Cross Country Trip – Day 53

11 May 2018

One of the benefits of staying at the lodge is watching the light change on the dunes.  They are never the same, no matter how many times you glance at them.  During the day, clouds pass over them and late in the afternoon shadows gather.

Sunset was pretty nice also.  Although the sun doesn’t rise and shine directly on the dunes nor set behind the dunes, with the cloud cover from yesterday, we got a great sunset.

I got up at 5:30 am and was out the door by 7:00.  I decided I wanted to get an early start on the Dunes.  As soon as I got in the jeep, it started beeping that my tire pressure was too low.  It got down to 43 F last night and that sometimes causes tire pressure to read low, but I suspect it was inaccuracy of my putting air into the tires yesterday when they were under inflated.  

I pulled into the air pump at the park and added air to all four of the tires.  Strangely, the air pressure has varied all day.  I now suspect that when I went through the Medano Creek fords (6 up and 6 back) the sensor in the tires got wet and is giving false readings.  

In any case, I started my journey to the dunes at 7:30 am.  My goal was to reach the High Dune on the first ridge, elevation 8,691 feet (you start at 7,992).  It’s a 2.5 mile round trip.  However, you have to cross the Medano Creek bed which is the first 0.5 miles.  From there on, it’s up, up, up to a total elevation gain of 699 feet.  I must have been close to the top because I made it to an elevation of 560 feet. 

The park ranger suggested walking the ridges of the dunes.  That works somewhat but what I found to work better was to make my own switchbacks in the dunes, particularly when faced with a massive dune in front of you.  There are no trails – you make your own.

You don’t realize how massive these things are until you actually reach the dune field.  Everything is dwarfed in comparison.

On my way up, someone was far ahead of me and he actually made it to the top of the dune.  I noticed he had to stop and rest as much as I but when he did make the top, he did the Rocky pump and victory dance.  I don’t blame him.

Also on my way up, a couple passed me coming down.  She was barefoot and he wore boots.  Then I noticed she was cradling something – I assume a baby but it was so wrapped up to protect against the wind and sand I can’t be sure.  It could have been a dog.  I saw several on the dunes.  I did not see any couple at the top, so I suspect they did not go all the way up unless they were there for sunrise.  

I did not make it to the top.  I got close – probably within a fifth of a mile, but walking through very fine, loose sand is exhausting.  I reached my end point when I realized I was getting light headed. 
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I’m sure it was part elevation and part exhaustion.  

As I started down (much easier) I noticed I could not retrace my footsteps since they had been obliterated.  We are in a Red Flag warning for much of the states of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.  That means wind, low humidity, arid conditions – ripe for wildfires.  The wind was certainly blowing.  It’s blowing a steady 22 mph and the effect is you are sand blasted while on the dunes.  The wind covered your footprints in the sand almost immediately.

Once I got back to the jeep, I headed to the Oasis with their restaurant for a hearty breakfast.  

I then decided to a little more hiking.  The first was the Montville Nature Trail, a 0.5 mile loop with an elevation gain of 200 feet.  

It’s a pretty trail with a modest climb that merges with the Mosca Pass Trail and the Wellington Ditch Trail.  The Mosca Pass Trail is a 7 mile round trip with an elevation gain of 1400 feet and I was not up for that.  Instead, I decided to do the Wellington Ditch trail that ended in the Piñon Flats campground 1 mile further on.  I could then walk the road back to the jeep where I parked at the beginning of the Montville Nature Trail.

Because I had hike the dunes earlier for 2.34 miles (gps) and now walked the 2.39 miles (gps) Montville/Wellington Ditch Trails, I managed to do 4.7 miles.  My ankle started bothering me on the Wellington Ditch Trail.  Then my right ankle started.  I did make it back to the jeep but came straight back to the lodge and showered and immediately got into bed a little after noon. 

I didn’t think I slept but when I got out of bed, it was 2:30 pm so I must have dozed off.

I suspect tomorrow will be a recovery day.  I intend to drive to Zapata Falls, some 10 miles away and walk the 0.5 miles to the falls but that’s probably it.

So far, it seems every third day is ankle recovery day.