Author Archives: Steven

Everything You Need to Know About Hiking to The Wave

14 June 2012

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The Wave is a spectacular sandstone rock formation famous for its colorful, undulating forms and the rugged, trackless hike to reach it.

It’s also Goal #176 on The List.

I was hoping to knock out this goal next month while on our way to climb Mount Whitney, but it looks like it’s not going to happen … getting a permit to enter the area is a pain in the ass requires making plans months in advance. Only twenty people are allowed into the area each day. Of those twenty people, only ten permits can be obtained in advance. The remaining ten permits are made available in-person the day before your hike. I wasn’t able to reserve ours through the lottery system, and we don’t have the time to risk showing up and not getting any. Next time.

To help others who might be considering this hike, I’ve compiled all the information you’ll need to navigate through the permit application process and some basic information on how to find The Wave, but you’re on your own to actually get there … since there’s no marked trail (to maintain the natural integrity of the region) it’s notoriously challenging to find.

Most hikers use GPS or follow a prominent landmark known as “The Black Crack” to find The Wave, which lies directly below The Black Crack. With no marked trail, hikers choose their own route across the open desert, which requires traversing exposed sandstone, sand dunes, and sandy wash bottoms. It’s not uncommon for hikers to get lost and never find The Wave. You’ve been warned …

Hiking Permits

A permit to hike to The Wave is absolutely required. The area is regularly and thoroughly patrolled, and the rules are strictly enforced. If you’re thinking about doing this hike without the proper permits, you may want to think twice. The maximum penalty for entering the area without a permit is a $100,000 fine, a year in jail, or both. These are the maximums, and the actual penalty you receive depends on which side of the state line you’re on, and who’s issuing your citation. Besides, the rules are there to preserve and maintain the area so that it can be enjoyed by all of us and by future generations. Get a permit.

How to get a Permit

There are three ways you can get a permit; through a lottery, in the event of a cancellation, and in-person.

To apply for a hiking date through the lottery application, you’ll need to submit your application four months in advance. There’s a non-refundable $5 fee for lottery applications. Be sure you get your application in on time! If you want to hike in May, you’ll need to submit your lottery application by January 31st. Here’s a chart to help you plan when you’ll need to submit your application:

Apply between
For a permit during
Date of Lottery Run
January 1 – 31
May
February 1
February 1 – 28
June
March 1
March 1 – 31
July
April 1
April 1 – 30
August
May 1
May 1 – 31
September
June 1
June 1 – 30
October
July 1
July 1 – 31
November
August 1
August 1 – 31
December
September 1
September 1 – 30
January
October 1
October 1 – 31
February
November 1
November 1 – 30
March
December 1
December 1 – 31
April
January 1

On the rare occasion there are cancellations or open dates, the Coyote Buttes North calendar option is available for viewing four calendar months in advance. If you’re lucky enough to find an open date that works with your schedule, there’s a $7 fee for using this option.

There are also ten permits available the day before the permits are valid. For Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, the permits are made available on Friday. These permits are only available in-person. If you’re in the area (the day before you’d like to hike) visit the Kanab, Utah Field Office of the BLM which opens at 9:00 AM. It’s generally a good idea to be there before the office opens (probably even before the sun comes up.) Permits are issued one day before they’re valid, no sooner, no later, and on a first-come, first-served basis.

How do you get there?

To get to the trailhead, about halfway between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona on Highway 89, turn south onto a dirt road called Houe Rock Valley Road. Follow this road for about 8.3 miles to the Wire Pass Trailhead. From the trailhead, the hike is over two and a half miles into the desert. Most of the hike is easy to moderate, with sandy and slick-rock sandstone terrain. The elevation difference from the trailhead to The Wave is about 350 feet, but the trail gains and loses quite a bit, so you’re actually climbing more like 500 to 700 feet vertically over the course of the round-trip hike. The biggest climb is the last quarter-mile, where you’ll ascend nearly 200 feet.

Click here for a Trail Map!

GPS Coordinates for The Wave

N 36° 59.764′, W 112° 00.365′

GPS Coordinates for the Trailhead

N 37° 01.162′, W 112°01.465′

Ignore the Noise

7 June 2012

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Few things in life deserve the attention we give them.

Most of the shit we concern ourselves with is rarely as important as the importance we give it. It’s just noise. It distracts us, it steals our focus and it robs us of our energy. While our attention is focused on the stuff that doesn’t matter, we lose sight of what does.

As a society, our values are being influenced by the media and advertising. The average person is exposed to nearly 5,000 ads each day! All of that advertising is working. We’ve become obsessed with wealth, material possessions, and celebrities. But these things are all just noise, and we don’t need any of it to have a happy life.

All we need to live a happy and fulfilled life is to ignore the noise and focus on what brings value to our lives. We need a purpose, not another product. We must simplify.

It’s time to focus on what’s valuable, and ignore the rest.

Other People. Stop worrying about what your friends, family, or complete strangers think about you and your life choices. The opinions of the vast majority of people you encounter in life don’t matter and have no impact on your life. Those people who do matter will love you for who you are.

“You’ll worry less about what people think about you when you realize how seldom they do.” ~ David Foster Wallace

The Joneses. It doesn’t matter what your neighbors own or where they vacation. Your neighbors aren’t there for you to compete against. It doesn’t matter if they have a new car, designer clothes, or send their children to a private school. Focus on what matters to you. Stay true to your values, and never sell yourself out just to “keep up” with someone else.

Gossip. Talking shit about someone else says less about them than it does about your own flawed character. Confident people don’t need to gossip. Consider your own shortcomings and work on improving them rather than using someone else’s misfortunes to prop up your ego. Engage in more meaningful conversations.

Celebrities. Society is obsessed with celebrities. So much so that there’s now a psychological disorder called Celebrity Worship Syndrome. Why do celebrities deserve so much of our attention? The answer is simple. They don’t. We should focus the attention we give to celebrities on our family members. Do you know more about the life of your favorite celebrity than you do about your father or mother? You might be surprised by the answer.

Fashion. Keeping your wardrobe “in style” is an exercise in futility. Fashion is fickle. Avoid the trends and chose styles that are timeless. Do you remember how sexy you looked in that trendy outfit ten years ago? Dig out some old pictures and ask yourself whether you’d be seen dead wearing that same outfit today. (I’m guessing probably not.) Be stylish but don’t worry about being in style.

If none of this matters, then what does?

Happiness. Being happy doesn’t mean you’re in a constant state of joy. True happiness comes from an internal sense of satisfaction and a feeling of contentment. While buying a new gadget might bring a momentary sense of fulfillment, that feeling is fleeting and never lasts very long. This is why happiness cannot be found in material possessions.

Health. When you’re healthy, the last thing you’re concerned with is your health. The moment your health is gone, life changes. And it can happen in an instant. It only takes one diagnosis to change your life forever. Don’t take your health for granted just because you’re healthy today.

“Without health life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering – an image of death.” ~ Buddha

Family. Our families provide us with a sense of belonging, and are a consistent source of comfort and emotional support. And while computers have given us the ability to keep in touch more easily, nothing can replace the experience of gathering together as a family. Spend as much time together as you possibly can.

Love. Being in love is the most intimate connection a person can make. You trust your partner without question, you share your most intimate feelings with them and you allow yourself to be completely vulnerable. There is no substitute for being in love, or for being loved by another person.

Community. We share this world with more than 7 billion other people and each of us has a responsibility to the communities in which we live; to make it a better place, to look out for our neighbors, and to help those in need. We all need to do whatever we can to make this world a better place than it was when we got here. Volunteer at the local library, pick up trash while you’re out for your daily walk, smile and say “Hello” to people you don’t know.

Everything else is noise. Do your best to ignore it.

Comfortably Numb

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Do you remember what it felt like when you fell in love for the first time? The feeling of nervous anticipation of your first kiss? Or the vulnerable uncertainty as you lost your virginity? The pain of your first broken heart?

In our youth, our emotions were uncensored. Pure. Everything felt raw, like an exposed nerve. Emotions surged through our veins, inside us a fire burned brilliantly. Everything seemed…intense. Life was meaningful.

We loved without hesitation. Dreamed without doubt. Trusted without question.

The child is grown, The dream is gone. I have become comfortably  numb. ~ Pink Floyd

What’s happened to us?

Our lives used to be filled with purpose and urgency, but now they’re filled with expectations and obligations. The fire inside us that once burned so brilliantly is nearly extinguished, little more than a flicker. “Welcome to the Real World,” we’re told…and we listen, accepting our lives for the way they are, stifling our dreams in exchange for a life that’s “real.”

Occasionally the embers from the fire of our youth are churned, and we’re reminded of our former selves; so vibrant, so idealistic, and so filled with hope for the future. But those thoughts are quickly silenced.

“Life’s complicated.” “Things are different now.” “We’re responsible.”

And our lives really aren’t that bad. Maybe they’re not quite what we’d hoped they’d be, but they’re comfortable. And we’re comfortably numb, indifferent to the lives of quiet desperation we lead.

So we’ve resigned ourselves to jobs we hate, but don’t leave because it’s “not practical” to quit just because we aren’t happy. We’re more responsible than that. Paying the mortgage and feeding our families takes priority. Besides, we’re really only mildly annoyed with our job. We’ll survive.

And we silently submit, sacrificing our happiness for a paycheck.

The passion in our relationship has slowly eroded away, until one morning we wake up wondering what the hell happened. We used to be so in love, but now it feels like we’re simply sharing space. “That’s normal,” they say. “The passion is bound to disappear.” Maybe they’re right. Maybe the passion can’t last forever.

And so we surrender, hopeless that romance will ever return to our relationship.

Our dreams are quietly abandoned as our lives become engorged with responsibilities. We have obligations to fulfill, deadlines to meet, and commitments to follow through on. There’s no time to chase our dreams. “Be practical,” we tell ourselves, and our dreams are replaced with practicality.

Except things don’t have to be this way.

If you hate your job, look for a new one until you find work that’s meaningful. Once you’ve found that, quit your old job. If you’ve lost the passion in your relationship and want it back, be passionate. Let no flat surface be immune to your sexual revelry. Fuck like you’re getting paid. And don’t abandon your dreams. They’re what gives life purpose. Find time to chase them, no matter how “impractical” they might seem. The longer you wait, the less time you have.

It’s time to rekindle the fire in your life…to find the intensity you once had.

Don’t waste your life being comfortably numb.