The Experience Collector

We won the lottery. Not just any lottery - but the mother of all lotteries!
Our prize (just the thought of it still gives me palpitations) - a hike to see The Wave in Arizona.
Years before, I had pointed out a striking poster to my hiking buddy, ‘Wherever that is - I HAVE to go!’ A khaki-clad ranger explained it was rather difficult.
To enter, there are two lotteries – each issuing ten permits a day: an online version which allows you to apply four months in advance or a daily, walk-in one. The latter has eager-beavers sleeping overnight near the visitor’s centre in Kanab, Utah, near Arizona’s border, with fingers crossed praying that no-one else will bag the permits in the morning.
With my unwavering optimism and you-have-to-be-in-it-to-win-it attitude, we entered. Twenty four hours later we’d won. Seriously. We both got the privilege of carrying a luminous pink permit into the desert to feast on one of the world's most dramatic, sandstone phenomena.
Packed with map, GPS and sustenance, we rambled, scrambled, trod-n-plodded along a trackless path: through dry river beds, over large, rocky outcrops shaped like grumpy old men, traversed wide open plains, clawed up steep slopes and slid down the other side. Our feet were swallowed by sand dunes and egged on by the sheer freedom and beauty of the trail.
The views were spectacular, the vegetation unusual. Senses seemed heightened: the visuals and colours more intense. The sky was bigger than I had ever seen it: the blues bluer and the reds redder. A sensory overload. Photo opportunities became manic and the odd quiet, solo ‘moment-with-nature’ a necessity.
Finally, an entrance, a slit in a rock face, led us to our prize. I had never seen anything like it: the largest Masterchef-like dessert ever made. A ginormously-huge caramel and mocha treat, which had been whipped, folded and later combed, creating paper thin, blade-like stairs, so delicate and perfect we had to watch where we placed our feet. The whole surface was covered in them.
We climbed and crawled over this delicious creation. Although stationary, the ‘waves’ seemed to move around us: ebb and flow. It was magical. We got ‘lost’ in it, not geographically, but rather spiritually. I don’t think I have ever felt more in awe. I wanted to consume and capture this grand, undulating stone masterpiece. Soak it up. Take photos and remember every detail! I only had one chance. This was it.
Without a doubt, the best, most awesome, OMG, one day hike ever!