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| Hiking | 3.89 Miles |
1,475 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.89 Miles | | | |
| 1,475 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Other than an overnight when she was 6 mo. First 3 day camping trip with my little threenager.  First plan was Glenwood Springs for hiking, camping, and the adventure park, but having Muesli with us and 80 degree temps. there was no way he was staying in the truck. Hatched a last minute plan to go somewhere I hadn't been in over 40 years! I still have memories of how much sand I was able to pack into a leg cast I had for 3 weeks after the visit. 
A quick search and call to the visitor center had us on our way with no place to stay and a tentative plan to hit up Zapata Falls on one of the days. $3 per person at the gate will get you 1 week pass and I'm happy to say Micah does not count. 1.5 tanks of gas and it was a pretty cheap trip. I was hoping for sunset picks of the dunes, but I was not interested in paying for a camp spot at 20-30 bucks a pop so I could listen to generators until 9pm.
Instead, we went up Medano Pass Rd. for the first come first serve dispersed camping. Medano Pass Rd. is definitely high clearance 4x4 especially after the 4 stream crossings. They recommend to deflate tires to 15-20 lbs. for the deep loose sand and have a air filling station at the entrance. I had a compressor with me, but only for an emergency, but did not need to deflate. (I didn't want to if I didn't have to due to having my tires filled with nitrogen). Anyway, we saw two vehicles stuck during our 40 miles of back and forth on this rd. It is only one lane wide so be careful for vehicles coming the other direction.
First campsite was pretty far in and both had camp rings with grill and bear lockers. I was hoping for night photography, but the brightest Perigree Moon I have ever seen made even a headlamp not necessary.
Highlights for Micah. First freeze dried ice cream. Marshmellows and sausages over the open fire. Telling campfire stories, hide and seek in the woods and running endlessly in the shallow surge river below the dunes with Muesli.
Our side hike and picnic to Zapata Falls outside the NP during the heat of the day was a welcome shady hike as well.
I made two summits of the dunes where we played with Micah on piggy back because she just could not hike up the sand. One I tried the ridgeline one straight up and I'll admit it's a bear to hike or crawl on the latter attempt with 33+ lbs. on your back. I made a third straight up, but had no motivation for other hiking. It was fun running down and the sand dunes make a strange sound. Micah is a camping convert and it was an absolute JOY to get to spend some quality time in the wilderness with my little girl. I can't wait to get the whole family out to explore. 
A few short videos for fun
Micah's first campfire story. https://youtu.be/h5 ... g8-8
Running down the dune https://youtu.be/A2 ... 2tQk
Muesli is not built for sand https://youtu.be/6D ... rQxo
The joy of being a kid https://youtu.be/ZT ... HsKs
The biggest whoopy cushion in the world
https://youtu.be/W_ ... 2wu4 |
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