The last eight miles is along a bumpy dirt road, but we had better lighting now. We didn't catch a picture, but we even saw a bobcat out hunting in this very early morning light.
After attaching one section of our precious permit to our backpack, and one left on the dash of the car, we were on the trail before 8:00 a.m. Because of that special permit, we can wander in the wilderness area called Coyote Buttes North all day--going where few people are blessed to go.
Because of our early start, the moon is still hanging in the sky over the golden landscape around us.
No trails or markers are allowed in this wilderness area, but we were given detailed instructions on how to find our way to The Wave. So we are looking for rock formations and saddles on the horizon. These rocks are known as "hooters" for some reason.
It's a three mile walk through the desert sand and over the slickrock. We are entertained by the mountain-sized rocks that are lit up by the rising sun. You can barely see Mark, feeling quite small among the interesting-shaped rocks this morning.
It's a steep climb through the sand to get from the valley floor into The Wave. We knew we were close when we first started seeing the swirling sandstone ribs at its entrance.
We had to stop to take pictures of the curved lines of color that go from red to yellow around us.
Even with an hour's drive and a two-hour hike, we arrived a little early. The shadows were still hiding part of its splendor. But we finally got our first picture of The Wave.
It was magical to be the first to arrive this morning.
We could take pictures from every angle without worrying about getting in anyone's way. So of course we did just that.
This picture gives more perspective of how big this area is--tucked inside a red sandstone mountain with wonderful patterns and colors all around it.
Sorry for all the pictures, but we are enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience at The Wave. We can't believe that we are blessed with this wonder all to ourselves!
After 45 minutes, we decided to set the timer on the camera so we could get a picture together in The Wave. About that time, the next hiker arrived, and offered to take a picture for us.
When another and another group arrived, we decided to head down the trail to another formation we had read about. A hike of 300 yards across the slickrock brought us to the Second Wave.
The Second Wave will be lit up better for photographs in the afternoon sun, but that didn't stop us from taking pictures this morning.
It's still early enough that the sun hasn't made it over the tallest of the walls of Top Rock. There's an arch at the top of that wall, and Mark caught the sun peeking through the opening in the arch this morning.
There isn't much water here in the desert, but an occasional pool can make lovely pictures as it reflects the blue skies and the rocks around it. The fortunate people that get to visit after a rare rain, can see this inside The Wave as well. But they also have to deal with muddy roads that make getting here a great challenge.
By 11:00 we walked back into The Wave to find that most of the hikers had arrived. There are ten people that won permits through the internet lottery four months ago, and ten more that won through the in-person lottery yesterday like us. It's harder to get a picture without someone in it now, but there are also more people to take a picture for us.
The photographer now is Ken, the volunteer ranger who is on duty for the day. He estimates he has hiked to the wave around 70 different times, and we are in good hands with him. He is checking off names to be sure everyone has made it, as well as making sure there are no interlopers sneaking in without a permit.
Ken was at the lottery yesterday, giving us orientation information. Afterwards, we had asked him about other sights to see in the North Coyote Wilderness while we had our one-day permit. With his information and things we read on the internet last night, we planned an additional hike leaving out of the top of the wave.
That's when Ken offered to take us to those places himself. He knew the best ways to get around these mountains and find the hidden gems. The only problem was that we had to keep up with him! That's Ken way ahead of Denisa on this hike.
We would need to hike past Top Rock, and it is more than a mile to get around this big sandstone mountain. To give some scale to the picture, you can barely see Denisa standing at the bottom.
Even though we would have guessed much younger, Ken has celebrated 71 birthdays. He is carrying a big backpack with extra water in case anyone needs it. And he is still having to look back to make sure we are keeping up with him.
He is pointing out landmarks that we pass, including the column with the diagonal stripes that Mark is standing beside. We can also see the the North Teepees from here, in the distance on the right side of the photo below.
Our first stop was at the "Dinosaur Dance Floor." This flat rock top was once believed to be pocked with fossilized dinosaur prints. Now the experts are pretty sure that isn't true, but it still makes for a catchy name.
Most of the rock formations don't have names, but they are still fun and beautiful to behold.
We have also been blessed with beautiful blue skies that set off these sandstone mountains.
Next, Ken led us inside Top Rock, for a grand view through the window. The wall of the sandstone mountain has worn through in this spot, perfectly framing the rock teepees behind us.
We had read about an arch in this same area, made famous by a photographer named Melody. At just the right angle we could photograph Melody's Arch and the window and the teepees (and of course Denisa too)!
We were having a good time taking pictures, but we stopped long enough to eat our picnic lunch in these beautiful surroundings--another lunch with a million-dollar-view! Then we took pictures of the alcove just a few steps away.
Denisa hiked against the back of the alcove, with its feathery stripes etched into the back wall.
With a built-in roof, the only problem with this amphitheater is the huge pile of sand that collects in front of it.
Ken offered to take us back to The Wave, but Mark wanted to test the GPS coordinates that he downloaded onto his phone yesterday. Sure enough, Mark successfully navigated us to another hidden gem--Hamburger Rock. Actually it should be Cheeseburger Rock, because there is a distinct slice of cheese in there too.
With just the two of us, we could also take silly pictures, like Mark taking a big bite out of that petrified Big Mac.
While Ken's path was the straightest and easiest, our path back was filled with back-tracking and taking the hard trail at times. We also took more pictures of more of God's wonders that we were enjoying.
It's almost 3:00 now, and we have been hiking for most of seven hours. We've made our way back to The Wave, just to see what it looks like in the afternoon light.
We must have been out in the sun too long. It's time for silly pictures like surfing the wave.
Because it's situated on the west side, the Second Wave is best in the afternoon light.
We were warned that many people get lost on the three-mile hike back to the trail head. Once again, Mark had his trusty instructions and coordinates ready to get us home safely. But it was so much more fun making the trip back with a group of people we had met at The Wave. Ken was our tour guide again, taking us an alternate route to see more hidden gems. We stopped for pictures in the red canyon. By this time, the wind is whipping across the wilderness area, sandblasting us at times.
Then Ken took us through Fatali's Boneyard, littered with odd-shaped boulders.
Ken told the story of the photographer named Fatali, who became famous from taking pictures of these rocks. This was Denisa's favorite--a three-feet-long stone full of holes poised on its own pedestal.
We found other curious formations in the rocks while enjoying the company of our new hiking buddies. Ken was telling us stories of his many trips in this wilderness, shepherding groups like us. He told of hikers that had died from heat exhaustion, or gotten lost. Another hiker fell off a canyon wall in the dark and died. Now we know why Ken was watching over his group of hikers so carefully today.
Ken was surveying the landscape with his binoculars, when he spotted two hikers in the distance. He left us, to see who they were. If they were interlopers without a permit, he would be handing out $1500 fines. But they were actually the final two hikers on his approved list, delayed because they decided to hike Angel's Landing at Zion this morning.
While Ken added a couple more miles to his hiking today, the rest of us wandered around looking for dinosaur tracks. Mark found these three-toed prints, nicely spaced for a small dinosaur stride.
The last mile or so has less interesting terrain, but we had plenty of interesting conversation.
Denisa's Garmin says we have hiked 15.5 miles throughout North Coyote Butte. We made good use of our permit today! We took a picture here at the sign where we started early this morning. Except this time we had our trusty ranger friend with us. Thanks Ken!
As we traveled back down Highway 89 towards home, the sun was setting. We had seen the sun rise and set on our journey with The Wave today. We left at 6:30 this morning, and we didn't get home until 8:30 this evening.
It was a great day! We end the blog from one of our favorite of God's wonders of all time--a wave from The Wave.
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