The Wave – Coyote Buttes North

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The Wave

August 24

One of the most spectacular hikes in America is in Coyote Buttes North, a portion of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument on the border of Utah and Arizona. The hike leads to the justly famous rock formation called “The Wave”.  The Wave formation is heavily protected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and so a permit is required. People must enter a lottery via the National Parks Service to secure a permit.

Most people wait a very long time before “winning” the lottery…years, even. I submitted my first online application for a permit in the spring of 2023. About 2 weeks later I received an email informing me that I had won a permit for August 24th! This date happens to be Emilie’s birthday.  We have no idea what we did to win this permit on our first try.  We assume it may have had something to do with the fact that the dates we submitted were for the hottest month of the year in Cayote Buttes, when temps can reach into the 100s.  Anyway, yeeha!!  Off we go.

The Wave hike is picked up from either Page, Arizona or Kanab, Utah.  It’s six of one and half dozen another. We chose Kanab primarily because we hooked up with a good tour outfit there, cryptically called “Kanab Tour Company”.  We booked a personal guide for the whole day of the hike.  This wasn’t cheap, $575 before gratuity, but being a once in a lifetime hike we wanted to be sure to get the most out of the experience.

Leading up to the day of the hike there were remnants of a recent and rare hurricane that hit the southwestern United States (Hurricane Hillary). For days we were worried that the road to the trailhead would be washed out and our hike would be canceled by BLM. If that happens there is no opportunity to do the hike again.  We would have to enter the lottery again.  That is the big risk one takes when travelling to do this hike. We weren’t even sure it was happening until the morning of the hike.

Hiking The Wave (Vermilion Cliffs)

We met our guide, Nick, at our hotel lobby at 6:00 a.m. It was supposed to be 5:00 a.m. but we visited the Kanab Tour Company the day before to check things out, and because the weather was going to be reasonable (not scorching hot) the day of our hike, we all agreed that a 6:00 start would be ok.  Nick was happy to get the extra hour sleep, too! So, the tour would be 6:00 am. – 4:00 pm. Nick was outstanding.  He was knowledgeable, experienced, friendly, and he had a science background, which of course meant that he and Emilie would be totally nerding out on me all day.

Nick was confident that the road to the trailhead would not be washed out and that we would more than likely get to do the hike.  He turned out to be right, though we were glad we were in his truck and not our Jeep on the road to the trailhead.  It was obvious how easily this road could become impassable with some rain. It took about an hour to get to the trailhead from the hotel in Kanab.

Upon arrival at 7:00 a.m. we attached our BLM permits to our backpacks and headed out on the 3.5-mile hike to The Wave! Our guide chatted a bit with the BLM staffer in the parking lot…she was checking for valid permits.

The trail is not actually marked.  Hikers must follow visual clues as identified on a map provided by the BLM. In scorching heat, that could be harrowing.  Again, this is a major reason we hired a guide, and we were lucky it was only in the 80’s…mild for August here.

After about 3 miles of trekking, the Wave comes into view. Its petrified sandstone bands shine in the near distance, changing colors as the sun and clouds move across the sky. Em and I were giddy with excitement exploring the bends and curves of this astonishing rock formation.  The bands of orange, pink, yellow, and red change colors as the sunlight moves across it.

At about 9:00 a.m. Nick led us through a narrow steep-walled passageway that was a bit flooded so it required some fancy footwork…then we were there!

While Nick ate a snack with other guides we tooled around the sandstone formations, for about 45 minutes.  We also had our snack here.

Another reason to hire a guide is because they know places not many others do…and they know how to get there.  Nick realized that even though we aren’t spring chickens we’re quite capable, and in-shape hikers.  We were making good time. Because of this, he led us to the challenging Top Rock and Alcove formations just beyond the Wave formation, along with the Second Wave formations.