The Wave

The Wave is located in an area immediately south and west of Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch known as Coyote Buttes. For permitting purposes, BLM divides the area into north and south sections. The "Wave" permits are actually for the entire North Coyote Buttes area. On a previous visit to Kanab, we missed out on a North permit at the in-person lottery draw, and settled for a South permit and a guided 4wd tour of some super interesting areas.

With much anticipation, we drove to the Wire Pass trailhead in the wee hours of the morning to get an early start on the trail to beat the heat and crowds. The approach hike is about 2.5 miles across open desert and slickrock (i.e., no real trails, just general routes), and we only saw a couple of small groups. We excitedly arrived at The Wave formation, but quickly realized that a pool, of unknown depth, blocked our way into it. Removing our boots and carefully wading through the edge of the pool did the trick, and we had the place to ourselves for a bit. What a fascinating rock feature! The wavy layers within the sandstone and the curves of the topography make a stunning combination. Notably, the brainrock and other rock features in this area seemed similar to Edmaire's Secret, which is unsurprising, since they're only a few miles apart. We spent a couple of hours exploring the area before heading back. Sorry, but my photos don't really do it justice.