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SUNRISE AT TOROWEAP, NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA

Warm greetings.

This note presents moments from a recent two day dash in Arizona and Utah. This trip allowed me to pursue several dreams - a quick visit to the Toroweap Outlook on the north rim of the Grand Canyon (accessible only by four-wheel drive) and an opportunity to enter the Bureau of Land Management's lottery, win a wilderness permit, and complete a hike into the rock formation named The Wave.

If you seek the summary version of this story, skim the images below and link to this thirty-second time lapse video of the star filled sky over the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

I was very fortunate during this short trip. Much to savor.

Best wishes to you on all fronts and sides,

Jeff



A DASH INTO THE DESERT

Our family celebrated a major birthday in Las Vegas on a Friday and Saturday night in early August. The dining and colorful performances (in and out of the city's theaters) were memorable. Everyone but me flew home on Sunday. I held a different notion. A generous and trusting friend (who works as a professional photographer in Vegas) lent me a four-wheel-drive truck. I planned a quick trip north to Utah and Arizona for two days.

Early Sunday morning, I drove out of the parking lot from our hotel. The digital clock in the dashboard shined bright - 3:20 AM. On schedule. The sky was dark and clear. My window was down. The temperature remained beyond warm. Casino lights pulsated. The frenetic beat of nightclub music punctuated by car horns and the sound of people shouting filled the air. Festive crowds of men and women lined the streets. A brides-to-be was dancing on the sidewalk. A couple was attempting to walk in a semi straight line toward the hotel, impacted by a night of play and drinking. Yes. The city was fully alive. 

I had roughly two hundred miles to travel in the dark. I hoped to reach the small town of Kanab, Utah in time to participate in a daily lottery for wilderness permits to the iconic rock formation know as "The Wave."

The rocks within The Wave hold an other-worldly feel. The site is hidden within the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Coyote Buttes Wilderness region near the Arizona and Utah border. Twenty people are allowed to hike into this site each day. The hike is just three miles from the start of the trail to rocked called The Wave. The route can be difficult. The potential for very high heat, slippery, uneven, rolling desert terrain, sharp rock formations, and a lack of navigation support (there are no signs or markings) is high. The BLM team has chosen to keep this site as secretive as possible - only lottery winners receive a map and a private lecture. The area is considered undeveloped wilderness. Visitors travel into this open space at their own risk.

Unfortunately, three people got lost (two separate incidents) in this area and died in the last month. I was told each of these individuals was found within a mile of his/her car. Apparently, they were unable to find the trail, dehydrated, and overwhelmed by the desert heat. A high profile from several international TV programs that cover adventure travel, recent magazine articles, and the sense of secrecy, exclusivity, challenge, and uncertainty add to the site's popularity. Travelers come from Europe, Asia, South America, Canada, and all over the U.S. to try to get a permit and visit these rocks. Nearly fifty thousand people apply each year.

Siri (my thoughtful iPhone date) helped me navigate the roads from Las Vegas to Kanab with a sense of comfort. I have come to cherish this relatively new relationship. Laughter. The notion of reading maps and sorting through road signs while driving solo seems archaic when one can dial up the soft voice of a very capable woman and ask her to lead you through each turn. I especially like Siri's willingness to be flexible. When I head off on my own path, she pivots and continues as though I am the logical member of our partnership. Questionable. Further research is needed to determine if Siri is capable of anger, frustration, disappointment, and shouting. So far, she has been a model of calm patience and directional determination.

I made it to the Visitors' Center in time. I met the rangers, filled out the forms, and sat with twenty-one hiking groups in a small room waiting for the lottery to begin. Anxious.


BLM RANGER PREPARING OUR GROUP FOR THE LOTTERY TO WIN WILDERNESS PERMITS

A number of people in the ranger station had tried many times in the past to receive a permit. On this morning, three numbers were picked to fill the ten available slots (balls roll around in a wire lottery cage until one ball pops out) .

I was very, very lucky. My application, number seven, was the first lottery winner! I received a coveted permit to hike the next day - Monday. 

I felt both joy and uncertainty. Let's just say the post lottery lecture from the ranger was "attention getting." The three groups that won the lottery were told to bring at least a gallon of water per person, ample navigation tools (including the BLM map, a GPS, and a compass), plenty of food, and whatever gear might be needed to survive a night in the desert - all standard parts of wilderness preparation. Still, the cautionary tales by the ranger felt worthy of focus and reflection. The desert often commands respect.

A few hours after the lottery, my friend Jim (a local professional photographer in Vegas) met me in town.  We shared breakfast and made a decision to travel to Toroweap Outlook - the north rim of the Grand Canyon for a night of camping. The Outlook can be reached in about a three hour drive from Kanab. Sixty miles are on a relatively smooth dirt road. The last five miles are on more serious rock and sand. The rangers and Internet sites indicate that one out of four cars get a flat tire. Thus, many travelers need special tow services. As a result, few people make the journey. I was grateful to be in a solid rig with large, thick tires. Jim had traveled the route before. Thank you, Jim. Thank you,Toyota.


LATE AFTERNOON, TOROWEAP OVERLOOK, NORTH RIM GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA

We arrived at Toroweap in late afternoon and explored the canyon rim. Joy. The difficulty in access to this site provides a benefit - few visitors and almost no development. There is one ranger station about five miles from the canyon rim and a small campsite about a half mile from the rim. That's it. We saw less than ten few people during our short stay - all in the daylight hours.

The site is filled with stunning vistas. East and West, a 3,000 foot wall of rock drops sharply below your feet. The Colorado River meanders like a smooth, silky pathway through the canyon floor.

Gusty winds created more than a few unsettled moments as I sat on the edge of the canyon rim mucking around with my camera - all part of the memories.

As the image below demonstrates, a poorly placed step forward at this site is likely to be a very long one. No seat belt. Not a good spot for those individuals with a solid sense of acrophobia (fear of heights).



We watched the light shift and glow off the canyon walls for hours. Sunset was gorgeous.
 
SUNSET, TOROWEAP OVERLOOK, NORTH RIM GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA


CAPTIVATED BY THE STARS


After a quick meal near the truck, we packed our bags, turned our headlamps on, and headed out to explore the night. What a gift.

Given the remote nature of the site, the sky was dark black with thousands and thousands of sparkling stars. Outside of a few fast moving lizards, inquisitive squirrels, and sleeping snakes (the story I tell myself), we were the only animals in the area. It was warm enough to enjoy a T shirt and light pants. The only sounds were produced by the wind whistling up the canyon walls through the rough rocks. Tranquil.



NIGHT SKY, TOROWEAP, NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA

The Milky Way appeared in the sky as the sun set. The formation of stars continued to rise up and slowly arch over the site. A sense of solitude and beauty from these moments lingers.

I laid down on a clump of warm, sorta flat rocks and stared upward into the sky for a long, long time.

I decided to try a photography technique that is new to me - timelapse video. I chose and old tree near the rim of the Grand Canyon as my foreground and the movement of the Milky Way as the visual story. I shot 310 pictures of the sky over about an hour and half of time. Later, when I returned to San Francisco, I combined the images into a thirty second video to reflect the movement and visual impact of this scene. The initial image is shown above. I titled the short video "Star Dance." Great fun.

Here's
a direct link to the thirty second video (uploaded to Vimeo).

The moving lines in the sky within this video are a combination of meteors (a major "shower" was predicted for this date), shooting stars, and airplanes captured on the camera's sensor. It was that kind of night.

After wandering about in the dark and finishing with my photography exploration, I set up a tent and attempted to get some sleep on the rocks. My buddy Jim had gone to sleep in the truck. The tent was marginally workable. The wind started to blow hard and then harder around 2 AM. Most of the night, I felt as though I had been transported into a scene from "Alice In Wonderland." I kept waking up as the wind pushed and collapsed the tent poles down toward my body and gusted under the rain flap. The rattling and swooshing sounds were haunting and uncomfortable. It may not be possible to convey this "precious" experience. Imagine you are sleeping in a large plastic tube and a giant, rabid squirrel attempts to rip and tear his way into the small, open space near your head. That's an ample metaphor.

Well before sunrise, I packed up the tent, loaded the truck, and we hiked off along the rim in the dark to watch the light change. The image at the top of this newsletter reflects the first, radiant, red light as the sunrise touched the underside of the clouds. I sat in the warm breeze savoring the flow of color and the start of the day. Tired, but happy.

From here, we drove three hours back to Kanab, celebrated the lack of a flat tire, shared breakfast, and prepared for a hike into The Wave.

As the day progressed, my friend Jim decided to pass on the hot, hilly trails into the desert and the opportunity to see The Wave. He was a bit dehydrated and uncomfortable with the journey. I decided to go solo. I drove for an hour to the trail head, gathered my Camelback (water container), some food, and other wilderness gear, and headed out into the open space.

 
THE WAVE
 
The trail was hot and poorly marked, but the experience was spectacular.

The images below provide a quick visual story from my hike and exploration.


EARLY STAGE OF THE HIKE INTO THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA 
 
FINAL STAGE OF HIKE TO THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA


ENTRANCE TO THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA


INTERIOR OF THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA

ROCK AND SKY, THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA


UNDULATING ROCK, THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA


INNER WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA


FLUID ROCK, THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA


 HYPNOTIC RIPPLES, THE WAVE, COYOTE BUTTES WILDERNESS AREA 
 
The Wave is a small, yet breathtaking site. Since I started my hike so late in the day, I arrived at the rock formation all by myself. I sat, walked, and stood alone within these surreal rocks for hours. 

The colorful ripples of stone seem molded like an ocean in the midst of a storm - pushed, rolled, and swirled by the earth's movement and the power of wind, water, and erosion. Frozen in time. It's all quite alluring.

This is one of those special places on earth that create awe and wonder and gratitude. It's incredible to see rock with such a fluid feel.


If you get a chance to travel to either of these sites - Toroweap Overlook on the north rim of the Grand Canyon and The Wave, I encourage you to jump at the opportunity.  

 

Best wishes,

Jeff


"Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit."

Frank Borman 
www.JeffreyDavisPhotography.com