The Lottery
A quick clarification about my previous post: Ten people per day are chosen in a lottery at the Paria BLM office. Ten other people "win" their permits online, but they have to apply 4 months in advance. So, 20 people total have the right to be out there on the Wave on any given day.
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For once, we set our alarm, so we could be out at the Wave as the first rays of the Halloween sun lit the rocks. We got a "late" start, however, heading out at 7:30, only half an hour before sunrise. It was a 3-mile, hour and a half hike to the Wave, so one might think we totally missed out on the good morning light. Not so. Perhaps it is different at other times in the year, depending on the sun's position in the sky, but the sandstone formations were still dark when we got there.
We made a tea with our little cookstove (a camping post is in the making, which will prominently feature this little cooker) and waited. The first couple to arrive at the Wave (about 10-20 min before us) were not so patient or, judging from the girl's grumpy face, did not have the desire to wait for good light, so Julien and I were alone with our Warrior's Brew and the swirls of deepening color.
Julien could not contain his eagerness, and he had to jump in to take a swim:
Just kidding; that isn't the Wave. This is, and obviously, you don't swim it, you surf it:
and because the surrounding land is just as fabulous:
We spent a full day out there, and every minute was worth it. We camped above the trailhead parking lot because we wanted to explore two slot canyons on the morrow, Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch. Antelope Canyon is a lot more photogenic, but you have to be part of a tour and you can only stay about an hour.
Today, we're heading down to Grand Canyon. The Great American Adventure continues. Amazing to think it is only a part of the Stupendous Round The World Expedition.
______________________________
For once, we set our alarm, so we could be out at the Wave as the first rays of the Halloween sun lit the rocks. We got a "late" start, however, heading out at 7:30, only half an hour before sunrise. It was a 3-mile, hour and a half hike to the Wave, so one might think we totally missed out on the good morning light. Not so. Perhaps it is different at other times in the year, depending on the sun's position in the sky, but the sandstone formations were still dark when we got there.
We made a tea with our little cookstove (a camping post is in the making, which will prominently feature this little cooker) and waited. The first couple to arrive at the Wave (about 10-20 min before us) were not so patient or, judging from the girl's grumpy face, did not have the desire to wait for good light, so Julien and I were alone with our Warrior's Brew and the swirls of deepening color.
Julien could not contain his eagerness, and he had to jump in to take a swim:
Just kidding; that isn't the Wave. This is, and obviously, you don't swim it, you surf it:
and because the surrounding land is just as fabulous:
We spent a full day out there, and every minute was worth it. We camped above the trailhead parking lot because we wanted to explore two slot canyons on the morrow, Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch. Antelope Canyon is a lot more photogenic, but you have to be part of a tour and you can only stay about an hour.
Today, we're heading down to Grand Canyon. The Great American Adventure continues. Amazing to think it is only a part of the Stupendous Round The World Expedition.