This was the first National Park I hit on my epic trip out West in the Summer of 2013. This lesser known and visited park offers such diverse landscapes having grasslands, wetlands, conifer and aspen forests, alpine lakes, and even tundra! The park isn’t that big in terms of development, but there is so much to see and such diverse ecosystems juxtaposed together. I’m surprised more people don’t go, but appreciated having some awesome experiences here with very few and sometimes no people around at all.
I arrived in the late afternoon and then spent two fulls days here. I didn’t explore all it had to offer, but I did get to climb and play on the largest dunes in North America.
Campsite with the little ground squirrels
First ground squirrels of the trip
First ground squirrels of the trip
My campsite
Hike out on the dunes
Looking out to the dunes from camp
(From the dunes) Looking back at camp nestled at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Hiking on the dunes
Cone in the dessert
Clouds bringing an afternoon shower
After spending about half a day on the dunes, I went on a short hike towards Mosca Pass. I didn’t make it up to the pass, but I did get my first glimpse at the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. I was so taken by the beautiful Aspens and the incredible colors I saw in the crumbled rocks on the trail.
Beginning of the trail
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness: Great Sand Dunes National Preserve
Looking back at the dunes from up high
Aspens
Back at camp to watch a gorgeous sunset over the dunes
Sunset over the dunes
Sunset over the dunes
The next day I went up South Zapata Trail. About a mile in you come to Zapata Falls. This is a popular spot and several people were here enjoying the falls and like me, getting their feet wet in the icy cold water.
Looking back towards the dunes
Zapata Falls
Sunning myself on a rock
The trail went on about 4 miles to the small alpine lake. From the waterfall I began to climb up away from the aspens and wildflowers toward the conifer forests of higher elevation.
Looking back towards the park
Old miner’s cabin
Old miner’s cabin
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness: Rio Grande National Forest
Mertensia (bluebells)
Colorado Columbine
South Zapata Creek
Finally I reached the treeline and saw a bit of grassy tundra. The only noise up there was the chirping of marmots and the wind rushing through the trees below.
Top of the treeline
First marmot sighting
South Zapata Lake (just left of my bag)
The total distance was just under 10 miles round trip. I had never seen this type of landscape before and I will forever remember this hike with fond memories.
Until now, we had been limited to overnight trips since I was neither willing nor able to carry the extra weight of my pup’s food and water for multiple days. Doctor’s orders – he wasn’t allowed to carry weight until he was a year old. On September 17th, my pup finally reached his first birthday. A few days later we set off for Damascus, Virginia.
Early last spring, I had spent a night at Grayson Highlands State Park and driven through Damascus. I thought this would be a great spot for the pup’s first backpacking trip. I had met Steve at Mt. Roger’s Outfitters my first time through and called him up to arrange a shuttle. My plan was to get dropped off north of Damascus and do a 40+ mile trek back into town…
Day 1: After spending our first night at a campsite in Cherokee National Forest, we headed to MRO to catch our shuttle. I enjoyed the 45 minute drive chatting with Dave as he drove us up to Fox Creek. He made sure to point us south as he sent us on our way.
Entering Lewis Fork Wilderness
We got on the trail around 11am and hiked a little over 10 miles, making for a fairly easy and short first day. Our first major stop was at Scales – A large grassy meadow where people gathered in the past to sell their horses. The Forest Service uses controlled burns and cattle and horse grazing to keep the area bald. At 4,650 feet with flat open spaces, it gave us our first incredible view of the trip. As usual, I think it’s hard for photos to really capture what I saw, but I’m sharing a few to give you an idea of what it was like.
There are many horse trails in the area.
Leaves had already turned beautiful colors up this high.
After hanging out at Scales for a while, we went back into the trees, through Rhododendron Gap, and eventually to our first campsite near Thomas Knob Shelter. A large part of this first day was spent on bald grassy highlands with breathtaking views. Camping near Thomas Knob was no exception. We had clear skies to watch a sliver of the moon rise and the stars come out.
5,367 feet
Colors in the highlands
Campsite near Thomas Knob
Sunset/Moonrise
Day 2: We spent the morning watching the clouds roll through as we broke camp and collected water at the nearby spring.
Clouds rolling through
Chewing up sticks
Our next destination was Mt. Rogers, where a short walk off trail took us to the highest point in Virginia. The climb up top takes you into a spruce-fir forest, one of only six in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Top of Mt. Rogers
Back on the trail, we hiked through our last stretch of grassy fields and saw the wild ponies for which these highlands are famous. We made a couple of stops to rest and get more water, which were some of the last times I took photos on the trail.
Resting at a road crossing
Collecting water at a spring
Last view from up top
As the evening drew near, I decided we would camp near the next road crossing. We reached the road and found ourselves looking directly into a cow pasture. The trail appeared to go straight through, but it was hard to see where it picked back up again. While the sun set, I went on a short adventure into the pasture with a growling and barking dog at my side. I was too busy trying to avoid the cows trotting towards us while controlling my dog and I wound up losing the trail. I decided it was best to go back and camp on the north side of the road. I was able to push my pup under the barbed wire and find a gate I could climb over. We had passed an established campsite before reaching the road and we backtracked to spend the night there.
Day 3: At first light, we woke up and broke camp. I fed the pup, had a small snack and we were off to face the cows. We had better luck this morning and after entering their territory we met another group hiking with a small dog. Directions to pick up the trial at each end of the pasture were exchanged and off we went.
After hiking a couple more miles we came to Lost Mountain Shelter. We filled up with water and I got my proper breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. By this point, the pup was taking full advantage of every stop I made. He was no longer whining to keep going like he did on day one, but instead would plop right down as soon as he realized we were stopping.
Lost Mountain Shelter
Dozing off
He wasn’t the only one that was tiring. I had started having knee pain half way through day one, and by day three it was severe. We wound up covering 21 miles this last day. It was a tough day to say the least. I rationed the last of my acetaminophen and took breaks when I couldn’t take the pain. We walked through the forested mountains, going through rhododendron tunnels, walking along flowing water, and hiking up peaks and down scree covered switchbacks. As I limped along, my faithful companion stayed by my side, clipped to my pack. Never pulling, always following my lead.
At sunset we reached a point where the Virginia Creeper Trail (a bike trail) met the AT. There were great campsites here, but I made the decision to carry on. There would be rain the next morning and after such a tough day I just wanted off the trail. We jumped on the Virginia Creeper and walked an easier flat four miles, in the dark, back into Damascus. At a National Forest campground, I took one of the best showers I’ve ever had and snuggled up with my pup in the tent until 10am when the rain stopped. It was perfect.
At four months of age, small enough to stuff into my sleeping bag, I took this little guy on his first camping trip. I stopped going on longer hikes so I could get him used to the trails. He saw his first snow, learned how to cross water, and got used to a small pack. Then at seven months, we went on our first overnight with his Auntie. He got used to longer car rides and learned how to swim. For nine months I focused on teaching him what I thought he should know and bit by bit I’ve been showing him everything I love to do. Now he’s all grown up and has proved himself capable of going on any of my adventures. He’s ready to take on the world with me and you better believe I am going to take full advantage of every day I get with this guy.
Even though we only spent one day here, it was one of the most memorable experiences I have had out West. A perfect mix of playing like kids and romantic date on the beach.
Right away we decided to buy sleds for sliding down the dunes. This was super fun and I highly recommend it. Unless of course you are not prepared to laugh intensely and act as if you were 10 years old again! The white gypsum sand never got hot in the summer sun and felt great to walk on, although the super fine particles stuck to everything they touched. Afterwards we laid out a tarp, listened to music, and watched the sun set. It feel like an amazing day out at the beach, minus the water and add mountains off in the distance.
The sunset was incredible. This coming from a true sunset chaser – I plan trips around watching that beautiful ball of light hit the horizon. I have run down mountains with little to no light just so I could be up top to watch the beautiful show of lights as the sun falls. This evening at White Sands did not disappoint. It was one of the greatest sunsets I’ve ever witnessed and if I am ever nearby again, I’ll definitely be stopping by.
Aspen's Adventures 