2020 Winter Camping Trip Day7, 2020/12/2
Last night we camped in Kanab, Utah. Why Kanab? Answer is to apply for the Wave permit.
The Wave. The Wave is a hike in Coyote Butte North in Utah. I have heard about the Wave a lot how amazing it is. This is on my bucket list for a long time. Permit is required to hike the Wave, and the probability to get it is 3%. From the statistics data (Recreation.gov has data), December, January, February are the least popular, meaning a little higher chance to get a permit. March, April, May are the most popular months. There are two ways to apply for a permit: online or walk-in. I heard that online was more competitive. Based on the information, I thought that applying for a walk-in permit in December might be a good chance to get it. So one of my purposes for this trip is to apply for a walk-in Wave permit. Usually walk-in permit lottery is held at the visitor center, but due to COVID-19, lotteries are held at Kanab Center Gymnasium, everyday at 9 a.m. It is a typical gymnasium with a basket ball court.
The lottery procedure is kind of silly. The gymnasium opens at 8:30 a.m. First, each group fills a paper and hand in to a ranger. You get an application number. At 9 a.m., a ranger calls each number and you need to shout your name for your presence. If you are not there, your application is void. Then a ranger rotates a toy (I don't know what it is called, the circle shape that contains balls inside and each ball has a number). One ball falls out from a toy after rotation. The number on the ball comes out from the toy is a winner. On the first try we didn't win. There were 50 group applied, and 3 groups won. 10 people per day get permits. For example, 4 people/group + 2 people/group + 3 people/group + 1 person/group can go hiking the Wave per day. This is a waste of time (if you don't win), because you can't head for hiking until 9:20 a.m. Daytime is short in winter, so I wished the lottery time was earlier, but sigh, rangers don't work earlier I guess.
After the lottery, we head for Zion National Park to hike Angels Landing. Since I have some friends hiked there and posted pictures, I was interested in hiking there. On the way we found that the last 3 miles of the road (Zion Canyon Scenic Drive) to the trailhead was closed. It seemed that the park was limiting a number of people to go to Scenic Drive. We overheard the security person saying no clue when to open, so we decided to walk to the trailhead. That means adding 6 miles to the Angels landing hike 5.4 miles, thus total is 11.4 miles.
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Along the Scenic Drive
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Walking on the scenic drive road was actually nice. Since the road was closed, no cars were driving. I was able to see the scenery slowly and take pictures. Driving there would be also good, but there would not be enough time to see and take pictures in a nice slow way.
After 3 mile walk, we arrived at the trailhead. We started walking. It was interesting, because the first part was asphalt. I didn't know that. Going up with switch back was nice, and for us it had been a while to walk switchbacks, because there is no switchbacks in New England. Switchback is one of the things I feel the West. I was thinking that 5.6 mile hike of Angels Landing would be 2.8 miles (at least half) in New Hampshire. Thanks to the switchbacks, I didn't feel the hike hard. National Parks are always like nannies. Even there was a toilet on the way. Mr.N found a small building and said to me, "Oh is that a toilet? I will go there" and he said, "Maybe that is not a toilet." It was behind trees, so it was unclear. Then a bystander hiker said, "It is a restroom, but it is pretty gross." Mr.N replied, "I will prepare for it." After a while Mr.N came back and told me it was IMPOSSIBLE to use it, because urine EVERYWHERE on the floor. He had to use a wilderness restroom. Yikes.
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Massive rocks
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Great View
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The last part was steep, but chains were provided (attached to the rocks). I sanitized my hands regularly for COVID practice.
All the way to the top, the view was great.
The scenery from the top was ultra mega amazing. I loved it so much. Pictures tell you that more than my description. We sat down and enjoyed the 360 degree view. Every single direction has a great view! I ate anpan and had a hot tea. How gorgeous it was!!!!
After we enjoyed a lot, we retraced the trail we came. On the way back the sun was going down and the rock color was becoming orange. This was a wonderful and memorable hike.
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