June 19, 2010
Day 52: Touring the Great Sand Dunes area
Today I'm a tourist, riding an unloaded bike. In the morning I went back to the sand dunes and hiked to the top of a 650-foot sand dune. I think the sun angle would be better in the afternoon, but morning is recommended because it's cooler. There's no shade on the dunes and the sand heats up in the sun. With every foot step I give back half or more of the step sliding down when I put my weight on the foot. Very strenuous, and the elevation is nearly 9000 feet. I've been at high elevation for a long time, so I probably wasn't as breathless as the others on the dune. Most of the time you walk the ridge lines. But sometimes you have to climb a steeper slope to get from one ridge line to another.
The hike down was MUCH faster than the hike up.
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After the sand dune hike I pedaled 7 miles back to the Oasis restaurant for an early lunch, then continued south to Zapata Falls, outside the park. 5.6 miles south in the San Luis valley on CO 150, then 3.7 steep uphill miles on a washboarded gravel BLM road that climbs more than 1000 feet into the Sangre de Cristo mountains.
The road ends at a trailhead. Then visitors must walk 1/2 mile uphill on the trail to the gorge. The temperature drops dramatically when going from the sunny desert into the shade of the narrow undercut gorge. The air is cold and wet and I'm wading in cold water. It's definitely best to do this during the warm afternoon.
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It was downhill all the way from Zapata Falls to the highway. First a 200 foot drop on the trail. Then an 1100 foot descent on the BLM road, mostly at less than 10 mph because of the washboards. The last 3 miles to the campground are uphill but easy with a strong tailwind and an unloaded bike.
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Back at the campground I did laundry, took a shower. At 7:30 I went to the $1.50 all-you-can-eat ice cream social.
My AT&T phone had service at the Zapata Falls trailhead, probably getting into Alamosa. Other than that, my phone had no service during the 4 days I was in the San Luis Valley.
Distance: 29.2 mi. (46.7 km) 8 miles on gravel
Climbing: 1750 ft. (530 m)
Hiking: 5 mi. (8 km)
Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 2,384 miles (3,837 km)
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7 months ago