The above photo is of a small 0.2 acre crease in slickrock known the world over as "The Wave". The combination of colorful high-contrast crossbedded sandstone and clean wind-swept undulating surfaces make for a bizarre and pleasing spectacle that would be a singular feature deserving of its fame...were it not embedded in a much larger, more varied, and more fantastical landscape. Unfortunately due to its fame, remoteness, and the delicate nature of many of the features in the surrounding area it has for decades been one of the hardest places to access on public land anywhere in the United States and has one of the most notorious permit lotteries.
The Wave comprises 0.01% of the 1709-acre Coyote Buttes North permit area but almost none of the 64 people permitted access daily do more than beeline to and from The Wave. That was true of me during my only previous visit as a detour from the Hayduke Trail in 2013. Before and since then I have participated many times in the various forms of the permit lottery that has evolved over the years. First it was held in-person the day before in the small one room Paria Contact Station where I had personally tried to get a permit at least three times. Then later it was moved to Kanab where I tried once more in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020 (no luck but the consolation prize was a Coyote Buttes South permit). Since then I entered 11 times through the monthly online advance lottery, until many rejections and years later, with considerable disbelief I scored a permit for four to enter on June 18th 2024. Not my first choice of the time of year to go but I would take what I get after years of trying.
After so much effort I wanted to make sure to get the very most out of our Coyote Buttes North visit. This was about so much more than seeing The Wave again- rather than the sandy out-and-back everyone does I wanted an adventurous loop hike that sampled the best this restrictive area has to offer, in a similar vein to the hike Heather and I did in Coyote Buttes South that I thought was one of the best day hikes I have ever done. So I intensely examined satellite imagery, collected internet posted waypoints, and made my best guess of what cliffs and slopes could be climbed. Then it was just a matter of waiting patiently for the horrible quarter to end, the permit to arrive, and the day to come.
Unfortunately the 24 hours preceding our departure threw disastrous wrenches in our best laid plans. Heather had a sick kid forcing her to bow out. Keith and Kari had just got back from a lengthy drive and were borderline after the news, a hard no if they had to drive. I called the BLM and the report was that House Rock Valley Road should be in good enough shape for my Prius. So after hemming and hawing we scheduled a later departure of only the three of us. The permit was too rare to not to try to use it. It was 108F as we crossed through the Mojave...and my car AC decided to not work for the first time ever which was barely bearable. It was dark by the time we finally turned onto House Rock but thankfully apart from some unpleasant washboards the road was indeed suitable for a Prius. We pulled into Stateline Campground which to my relief was less than half-full, claimed a spot, and quickly settled in to sleep. With a high 90s forecast we aimed for an early start.
In the morning we broke camp, and made quick work of packing and breakfasting. Instead of heading north to Wire Pass, we drove south one mile to the Maze trailhead for my gamble on a throughtrip hike. Instead of following the standard sandy route from the Wire Pass wash around the cliffs to The Wave, we would take a stab at a less unknown route through The Notch, a break in The Cockcomb, the monoclinal fold creating a steep western edge of the Vermillion Cliffs and the structural feature that allowed the sandstones to be altered into the bizarre diagenetic colors and patterns that make the area unique. If it is not already clear the area is rife with superlatively named "The" features (The Dive is another one nearby, not my fault!).
And so we parked at the Maze trailhead and started off on the well-designed trail to some excellent petroglyphs just outside of the Coyote Buttes North boundary. I love this little 0.6 mile trail. From the road is switchbacks up through some mudstone and shale badlands to a break in a sandstone caprock layer. From here the trail gives excellent views of the folded limestone shield of the Kaibab Uplift back to the west and ahead is a surprising hidden hanging valley to cross to reach the boulder piles beneath the first of the major Navajo Sandstone cliffs. On the most obvious upright boulder seen from 1500 ft away is a sizable collection of over a hundred thoughtful petroglyphs inscribed into the patina-ed rock canvas. These are some of the most creative collages of figures and motifs I have seen anywhere in the Southwest. "The Maze" (seen below) forms the largest, clearest, most solitary, and most unique form. Ten separate lines enter and exit the maze without touching any of their neighbors with precision spacing. I would have loved to sit and contemplate the petroglyphs further but this was the end of the formal trail and I wanted to make the most of the disappearing west-facing shadows as we climbed up to The Notch.
Our way started with straight-up scrambling our way up through minor cliff breaks, only occasionally spotting a rock cairn showing existing passage. As we climbed the views of the Kaibab Uplift improved, but we could also see the rising sun sweeping across the landscape towards us. Over the first ridge we dropped into yet another hanging valley and then followed a foottrail leading us into the fin garden beneath The Notch. With some sleuthing we worked our way up through these more challenging climbs until the saddle of The Notch and the blazing sun beyond were in sight. Beyond was an equally complex maze of rock fins, contorted washes and sand dunes. We largely sidled high and south to avoid the worst of the broken country and mostly followed the sand gaps into the valley beyond. Across the valley was a high unbroken cliff that we would need to gain for the slickrock wonderland on top. I previously guessed there was one place where the cliff transitioned into more of a slickrock dome that I thought we could potentially use as a slabby ramp but especially now that I saw it I thought it was 50-50 whether it would give us access. To my relief the closer we got the more I could see a network of ramps and cracks that would probably lead us up the slab and so we gave it a try. This slab route turned out to be excellent; it had a little exposure but a friendly enough angle for the uber grippy sandstone. I was thrilled!
Once on top we were presented with a world-class slickrock landscape. The standout features were few and far between but instead we walked across a vast plateau devoid of soil and vegetation with large patios. The bedding in the rocks reminded me of flow patterns in a large glacier. Easy walking across the slickrock led us to the first named feature, Hamburger Rock. It indeed did look like a hamburger but did not make the photo cut here with so many other wonders. Lots of particularly delicate looking rock formations abounded in this area. Nearby we had a snack and some water in the shade of an isolated butte before continuing on towards a waypoint marked Melody Arch.
We walked across a particularly pockmarked slickrock surface that I can imagine would be magical with thousands of shallow reflecting pools following rain, and then scrambled our way up a saddle to the high point for this area. I could see a window in a cliff above that I imagined must be Melody Arch but as we found out that was not the half of it. On the way we skirted around a neat pothole that had been carved into the rock layers to create a bull's eye and then followed a slickrock half-pipe.
As we turned a corner and neared the end of the half-pipe Melody Arch appeared before us. A surprise standout feature, we all thought it could be an easy rival to The Wave. A majestic sloping archway guarded a large scooped out grotto of rock, which in turn was breached on the back by the previously spotted arch forming a watchtower window with commanding views over the expanse of the Vermillion Cliffs plateaulands. I thought the grace and symmetry of the two arches was reminiscent of the yin-yang symbol. Within the grotto we enjoyed the shade and many intricate patterns in the rock here, including swirling alteration patterns and the remnants of fossilized dune ripples. If we had not just had a snack we probably would have had a lengthy lunch in the special spot. After satisfactorily soaking in the sights and countless pictures, and the strikes of awe receding to a manageable level, we continued on.
The next feature we checked out was The Alcove, a hundred foot across room flanked by overhangs of more shadows, colors, and textures with a giant sand dune like a monument at its center. Here too we snapped many a photo of wonders large and small. The midday sun bouncing off the golden sand dune to cast its bounced light into the overhangs gave off magical illumination.
Next we made a cross-country detour out to Hourglass Arch- we were becoming spoiled at this point and this was less spectacular so we did not linger. From here we now walked to the edge of the Top Rock plateau, which presented us with wonderful views of multi-colored swirling slickrock below and beyond. We worked our way down the slabby slickrock at the only cliff break since our approach ramp, finally headed roughly towards The Wave. Now for the first time we saw people, several groups predictably congregating directly on top of The Wave.
Once down, we walked out patios to check out the Second Wave, another unique sculpture of crossbedding and undulations that frankly looks even more like a wave. Onward I spotted a neat teepee-shaped tower set against a vast slickrock landscape and made Keith climb for a picture. Down below at the edge of the wash I also spotted a rock formation that unmistakably looked like Cookie Monster.
A volunteer ranger checked our permit and chatted us up a bit then we finally made the pilgrimage to The Wave. On the way we had a few more wonders including undulating bedding my geology training could not quite explain.
When we arrived at The Wave all the other groups were temporarily elsewhere, which was convenient. The Wave really is justifiably spectacular and frankly kind of overwhelming to photograph as your eye is drawn simultaneously to the vast overview of it and by progressive elimination down to small simple details. It should come as no surprise that none of my photos with the bright blue sky made the cut- no competition with the grounded swirling layers of these ancient sand dunes. I wandered around trying to find unique vantages and then dipped into the shadows of the western gateway I remembered containing some of my favorite features bathed in reflected golden canyon light. Keith and Kari had another snack break in the shadows but I was incapable of thinking about sustenance beyond the visual at this point. After I started to approach the point I was recomposing photos almost identically, Keith and Kari were also ready to continue on to see more.
We exited the area through that western gateway and worked our way across the colorful sandstone towards the red sandstone of the central wash that cuts through Coyote Buttes North. Keith found us a nice easy ramp to drop into the bottom of the wash. I dropped my pack in the shade and we explored downstream to where the wash opens up at a dryfalls. We then walked up the wash to the area known as Sand Cove, which had some excellent zebra striped sandstone.
We crossed the width of the diffuse wash network and began climbing the slickrock slopes toward the area known as The Boneyard. Here bizarre joint-controlled erosive boxwork boulders sprinkled the slickrock like weird alien artifacts. Onward and upward we checked out an outcrop of the boxwork, which I have only observed in this area close to the tight fold axis of The Cockscomb. From this high point we now had to sidle and descend down to the contact between the red sandstone and overlying colored sandstone. There was one more feature to look for before we worked our way out of the area.
Working along the benches I spotted a single cairn at the waypoint I had for dinosaur tracks. Sure enough right nearby we spotted several very nice trackways. The best was three tracks of a three-toed bipedal dinosaur that perfectly imprinted a light colored layer to reveal the red sandstone beneath. Though not large or extensive they were pretty classic and unmistakable.
From the dinosaur tracks we now walked out the remainder of the bench to join the standard route everyone takes to and from The Wave. There were a few more nice features along the way but soon we were crossing sand dunes and walking the sandy floor of Wire Pass to a very busy trailhead parking lot. After a few moments it was clear everyone at the parking lot was heading north including some BLM volunteers and so with little delay I left my pack in the shade and started running south on the road to close out our shuttle. Despite the heat and high 3pm sun I was feeling energized by the day and ran the sweaty 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. When I returned to Wire Pass to collect Keith and Kari an exciting surprise was presented- the BLM crew left me a half frozen bottle of water which was greatly appreciated. With enough day remaining we drove on through Zion to a pizza dinner in Springdale and then the standard camping spot along the base of Kolob Terrace.
It was an immensely satisfying day years in the making, only made bittersweet that Heather was not able to join us. Our 10.5 mile hike (+2.5 mile run) was a wonderful loop through the best of the varied landscapes of this wilderness area and I felt we got good use out of our rare permit. Miraculously the temperatures were more subdued mid-80s with a helpful breeze that spared us the forecasted 90s. As expected standout features of the landscape were equal parts grandiose and miniscule in scale. Thanks to Keith and Kari. Apologies to Heather.
