The Wave is a Jurassic period sandstone formation tucked into the alien landscape of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. Its walls are smooth to the touch and layered with reds and orange like nothing I'd ever seen before.

There is no marked trail to this formation which is a treacherous 6 mile out-and-back hike through the desert, and the BLM only allows 20 per day to hike there by issuing a permit to do so. There's a 4 month waiting period for 10 of said permits and the remaining 10 are given away at a daily lottery held at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitor Center in Kanab. After a failed attempt at navigating during the night in hopes of stumbling upon it, we decided to try our hand at winning 2 of the coveted permits. As luck would have it, my friend and I were able to win them and we hiked out to take in the beauty of this incredible formation the next day.

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