anaundpeter

Hello,

has anybody good tipps? We start around 10.November from San Francisco and want to travel some NP go to Las Vegas and other nice places of the area. But we just have around 10 days time.

We would also love to visit the WAVE. Is that possible? We must win the lottery for that? how to get one of this permits? anybody has good informations?

All information is welcome.

We travel with our almost 1 year old baby, and she has already a lot of travel experience, take a look:

https://plus.google.com/photos/10575...7620123/albums


thanks for your answers

Ana + Peter + Julia

https://plus.google.com/photos/10575...7620123/albums


our email: [email protected], thanks

spirobulldog

You are to late for the lottery for the wave. You could show up and be lucky enough to get 3 of the 10 tickets that way. In no circumstance would I hike that with a baby though. Not that tough of a hike, but route finding is critical. There is a large number of people who are unable to locate it on there first attempt if they don't have a GPS.

I would stick to just one state. You can't do California in 10 days.

anaundpeter

Where is the place to show up? and at what time is to show up there?

spirobulldog

BLM - Kanab Field Office
318 North 100 East
Kanab, Utah 84741
Phone: (435) 644-4600

http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/arolrsma...te_buttes.html

spirobulldog

I looked at some of your photos. I didn't see any that really required hiking of this magnitude. Be aware that this hike offers no shade. This is a serious hike! Expect it to take most of your day. There are really 2 wave locations and several other sights to see along the way. You really need to do your homework on this hike.

Bill_H

Info on permits is here: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/arolrsma...s/permits.html

For a walk-up permit, it depends on exactly which day you are there since from the above site it seems in mid-November they move the site to Kanab. Here's the relevant info from the above site:

How do I obtain a walk-in permit?

If you missed the lottery or are just in the Southern Utah/Northern Arizona area, you can obtain a walk-in permit at the Paria Ranger Contact Station from mid-March to mid-November, seven days a week. The Paria Contact Station is open from 8:30 a,m, to 4:15 p.m. MST (Utah).

From mid-November to mid-March, permits for Coyote Buttes North or Coyote Buttes South can be obtained at the BLM Kanab Field Office, five days a week. The Kanab Field Office is open from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Kanab Field Ooffice issues permits for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday on the previous Friday. The Kanab Field Ooffice will issue permits for holidays the last work day prior to the holiday. Walk-in permits are valid for the next-day.

It's a bit hard to find the office in Kanab as it's not on the main road, you'll have to ask someone or give them a call.

I've gotten walk-in permits several times, including in winter from the Kanab office, and usually had no problems scoring (ie there were fewer than 10 people trying for the 10 permits), even in the spring when it was peak tourist season. A couple of times in winter we were the only ones asking for permits and had the place to ourselves, so I'm guessing you should be OK in November, especially if you have two days to try for.

Note that the road to the parking lot is pretty much impossible to drive if it's raining or has rained recently, and if it's dry there are still a couple of dips that require care in a standard rental car.

Kid would be OK if you have a back-pack type child carrier. There is no standard trail, you have to scramble across slanted rocks in a couple of places to hike in, if you're good for that it should be OK.

InSandy

If you can get a Wave permit that would be wonderful. You do need to plan to be at the office the day before you hike though so you'd be 2 days in the area. As has been mentioned be sure to find out what day they change from the Paria station closer to the trailhead to the Kanab location for the walk in lottery since you will be coming later in the year.

There are plenty of other hikes in the area if you don't get the wave. You could ask at the ranger station for suggestions and road conditions.

Otherwise 10 days is not really a lot of time to spend in the area since you'll be needing to get back to SF and want to visit LV as well. Plus, though unlikely, it is always possible to have snowy conditions that time of year (we had our first snow just yesterday in Utah). I would not recommend driving if it is snowing, so some flexibility might be needed.

You should be able to see Great Basin NV, Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon south rim NPs and maybe include some time in Page for Antelope canyon and Horseshoe Bend.

Floridafran

The Wave is a beautiful place, but it's also very rugged and isolated. My husband and I hiked to it in May, 5 years ago. My best advice, should you be able to get a permit, is to have a GPS which leaves breadcrumbs (your trail in) to help you find your way back out.

The "trail" is mostly unmarked and a great deal of it is through loose sand and over slick rock which can make finding the trail difficult. (On the map the BLM gave us it shows the route as a dashed red line and says, that it is a route, not a trail.) The first turn, where the route to the Wave splits from the Buckskin Gulch trail is easy to miss if you aren't paying close attention.

Some of the landmarks you use to help you when going in, look different when you're approaching them from the opposite direction going back out. Others require that you check behind you since they are at the end of the trail as you go in. This is why I think you need to have a good hand-held GPS which has kept track of how you came in. It makes getting back out easier. Make sure it has good batteries. You wouldn't want it to fail and lose your data.

Considering that you're starting in San Francisco, and want to visit Las Vegas, ten days isn't a great deal of time, especially if you have to dedicate 2 or 3 to the area around the Wave. (Although you could get lucky and get a same-day permit for the Wave if all of the ones from the day before weren't issued.) I'd advise sitting down with a good map and a list of things you want to do/places you want to go and plotting a route. Then you may well need to start cutting some things to make it a feasible plan.

On the BLM website (link given in previous posts) there's a great deal of useful information - including ways to contact them via e-mail or telephone. In my opinion, it would be wise for you to visit their website and learn all you can in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not this hike is one you and your wife should take with your young daughter.

It's certainly doable for a couple of fit people, especially since you would be going in a cooler time. But good hydration is still a must. Be sure you have the means to carry sufficient liquids for the 3 of you. But mainly, you need to be well prepared in every way. Unless things have changed, your cell phone won't work and you may or may not see anyone else. If you have a problem you have to be prepared to resolve it on your own.

None of this is meant to scare you. I just feel you need to know what you'll be facing should you try to do this hike. I've never heard of a hiker who got into trouble on a trail because they had learned everything they could about it ahead of time. I can't say the same about those who didn't know what they were getting into.

As others have mentioned, there are a great number of beautiful places to see and interesting things to do nearby. A search here in the forums will turn up a lot of good information about them. Or, if you have a question about a specific site, a separate post would get you plenty of help.

Safe travels and enjoy your visit.

nytraveler

I know this is none of my business - but this does not sound like something to be done with such a young infant. Suppose one of you were to have a minor problem- sprain an ankle or whatever. How in the world would you handle that? One adult has to care for/carry the infant -so the other would have to be able to make it on their own despite the type of minor injury that can easily happen anywhere.

If it were just the two of you fine. But I don't think this is sensible with an infant.

anaundpeter

Thanks a lot for all the answers.

Does anybody has GPS data for that area?

Thanks

Peter

Floridafran

Unfortunately I've lost the rest of the navigational instructions given us by the BLM. All I have left is the map and it doesn't have the GPS co-ordinates on it. The only advantage to having the data ahead of time is that you could pre-load it into your GPS. But that doesn't take long. If you get a permit, you'll receive everything you need from the BLM.

Even if I had the data, I'm not sure I'd post it. The BLM tries very hard to balance the right of the public to see something as awesome as the Wave, with the need to protect it from the inevitable damage that would occur from over-visitation. Although the GPS data can be found if one looks for it, I see no reason to put it out there on the internet in one more place.

spirobulldog

anaundpeter,

I'm curious about your hiking experience? Have you been to the US before? Have you done any high desert hikes in winter enviroment before? I doubt weather would be an issue, but anything is possible.

StantonHyde

The good news is that you really don't read about people getting rescued from the Wave. From Zion and Canyonlands, yes. The Wave, nope. Buckskin Gulch can get hairy in flash floods.

Lots of people here (Utah) take young kids into the wilderness. That is not a dealbreaker. If you look at the statistics--my kids are more at risk when I drive them to school every day than when I take them hiking.

I would say that given your time constraints and the time of year, you will want to focus on Zion. If you go to Bryce, be prepared for colder weather. The Grand Canyon is awesome if you have never been before. There is a lot to do in/around Kanab actually.

You can search my user name for trip reports on taking kids to Zion.

janisj

OK-- are you flying into San Francisco? And are you flying out 10 days later -- where from? SFO or another airport??

10 days -- in Nov -- w/ an infant . . . You simply do not have time for all that. Even if the Wave was a good idea, which it isn't IMO.

And if you are flying in, and IF Vegas, the Wave, Zion, Bryce are important to you, flying to San Francisco doesn't make a lot of sense.

If on the other hand you live in the Bay area and are driving round trip in 10 days - that will be a real slog. Just SF to Las Vegas is a 10+ hour drive, and you'd have to do it twice.

spirobulldog

20 people or less are allowed to visit the wave. 2-3 million people a year visit Zion. So where did you think you would read about those rescues?

My point is, with a 10 month old and all the pictures that I saw posted from their- I didn't see any that involved hiking, much less wilderness hiking without a trail.

You might want to search Escalante National Monument Rescue, Paria Wilderness Rescue, Vermillion Cliffs rescue. You will find rescues. A lot of these involve water, which you won't encounter on The Wave.

The first two rangers I talked to several years ago about this hike both told me they didn't find The Wave on their first attempt.

If you are experienced and in moderate shape I am sure it would not be a problem. The way the OP was asking the question and from the pictures it seemed like there was very little experience, if any.

StantonHyde

spiro: as a Utah local & as someone tied to the rescue community, I read about this stuff in the local paper & hear about it at social gatherings. I just got back from a week backpacking, most of it off trail. It's not impossible. Yes, you can get lost anywhere, which is why you have to be prepared. I know lots of people who have done the wave & they don't have harrowing tales to tell. If someone is in decent shape & does their homework, the wave is fine. I would do the wave over the narrows in a heartbeat--if safety was the main issue.

anaundpeter

thanks for your answers

utahtea

Just so you know, cell phone service is pretty spotty in this area on or near the highway around the WAVE area. I'm sure it's worse the farther away you get from the road. If you go, make sure some one knows your itinerary.

Utahtea

Floridafran

I second Utahtea's suggestion that someone knows your itinerary and would add to that, they should know about what time you expect to be back from your hike.

When we went, we were staying at a Bed & Breakfast west of Page. Our host asked that we give him a time when we expected to return.

He said several months before, he'd had a guest who hiked to the Wave alone. The man didn't return on time, nor had he come back an hour later. At that point, the owner of the B & B called the BLM rangers and reported the man over due. They found his car at the trailhead and saw that he had signed the log book with his time going in, but there was no time coming out. So they went looking for him.

Long story short - the man had slipped on the slick rock on his way back, knocked himself out, and was lying there injured when they found him. He was sunburned and a little dehydrated, but recovered fully. It could have been worse for him if he hadn't been found that quickly.

mlgb

I think you may save some time on this trip if you don't start from SFO. It's easier to start from Las Vegas or even Los Angeles. You may be able to find a cheap flight or even change your starting point.

November can be the start of snowfalls so you may want to stick with Zion, Page, Grand Canyon.

Haven't done the Wave but I'd be cautious with an infant and no related experience...travel isn't the same as hiking an unmarked slickrock trail.