Friday, November 18, 2016

Great Sand Dunes National Park


Mountains! We are back in the land of mountains! It is so good! We have crossed into Colorado and have found the mountains! Its beautiful!


We also seem to have found the beach. In the middle of Colorado. Without any water. Because, why not? Great Sand Dunes National Park is odd. The sand dunes are towering over 700 feet above the valley. But it seems like they shouldn't be there, because... why are they there? Anyway, it was very strange to be driving along in the middle of a landlocked state and find huge sand dunes.

So it turns out that actually is a reason the sand doesn't just go away. Apparently a combination of wind and precipitation keeps the sand from departing the dune area, and in fact keeps piling it up into the ever shifting sand sculpture that is the National Park. Or at least that is what the signs say at the Visitor's Center. Whatever the reason, it is really cool.

We arrived at the VC and took a quick look inside before making breakfast! (Oatmeal! So good!) Once we had completed breaking our fast, we headed to the dunes. (For those of you who have read the book "Dune" we did not see Shai-Hulud anywhere in the dunes.) The dunes were even more amazing from up close with ridges, bowls, swirls, and areas that looked like they were raked by humans instead of the wind. Our goal was to reach the top of the creatively named "High Dune", the second highest point in the dunefield at 690 feet.

As you walk towards the base of the dunes High Dune looks quite close and easily attainable. Then, you start walking up a hill made of sand. Sand is not designed for walking up. It moves. It shifts. It slides you back down for every step you take up. And this park is situated at about 8,000', so air is harder to come by. As you are walking up, you reach the crest of a ridge. And then realize you have to walk down the backside so that you can start up the next ridge. Awesome. Our ascent to the top took us just over an hour. The view from the top was spectacular, the entire dune field stretched out around us, the mountains beyond towering above. We sat for a little while, drank some water, ate some food, and took some pictures and videos.



When we felt like it was time, we headed back down. This was a very different experience. This time the sand was on our team and would carry us towards our destination with each step! It was fantastic! Our descent took us about 1/2 the time, and we could breathe easily the whole time! (I feel like they should install a chairlift, but so far no sign of progress in that area.) We made it back to the car, cleaned off our sandiness, loaded up, and headed out towards our next destination.

Personnel:
We didn't actually interact with any of the staff at the NP, so, we assume that they are all super fantastic and helpful people!

Climate/weather:
The weather was perfect for dune climbing. It was clear beautiful blue sky, cool with a slight breeze, and no rain! If you visit here I would definitely suggest late fall because it just seems like it would be oppressively hot in the summer. Sand temperature can reach 150 degrees, and that is just not fun. The only difficulty we had was the layering situation where we were warm heading up and cool at the summit and the descent, but we just layered accordingly.

Facilities/signage:
The bathrooms at the Visitor's Center were unremarkable (reasonably clean, soap and running water) with 2 notable exceptions: a) one of the stalls in the men's didn't lock, so using it was a risky proposition, and b) the water fountain at this park had a bottle fill spigot that was supercharged (the stream was about the size of Julie's pinky finger!). Out at the dune parking the running water was shut off to prevent freeze damage, but the pit toilets there were fine, but lacked hand sanitizer.
The entrance sign was a step above average. The sign hangs from a natural looking log that gives a good national park vibe. Within the park the signs were well placed and informative, but otherwise unremarkable. There were no signs on the dunes, you were on your own. Along with everyone else.

Hiking experience:
The hike up the dunes is harder than it looks from the bottom, but it is definitely worth it. Not only do you get a commanding view from the top, the openness of the area gives you a unique freedom to blaze your own path through the dune field.







Driving experience:
Driving within the park was fairly limited for us, but the approach to the park reveals the magnitude of the dunes as well as giving a great view of the surrounding mountain scenery. In addition there is an unmaintained road that offers a 4-wheeling car camping visitation situation. The Medano Pass Primitive Road requires a high clearance 4wd vehicle and takes you along the edge of the dunes and up through the 9,982' Medano Pass.

Camping options:
There are three campgrounds in the park, but the one we passed was closed when we arrived. There are some car camping locations along the Medano Pass Primitive Road, and backcountry camping is allowed with a permit.

Hammockability:
Along the road to the dunes we saw quite a few options for hammocking, although it would have been quite chilly. The dunes themselves offer no easy hammocking options. Lets be honest, there really were none on the dunes. Shockingly.

Scenery:
This was not your typical sand dune scenery situation! It was really rewarding to explore the dunes while the mountains towered around, and you could look across the valley almost all the way to New Mexico. It was also interesting to see the shapes the dunes formed. Compared to many ocean dunes these were a lot more peaks and ridges, and less of the sprawling rolling hills. The view from the top of High Dune was magnificent.



Nearby food:
There isn't any food in the park that we saw, but there are a few towns about 30 minutes away (Alamosa, Blanca, Fort Garland).

Definitely worth visiting this park. It was amazing to see the sand dunes in the middle of a mountain valley, and if you are in to sand sports (sandboarding and sandsledding are big here) then you will probably come back many times, but if you are just wanting to see the sights, one visit may be enough. Overall surprised and impressed by this park.



Next stop, heading into the heart of Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park!

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