Photographing "The Wave" in the Coyote Buttes

[Jeff Sagar]

I am planning a trip to the southwest and want to photograph "The Wave" in the North unit of the Coyote Buttes. Does anyone in the community have experience hiking to and photographing The Wave? I am aware that a permit is required and can be obtained online in advance or at the BLM office. I am most interested in hearing about what the hike is like.


Jeff

[erno james]

wish i could help, but didn

[Bill Belvin]

I've been there many times and my website is www.thewave.info which says a lot. Getting the permit is the hardest part of getting there. These days the Wave itself is not hard to find, the directions given with the permit are good, the route is unofficially cairned, and there are GPS coords all over the web. That said people still get lost. When going to the Wave you will cross over a small ridge , mark where you crossed with a GPS, when going back finding this spot is the only tricky thing. It is cairned though and is no longer hard to find.


The hike to the Wave itself is 6 miles or so RT with some ups and downs but no elevation gain. It is easy except in the winter when there is often snow/ice on the ground. There are many other good things in the permit area to photograph, IMO they are better than the Wave itself. These include Fatali's boneyard, Sand Cove, and the Second Wave. There are also small dinosaur tracks (hand sized), a little hard to find even if you know where to look.


A good way to hit all of these areas in one day under the best light is as follows:


1. Leave the parking area around ten to get to the Wave by Noon when it is best lit (the topographyof the Wave means you want as much light as possible on it to avoid harsh shadows). Spend an hour or two here. If there is water at the Wave and not a lot of wind make sure to take a photo facing South, you'll get a very nice reflection.


2. Retrace your steps down the Sand dune you came up and cross back over to the West side of the Valley under the western cliffs. If you are in to dino tracks look for these, my site has GPS coodinates. Even so they can be hard to find.


3. Go about .5 miles south staying just below the cliffs till you get to Fatali's boneyard. This is a pic made famous by Michael Fatali who has a gallery in Springfield UT. His pic was shot at dawn, IMO it also photograhs well late afternoon. By now the cliffs will be in shadow or will be shortly, wait till they are. The shadow sets off the boneyard very nicely.


4. Once the boneyard itselfgoes into shadow go about .3 miles E/ SE down to Sand Cove. Photograph here till it goes into shadow.


5. Continue Eastclimbinvg up a hundred feet or so and go to the Second Wave. Shoot here till it goes into Shadow. This is a great! late afternoon shot, if you do nothing else on your trip I recommend this.


6. It should now be about 75 minutes or so before Sunset so start back to your car. Just go due North, in about .3 miles you'll be back at the Wave, then just retrace your route.


This would make for a great day. It might be a bit to much to bite off for a first trip. It is definitely doable if you have good navigation skills and know how to use a GPS. If you don't I'd recomend just seeing the Wave and the Second Wave, or go with a guide, the BLM can provide a list, no permit is needed for the guide.Don't blame if things go wrong, I've taken care in my site to provide good GPS coordinates but won't guarantee them.People still get lost even with GPS's , and slips and falls can always happen.


Anyway enjoy your trip - and let me know how it works out.


Bill

[Jeff Sagar]

Bill,


Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my post with so much information. I have only perused your website briefly at this point, but I could see that it contains a tremendous amount of information about The Wave and other features in the area. Your site has not turned up in any of my internet searches so I

[Bill Belvin]

7-10 days is enough time for a first trip. Make sure you visit Antelope Canyon on the trip when you're in the Page area. October is a great time to go and is my favorite time. I'm not sure when the leaves turn in Zion but you might consider going to Capitol Reef for a day or two. Highway 12 connects Bryce and Capitol Reef and is , IMO, the most beautiful road in America. If you go in very early October the Aspens on Boulder Mtn (on Highway 12 on the way to Capitol Reef) will be changing , if you go late October the Cottonwoods in Capitol Reef and the lower elevations of Highway 12 will change.. There is also a great (expensive, though not by NY standards) restaurant in Boulder, UT . http://www.hellsbackbonegrill.com/ and a good lodge. Guaranteed to impressthe wife!


I visited your site and the pics of Yosemite and Lake Tahoe are excellent, you have a great sense of composition!


Bill


PS - I have seen both rattlesnakes and scorpions in the area, but they are rare and unless you actively look for them you are unlikely to see them. In all my trips to the Wave I have seen only 1 scorpion and no snakes. IMO they are not a problem and I wouldn't be concerned.

[Jeff Sagar]

Bill,


I have reviewed the permit process on the BLM

[Bill Belvin]

Jeff


I