Gee, the things you have to go through just to do a hike!
I’m planning another Southwestern extravaganza this summer, in which I’ll hit both the North and South Rims of the Grand Canyon, as well as the West Rim for Skywalk and the new Grand Canyon Zip Line. In between will be Horseshoe Bend (Glen Canyon), Antelope Canyon, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, and Vermillion Cliffs, home of The Wave. When I started researching my choices I came to understand that I had to enter a lottery in order to hike to The Wave. And I had to pay for the chance to “win” a permit to hike to this extraordinary destination. Who knew!
I’ve hiked some pretty amazing places, including 26 National Park, but I’ve never had to enter a lottery in order to do it. (Okay, I’ve tried to get a permit to do Half Dome in Yosemite, but lost interest when I found out I could do Cloud’s Rest which is 1,000 feet higher and has about 400 less people on it every day.) But as the saying goes, you can’t win if you don’t play! And so I recently paid my (nonrefundable!) five bucks to the Bureau of Land Management for an 8% chance to see The Wave in July. Yes, that’s four months ahead of time. Find the information here: https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-passes/lotteries-and-permit-systems/arizona/coyote-buttes
And wish me luck!
