Location and Logistics of "The Wave"

Hi folks, it's me again, asking for help. A trip is coming together for mid-September that would have me in Salt Lake City for the Lepp/Sammon seminar on the 16th and 17th. After that I'd be heading to Phoenix hoping to arrive there late Tuesday when my wife flies in for 2 1/2 days for business. After worshipping the sun for a couple of days I'd be leaving Thursday afternoon or Friday morning and heading back through the 4 Corners area and home to Denver hopefully arriving Sunday afternoon or evening.

Here are my questions to aid in my trip planning:

1. Where, exactly, is The Wave? What are the logistics (hiking time, etc) and the best time of day in September to shoot it? My perception is that it's sort of on the way from SLC to Phoenix but I'm not sure.

2. I've been to Kebler to shoot aspens but don't know much about the area southwest of there. Suggestions would be helpful.

So, the gauntlet has been tossed down and I'm counting on all the accumulated knowledge of the area to help me out. Post here or shoot me an e-mail. YOU CAN DO IT!!

1. I'll let others respond, since I've never been.
2. For info on shooting fall colors in SW CO, it doesn't get much better than Darren's Fall Color Drives.

HTH

Try this book...
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I will also let others to tell you because I have never been there

1) The wave is in an area called Coyote Buttes in northern Arizona, not too far off highway 89 (where it crosses the Cockscomb formation). The one logistic you need to worry about first is permits. If you don't have a reserved one you can enter into a lottery for walk-in permits where you have about a 20-25% chance of getting in, depending on how many other will be there. If you can aim for a mid-week day your chances will be better. Other than that it's a somewhat moderate hike, about 3.5 miles each way (guessing) from the trailhead at Wire Pass. There's plenty to do there just about any time of day.

2) Leave this one to the locals.

Guy

Bill -

Here's a link to the Photo Traveler's Guide to Coyote Buttes. I ordered a copy before I went there a few years ago. I found it helpful in planning my trip. http://phototravel.com/sample/coyote.htm

To add to Guy's post: I believe you have to get your walk-in permit at the BLM office in Kayenta which is about 20-30 miles west of House Rock Road (the road you take into the trailhead). This is just a guess, but it might be possible to get one from the ranger station for the Paria River trailhead which is just a couple miles east of House Rock Road on the south side of Hwy 89. The ranger station used to have good directions and even a video you can watch on how to find the wave, which is not easy if you don't know it's exact location since it is not visible from a distance. If you can't get a permit for the Wave section, you can usually get one for the South section of Coyote Buttes which offers some more dramatic sandstone formations but requires driving a 4WD in sand (best to go with another 4WD just in case you get stuck).

Don

http://www.photographamerica.com also has a very definitive description of the way in to the wave, along with the process for obtaining permits.

Ken