R&R

I cheated a little on Tuesday night. After dinner, I jogged to the wind exposed ridge where I had placed my bivy and dragged it to the closed campsite nearest to me. I placed it behind an old bathroom, completely blocking it from the wind and its brutal chill. It actually made the night quite pleasant despite still having to wear all my layers to bed. Although the wind roared around me it hardly whipped at my shelter allowing me to really get into Game of Thrones (god damn this book is good).

Wednesday wasn’t nearly as bad as forecasted. The wind was gone by morning and the temperatures remained in the upper 30s for the most part. This was all good considering how restless one might become when trapped in a bivy for several days. I headed 2 miles up the road to the visitors center where I took some time to read, charged the battery a bit, and purchase a map of Utah. Aside from the lady at the desk the visitor center was empty. Phone charge and water bottles filled I headed back towards the dunes to spend the remainder of the day hiking.

Today I took it pretty easy. I spent the morning reviewing my route as well as fixing the bike and some faulty gear. I went hiking again:

Tomorrow I depart for Alamosa. After the fury of the weekend I think I’ll throw down on a hotel. I look forward to not smelling like garbage and looting a continental breakfast. From there I will head west over Wolf Creek pass and plan to spend the night in the San Juan Mountains before continuing to Durango for my Wilderness First responder re-certification course. Looks like I might have more weather headed my way… I’m out!

Hibernation

Yesterday was a blast. I woke up and headed to the dunes before anybody came to check the campsite. Freebies once again!

In the National Park itself there are three separate campgrounds along the eastern hills that are by gates. Being several months before prime tourist season only the first tier of campsites are open, the second and third blocked off by a gate. Lucky for me, I have a bicycle instead of a car. I biked around the gate and set up camp in the hills above the third campground.

The view is something else. Directly ahead of me are the dunes, shadowed by the Sangre de Cristo mountains towering 6000 feet above them. In the flats, whirlwinds and dust storms continue to rip across the landscape fiercely enough hide the distant San Juan mountains on the opposing side of the valley from view. To the east, behind me, are mountains and cliffs peppered with desert shrubs that remind me of the mesas and canyons in Gila of New Mexico.

My legs were feeling fresh for a hike despite the long ride yesterday. The dunes beckoned.

I’ve heard people compare their size to the dunes of the Sahara, not that I would know if that were true. They are certainly huge, at least a couple hundred feet higher the Sleeping Bear Dunes I know too well back in Michigan. I have to admit I prefer Sleeping Bear, nothing makes me miss home quite like running down a four hundred foot sand dune and not ending up in the waves of an unsalted sea colored every gradient of blue. Nonetheless, the Great Sand Dunes are testament to the power and creativity of our natural world and is a tremendously impressive place.

Last night I noticed some sketchy clouds rolling in and received a text from my parents about an approaching snow storm. I storm proofed my camp as usual, ate a Mountain House, and hunkered down early. I awoke around 3am to the roar of wind and snow hammering my tent. I was freezing my balls off. With much difficulty I moved within the constraints of my bivy and  donned every layer I had in my bivy. Managing only to get about an hour of sleep the remainder of the night, I hoped that it might let up by sunrise. Unfortunately it has worsened throughout the day. I decided to check weather.com for some information regarding the storm to discover that a blizzard warning had been put into in effect.

There was plenty of reassuring information in the warning: “35mph winds with 50mph gusts… 3-7 inches with large snow drifts expected… no visibility… life threatening conditions… do not leave your vehicle if you become stranded, people have died in storms like this before… enjoy your miserable existence until Thursday”

Though I may me a campground poaching, fee-dodging, stealth camping dirtbag I still am a considerate, happy camper. Unfortunately for me my food was secured 300 feet away in a bear-proof storage container. There was that issue. There was also the need to refill my water bottles and tend to the newly brewed shat in my belly. Leaving my tent was inevitable.

For a brief second the wind let up and I moved to throw on my boots as quickly as possible. I was promptly greeted by a sassy Mother Nature, relentless and clearly pissed off about something. I full out sprinted to the bear box, grabbed food and my bathroom bag and booked it to the campsite bathroom about a quarter mile away. I entered the bathroom just as serious concerns about frostbite and shitting my pants entered my head..

I took off my gloves, thrusted my hands into my armpits and proceeded to take a potty break. There I sat eating granola bars, probably with a really shitty look on my face, listening to the wind repeatedly blow open a door and slam it into the wall. I put on two extra pairs of socks, an extra pair of gloves, and every remaining layer of clothing before cooking a hot meal in the shelter of the bathroom.

I was no longer a good, happy camper and I had ran out of shits to give about bears that are probably still hibernating anyways. I sprinted back to the bear box and transported all of my food to the outside of my bivy where I can be easily accessed. Here I shall stay until Thursday, eating granola bars, reading, and not writing any more blog posts until this monster blows over.

Cheers!