Hey Everyone,
I'm going to be in Arizona at the end of the month, and have been wanting to photograph the Wave for quite some time.
However, it will just be myself and my 8 year old son. He's a pretty active kid, but I'm wondering how long/challenging the hike is to get there? Would it be ok for a young kid and his reasonably fit mom?
First of all, there are only 10 walk up permits available each day at 9am. Some days they have 30 people trying to get them and some days they have just a few (none?). So, if you want to go, you can get a permit online 4 months in advance (apparently they sell out very quickly).
Second, the walk is about 6 miles there and back. Mostly flat, a few uphill hikes. Unless your kid likes to hike I'm not sure how much he'd enjoy it. Its about an hour hike just to get there.
Rebecca,
The Wave is 3.6 miles each way (I think). There is a 600 foot elevation gain which you give and take several times. I found it to be a very strenuous hike. It isn't marked terribly well. On the way in it is kind of obvious, but coming out can be confusing. Bring a GPS for the crumb trail back. I would strongly urge you to leave your son at home. It will be getting hot there now, and can reach 100 degrees. You'll need a couple of gallons of water. That gets heavy. I'm being over cautious, but there isn't any provision for a sprained ankle, or exhausted child. All that water and gear will get heavy.
Thanks guys! Leaving my son at home isn't an option, since this is a trip we have been planning to make together, but finding another trail is. 6 miles would be a little much for him to do. I'll have to save the wave for another trip
Perhaps my experience with 8-year olds is a bit different - my nephew used to hike with me a fair amount when his parents lived here. A 12 - 13 mile round trip with final elevation gains of around 2500 feet and tons of intervening hills to climb up over and back down in fairly warm weather on rough trails would leave me in worse condition than it would him and I was fairly used to it.
I agree about bringing LOTS of water. Dehydration under those conditions will knock you down fast. Don't underestimate how much everyone will need or how seriously it can affect you.
Well, I am going to add a different perspective here. I have a 3 year old son who does quite a bit of hiking with me. Granted he is at the age where I can still put him on my shoulders if it is required, but I don't see our trips changing much when he gets bigger. Of course he can't do everything, but he often surprises me with his capabilities. My wife (6 months pregnant), my son, and I went out to the wave in February and my son walked the majority of the hike (he didn't get enough sleep the night before, became irritable, and decided that he didn't want to walk for sections of the last mile or so). If we can do it without any trouble I would presume you and your son should be able to handle it. My son isn't the fastest hiker so it took us about 90 minutes each way. The hike is around 6 miles long...some say more and some say less, but 6 miles is a pretty reasonable estimate. We found it to be a very nice hike except for the last sand hill which is a bit steep and long...although it was my wife and I that complained about it...not my son. The information given to us by the BLM was very adequate to help us find our way around. The trail isn't marked, so a GPS can be useful if you have trouble locating the route. There are numerous sites on the web with good GPS coordinates for the area.
If you are concerned I would try to do a few local hikes in the 5-7 mile range and see how your child does. I think he may surprise you. You can get him a child sized backpack that will hold a few liters of water and some of his food. I honestly don't think it would be a problem. Leave the trailhead early before it gets too hot, enjoy most of the day at the wave, and return when it starts to cool off. My son sometimes gets a little bored, but he carries a point and shoot camera and loves sticks. As long as we remember the camera and can find some sticks things tend to work out fine.
Good luck on getting a permit if you decide to go I tried again recently and they had 50+ people show up that day...we didn't get a permit
Thanks for the different perspectives. My son has done longer hikes through the mountains here in Vermont, but what I'm most concerned about is the heat and having to carry so much water, in addition to my camera gear. It might be worth it though... it's a beautiful area
