Hiking out of The Wave (part 4)

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In the late afternoon, after most of the other 18 hikers had cleared out of the area, we knew we had to start the 3.2 mile hike back to the car.

We took our time taking in the scenery, snapping pictures, and trying not to get lost. Somehow we ended up very high on a ridge, it felt like we had been ascending too far, but everything starts to look the same.

We heard someone shouting at us and we waved and continued on, the woman kept yelling so I stopped to listen. It turns out the woman was a Ranger and we were off course and approaching a cliff (I’m sure we would’ve realized our mistake once we reached the edge, but better we didn’t have to). We hiked down to thank the Ranger, who was there checking permits, and continued on the proper course.

My experience in Coyote Buttes was ephemeral and looking back it is like a dream. The whole area was different than anything I’ve ever seen before. Even at the time, because I knew that my odds of ever being there again were slim to none, it was surreal, so overwhelming and fleeting and impossible to capture. A picture doesn’t do it justice.

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