Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
User avatar
susanjoypaul
Posts: 2050
Joined: 9/8/2006
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 88 6
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by susanjoypaul »

jaymz wrote:Have you considered doing part or all of it as a full moon hike? I bet that would be beautiful, and mitigate any heat concerns.
That's a great idea, especially for the photo opportunities. It's tough to get a *bad* picture of the sand dunes - I look back at my own, daytime photos and am still amazed by how beautiful they are. Google Image "sand dunes" "full moon" for a peek at what you might be able to capture with the full moon! And the next one occurs... Thursday, April 25th - coinciding perfectly with your "last weekend in April" plans.
peter303
Posts: 3535
Joined: 6/17/2009
14ers: 34 
13ers: 12
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by peter303 »

How picky are the rangers about people parked overnight in the dunes parking lots and sleeping on the dunes?
During the nice weather months the campground is always full. And there are lots of signs about not parking overnight except at some trailhead lots. And there is not much camping nearby the park.

There are no restrictions when you hike the dunes. People are up there all hours of the night catching sunrises and sunsets.
foxbox
Posts: 18
Joined: 2/20/2012
14ers: 7 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by foxbox »

peter303 wrote:How picky are the rangers about people parked overnight in the dunes parking lots and sleeping on the dunes?
During the nice weather months the campground is always full. And there are lots of signs about not parking overnight except at some trailhead lots. And there is not much camping nearby the park.
You need a permit in order to camp in the Dunes or you'll be issued a ticket.

I know some people who walked across the entire length of the sand dunes in the middle of the night. Everything I heard from them was that it wasn't much fun and mostly a slog for miles on end. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.
User avatar
semitrueskerm
Posts: 580
Joined: 9/30/2008
14ers: 58  4 
13ers: 6
Trip Reports (4)
 
Contact:

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by semitrueskerm »

Hiking Rescue on a Sand Dune?

Call in the Bubba Hover!

User avatar
highpilgrim
Posts: 3186
Joined: 3/14/2008
14ers: 58 
13ers: 84 1
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by highpilgrim »

foxbox wrote:Up and down. Up and down. Up and down.
Some people around here don't mind that so much.
Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
Hunter S Thompson

Walk away from the droning and leave the hive behind.
Dick Derkase
User avatar
susanjoypaul
Posts: 2050
Joined: 9/8/2006
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 88 6
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by susanjoypaul »

Some pics from an ~8-mile loop I did in 2010 (and repeated a couple of months ago). Still need to go back for "8860" and "Herard Ridge"... and the peak, too!

Great Sand Dunes National Monument

I say, go for it!
User avatar
mike offerman
Posts: 210
Joined: 8/9/2005
14ers: 58 
13ers: 189
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by mike offerman »

I did a hike across and back in a day a few Februarys ago. The dunes were nice and frozen so it kept the sinking/slogging to a minimum. We lucked out on a nice sunny but cold day, and thankfully no wind. We also didn't need to carry as much water as you would this time of year. Overall it was a great day and we have talked about doing it again.
User avatar
cougar
Posts: 1181
Joined: 8/9/2007
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 135 2
Trip Reports (10)
 
Contact:

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by cougar »

lots of up and down and up and down - in sand. A round trip in a day of 16-20 miles will be a workout unless you ride a camel. I did the High Dune to Star Dune and back in late November (coming back across the edge of the dunes). Not the longest way all across but a good taste of the dunefield. No issues with heat that time of year, there was a bit of snow. The shadows are great with the sun lower that time of year too and at sunset. Be careful out there at night - it's too dangerous with the Sand People out there.

Image
User avatar
Arkenstone
Posts: 11
Joined: 3/29/2013
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by Arkenstone »

Well that would be different. My list just got a little longer so if anyone else is up for it this is one of the next trips for me. Just can't decide whether to do it night or day. I wonder what the Sand People taste like, might need to bring some tabasco sauce.
User avatar
Arkenstone
Posts: 11
Joined: 3/29/2013
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by Arkenstone »

You got me all excited and since I'm so impatient I just went for it on Saturday 4/13. I had way too much fun. Fortunately I had all my snowboarding gear in the truck which I turned back for almost immediately. Full goggles were essential as were a couple of buffs to deal with the blowing sand. Standing up was a challenge in the full gusts and Jeremy27 is right, there's no pitching any sort of tent in those conditions. Nevertheless, having made it back to the campgrounds (only the lower site is open) I crashed for the night and woke up covered in snow. Yep, it snows in the desert. That desert is alive by the way, my garmin gps put high dune a good 80 feet from where it actually was. In the ways of navigation, good lighting is pretty crucial. I don't think a head lamp, or even a light saber, will help you spot the intersecting ridgelines 200ft away that keep you from careening down and back up the bowls. Good news is the sand is just right temp wise, barefoot should work out just fine. Good Luck
User avatar
ajkagy
Posts: 2294
Joined: 1/7/2007
Trip Reports (0)
 
Contact:

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by ajkagy »

sounds like the "gulag" desert exile scene in mad max :-D

Image
http://wanderingthemountains.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Hacksaw
Posts: 701
Joined: 5/13/2007
Trip Reports (0)
 
Contact:

Re: Hiking straight across the Great Sand Dunes?

Post by Hacksaw »

dngrcnnn wrote:I just got back from my second overnight trip to the sand dunes, and have the strong desire to hike straight across the park(~8 miles across at it's longest point), not taking Sand Ramp Trail. Probably a two day trip? Hike across, camp, hike back out. I haven't been able to find any trip reports or mentions of doing it on the internet, so figured I'd check and see. What's the deal? Is this a terrible idea and no one else has even considered it? Or is it just "meh" and no one was excited enough to write about it. I just can't believe no one else has had the thought, since it was the first thing that popped into my head whilst camping below star dune.

Thoughts?
We did this on COBS in June 73'. It wasn't very fun.
"True love is much easier to find with a helicopter."
Post Reply