid next to me, a little tired from the journey. Though he would never actually say so.
It really is amazing how comfortable a nice slab of rock can feel when you are tired. We enjoyed the view and the solitude of our spot before running around again looking for exciting rock formations.
In an effort to mix it up a little bit on the way back, we crawled down the area we were into a canyon wash. Some of the tight walls and deep sand made for an interesting hike. It was fun and intimidating to not know what was around the next corner. In the end it was passable and a lot of fun to navigate safely back into the sandy valley we left hours ago to climb into The Wave.
We decided to try and skip the sand by climbing up onto the rocks above and parallel along until we got back to where the trail had left the rocks. It was a tough climb up and the rock was at far more of an angle than it appeared from below but we were successful in walking across it.
Before turning to hike back in the full blast of the sun I looked back at where The Wave was. You couldn’t see it from here, but I knew where it was now. I felt like I knew a little secret. I felt lucky to have that secret and that it was trusted to me. I was now locked into an agreement to protect The Wave. Both by sharing its beauty and telling you how absolutely special it is and by not sharing its exact location widely.
Of course if you want to know where The Wave is, I’m sure you can find out somewhere on the internet. But you still are not supposed to go there without a permit. The permit system was started to protect The Wave so future generations can enjoy it as we have. To connect with this incredibly unique, diverse, and vast planet we are lucky to call home.
The hike back was warm in the full sun, but worth every tired step my body could muster. As we got back to the car I was still feeling giddy with excitement from what we got to do that day. The excitement of anticipation turned into excitement with gratitude. I was thankful The Wave has been protected for me to enjoy and I am hopeful someday you will get to enjoy it as we did.
Finding Wildness 
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