Continued from the previous page.

FIRE WAVE TRAIL

As mentioned earlier, my #1 priority at Valley of Fire was to see the iconic Fire Wave. I went there first to avoid as many people as possible. There were only four other vehicles at the Fire Wave parking area when I arrived about 8:20 AM.

Great timing! Folks from three of them came out as I was going in.

The trail begins on the other side of the road and goes about 6/10ths of a mile to the striped "wave" formations.

Topo map of trail from a sign at the trailhead

The trail makes a sharp right turn in front of this rock formation and heads toward the wash.

 

I followed one young couple (next photo) but they turned around and didn't go as far as the wave formation. Maybe they thought they'd already seen it? There aren't any signs that say "Fire Wave" when you get to it.

These colorful, panoramic scenes are from the top of that large expanse of bedrock:

 

Panning around to the right:

There are some swirls or "waves" over there. Is that the Fire Wave??

 

 

Very impressive, but that's not the real "Fire Wave."

I kept moving forward and found it below me on the other side of the large expanse of bedrock:

A retired couple from British Columbia (shown in the picture above) was just getting ready to leave when I got there. I talked to them briefly and took their picture. They also took mine (next picture).

Like us, they spent the winter in Yuma. They are camped at Valley of Fire now and love it. 

The Fire Wave is very cool and I had it to myself for as long as I needed for photos. I figure it's the only colorful rock "wave" like that I'll ever get to see because the uber-popular Wave slot canyon in UT allows only a few people in each day.

These are just a few of the angles I photographed the wave:

 

 

Here are a few of the pictures I took on the way out:

 

Lots of cross-bedding in that bedrock

Trail back through the wash

On my return to the parking area at least a dozen more people were coming in to see the wave. It was only about 9 AM. When I drove past the parking area on my way back out White Domes Rd. about 11 AM, the parking lot was overflowing with about 20 vehicles. Sure glad I got there early. 

I walked 1.58 miles at Fire Wave, with a total elevation gain and loss of about 560 feet.

Continued on the next page:  my favorite trail today, White Domes

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup

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© 2016 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil