The day was predicted to be warm (high 80s) and sunny. We took our time getting ready because we knew that the best light on The Wave is around midday. The daily quota for the Wave is 20 people, 10 permits allocated by prior reservation and rest 10 allocated on the walk-in lottery where we participated. By the number of cars in the trailhead, it appears that almost everybody had already started the hike in. We sprayed ourselves with bug spray and left the trailhead around 10AM. There is no formal trail to the Wave: BLM provides a map and a set of photos outlining landmarks along the way. It is pretty easy to navigate: the landmarks are very clear and the slickrock landscape allows one to see far. We started out from Wire pass, took the old road and soon was on slickrock navigating from landmark to landmark. The landscape was remarkable: I had been here before once, but still I am surprised at every corner. The lack of trail gives the area a particularly wild feel.
The slickrock radiated back the midday heat and we were thankful that we had brought 5 liters of water. We met couple of groups of people coming back from the Wave already.
Finally after about two hours we reached the dunes below the Wave where we encountered beautiful yellow blooms on the sand. The heat was taking a toll on us, but we pushed on for the last few minutes and arrived at the Wave. There were a couple sitting on the rock in shade having lunch. We said hello and took a walk around to look at our surroundings. It is one of the most remarkable places I have seen and probably equal of any place anywhere in the world.
One does not need talent to photograph here: just pointing the camera anywhere one can take wonderful pictures. We took a few pictures and then sat down to enjoy some water and lunch. After lunch we explored some more and took more pictures. Our next plan was to go to some of the other locations which I had not seen on my last trip: the Second Wave, Sand Cove and the Boneyard.
Last time I had visited the Wave, I did not find the Second Wave. This time we did not have any problem finding the Second Wave: but I realized that you have to look at the Second Wave in a very particular angle to recognize it. Indeed, last time I had been to the Second Wave, but did not recognize it as such! We sat down next to the Second Wave to take a little rest and that's when bad luck struck. I had kept my camera propped up on the tripod while I sat, but the wind was so high it blew my tripod over and the camera solidly struck the solid slickrock ---the lens cap bounced off and disappeared over the cliff. When I walked over to the tripod I discovered that the damage was not too bad: the camera had taken a big dent next to the film door hinge such that the film door will no longer open fully. The film compartment was still light tight (the pictures came out fine) and the lens was intact. There was not much to do but to continue.
We negotiated the slope from the Wave plateau down to Sand Cove which was full of beautifully striated red and white slickrock.
The Boneyard was next to sand cove and we found some interestingly eroded boulders. The Boneyard was made famous by Michael Fatali's photo. Although we did not find the exact location, it was clear that the area had a lot of potential. Unfortunately for us, the mid day sun was beating down upon us hard and the shadows were harsh. Anyway, we took a few pictures and decided to make our way home through the Sand Cova back to the trailhead. After negotiating a few tricky sections in the wash we were back at the dunes in front of the Wave and it was easy route finding back.
Once we were back at the trailhead, we were planning to drive over to Escalante and spend the night. We were rather tired and so decided to switcech the plans a bit and instead drove to Page and checked into the Super 8. The afternoon and evening was relaxing: we gorged ourselves at the local Chinese buffet and then walked over to the Glen Canyon dam viewpoint to enjoy the cool evening.
The slickrock radiated back the midday heat and we were thankful that we had brought 5 liters of water. We met couple of groups of people coming back from the Wave already.
Finally after about two hours we reached the dunes below the Wave where we encountered beautiful yellow blooms on the sand. The heat was taking a toll on us, but we pushed on for the last few minutes and arrived at the Wave. There were a couple sitting on the rock in shade having lunch. We said hello and took a walk around to look at our surroundings. It is one of the most remarkable places I have seen and probably equal of any place anywhere in the world.
One does not need talent to photograph here: just pointing the camera anywhere one can take wonderful pictures. We took a few pictures and then sat down to enjoy some water and lunch. After lunch we explored some more and took more pictures. Our next plan was to go to some of the other locations which I had not seen on my last trip: the Second Wave, Sand Cove and the Boneyard.
Last time I had visited the Wave, I did not find the Second Wave. This time we did not have any problem finding the Second Wave: but I realized that you have to look at the Second Wave in a very particular angle to recognize it. Indeed, last time I had been to the Second Wave, but did not recognize it as such! We sat down next to the Second Wave to take a little rest and that's when bad luck struck. I had kept my camera propped up on the tripod while I sat, but the wind was so high it blew my tripod over and the camera solidly struck the solid slickrock ---the lens cap bounced off and disappeared over the cliff. When I walked over to the tripod I discovered that the damage was not too bad: the camera had taken a big dent next to the film door hinge such that the film door will no longer open fully. The film compartment was still light tight (the pictures came out fine) and the lens was intact. There was not much to do but to continue.
We negotiated the slope from the Wave plateau down to Sand Cove which was full of beautifully striated red and white slickrock.
The Boneyard was next to sand cove and we found some interestingly eroded boulders. The Boneyard was made famous by Michael Fatali's photo. Although we did not find the exact location, it was clear that the area had a lot of potential. Unfortunately for us, the mid day sun was beating down upon us hard and the shadows were harsh. Anyway, we took a few pictures and decided to make our way home through the Sand Cova back to the trailhead. After negotiating a few tricky sections in the wash we were back at the dunes in front of the Wave and it was easy route finding back.
Once we were back at the trailhead, we were planning to drive over to Escalante and spend the night. We were rather tired and so decided to switcech the plans a bit and instead drove to Page and checked into the Super 8. The afternoon and evening was relaxing: we gorged ourselves at the local Chinese buffet and then walked over to the Glen Canyon dam viewpoint to enjoy the cool evening.
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