By this time in 2021, a slightly bigger group of 30 people were allowed to hike to the Wave per day. It was very easy to get lost, as the directions in this beautiful desert formation are unclear for most casual hikers. At least limiting the number of people a day makes it easier to find them in the event they become “naturally misplaced.” Admittedly, I got temporarily lost both times I’ve hiked to this area.
When I arrived, about forty people/groups gathered at the new location in Kanab, ready to play the lottery—people from Germany, France, Japan, and other places that I was surprised to find there. I hung around this little favorite town of mine and played the lottery every morning at 8 a.m. I had lost other times in the past trying to visit the wave for a second time, and now it looked like on my last day in Kanab, I was heading for another defeat.
I was lucky again and won—but with a warning from the ranger that dangerous summer thunderstorms had washed out the road in several places and that they were expecting more that day. I was cautious, but still encountered a couple of people from the lottery winners who had grave damage to their vehicles due to the road. So I felt even more lucky that I barely made it through.
