What it's like hiking The Wave, the epic US trail that only 64 people can hike a day

For me, securing a permit was the most challenging aspect of hiking The Wave, as only 64 are issued daily.

Of the 64 permits, 48 are allocated through an advanced online lottery, while the remaining 16 are available via a mobile-based daily virtual lottery.

A few days before our hike, I entered the mobile lottery on behalf of my entire party using the Recreation.gov app.

In order to enter this lottery, we had to be located within the app's Geofence perimeter, or within the 2 million-acre area spanning from Lake Zion in Utah to Page, Arizona.

Then, I paid the $9 application fee and submitted the document.

Once I learned via email that I had won a permit, I logged back onto Recreation.gov to officially accept it and pay a fee of $7 per hiker.

Upon successfully winning the lottery, hikers must attend a mandatory safety briefing.

During this session, I asked last-minute questions and received trail maps, safety tips, and directions to the trailhead.

This briefing was crucial before embarking on our adventure the following day.

We started our hike at about 8:30 a.m. to ensure we had ample time to relish the scenic views.

Upon reaching the trailhead, we left the permit tag on the dashboard of our car and signed in on a sheet at the trail entrance.

Each hiker provided their full name, details of the car they came in, and an emergency contact. Signing in and out is crucial because the hike has no marked trails and can be dangerous.

Not signing out and leaving your car in the parking lot may result in a search party being dispatched. For safety purposes, we also took lots of pictures during our hike to reference during our return.

I came prepared with a backpack filled with water, snacks, sunscreen, toilet paper, wet wipes, the map from the safety orientation, and a flashlight.

I also wore sturdy hiking shoes, as the sandy terrain can make the rocks slippery.

Because cellphone service was unavailable on the hike, I used the AllTrails app to download a map of the trail. This allowed me to keep the directions accessible even after we lost service.

The hike to The Wave is classified as moderately difficult and takes about three hours roundtrip.

If you follow the designated route on your map, the trail covers a little over 6 miles.

There are stretches of soft sand, which can be challenging to walk on, and steep hills and rocks that require hikers to climb uneven sandstone.

However, the hike started off pretty easy, with a roughly 1-mile walk on level gravel.

Once we got past the gravel, we walked through a sandy, flat area.

As we hiked, I saw footsteps from previous hikers, which helped lead the way to the Twin Buttes.

Once we passed the sandy hill, we had an uphill, uneven climb to one of the final areas of the hike.

We even had to get on our hands and knees and crawl along some parts of the uphill climb. We were extra careful here, as the sand on the rocks makes them difficult to grasp.

The Wave itself was extraordinary. The realization that such a beautiful place exists, and I was among the fortunate few to experience it, made it even more special.

This remarkable sandstone formation had an inexplicable charm —the smooth, flowing contours and the beauty of the vivid red and yellow stripes were absolutely captivating.

To put it mildly, the journey to The Wave was truly epic. Winning the lottery felt like a significant achievement, and the hike was a great experience.

I highly encourage those who want to take the hike to apply for a permit.