View from Aspen Camp This view from above provides a different sense of how a dune field works. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

This viewpoint is near the highest #backpacking site on the #SandRamp #Trail in #GreatSandDunes #NationalPark #NationalPreserve. It was pretty chilly in May but offers a great view of #dunes & #SanLuisValley from above.

#photography #nature #outdoors #nationalparks #NPS #Colorado
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Sangres and Dunes Mount Zwischen and the Sangre de Cristos behind, with the Great Sand Dunes at right and the Sand Ramp at foreground left. From the Sand Ramp Trail.

I've been sharing photos from a #backpacking trip on the #SandRamp in #GreatSandDunes #NationalPark. Here's how the landscape fits together - sand ramp, sand dunes, and #SangredeCristo Mountains.

Backpacking on sand in summer sun is not recommended!
#photography #nature #outdoors
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Zwischen dahinter Mount Zwischen, Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Looking back at #MountZwischen (12,011 ft, 3,661 m). #SandRamp Trail follows line where #GreatSandDunes reach #SangredeCristo Mountains, mostly following the vegetation at that margin -but still walking on sand.

#backpacking #outdoors #photography #nationalparks #Colorado
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Spring snow A late spring snow freshens a small bit of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, one of the longer ranges in the United States. From the Sand Ramp Trail. If you are dreaming of a white Christmas tomorrow, ...

While the wet snowfall at camp had mostly melted by lunch, it remained on the high peaks of the #SangredeCristo #mountains. View from #SandRamp Trail above #ColdCreek.

#photography #backpacking #GreatSandDunes #nationalparks
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Sand Ramp Route At the top of a 500-foot climb up a sand dune, the backpacker is rewarded with . . . more sand! For some reason, the route was easier to follow on the way back than on the way out. Above Cold Creek,...

This gives you a sense of what big views must lie ahead when you get above the dunes on the #SandRamp Trail.

I would spend my last night at #Aspen camp, as I had my first.

#photography #backpacking #outdoors #Colorado #nationalparks
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Above Cold Creek Hiking up 700 feet of sand has its rewards, such as this view of the Sangres up the Cold Creek drainage. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, looking up toward Great Sand Dunes National Preserve...

After some miles of hiking on sand, you reach the end of the #SandRamp -and this view of #ColdCreek Canyon.

Trail goes straight down that sand at right, which means you return *up* that sand.

#photography #nationalparks #backpacking #nature #SangredeCristo #GreatSandDunes
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View from Aspen camp - Explored Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, USA. Explored # 181 on September 7, 2016

I've been teasing with images of lower, flat parts of the #SandRamp Trail. After you climb the sand dunes - whew! - the party starts.

View of the #GreatSandDunes from above, with some of #SangredeCristo mountains behind.

#photography #backpacking #nature #nationalparks #Colorado
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Backpacking on the Sand Ramp Trail Mount Herard in the backgorund.

View of the #SangredeCristo Mountains from the #SandRamp Trail in #GreatSandDunes NP. You'll go a bit slower here because of the sand.

Early season, so there was still snow. I would experience a little more on days 2-3.

#photography #backpacking #nature #Colorado #nationalparks
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Moody Dunes Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

An odd start to the #SandRamp trail - walking parallel to a 4WD road that becomes a jeep trail, with views across to the dunes. There are a couple campsites in here, including one that is #wheelchair #accessible with a raised tent pad.

#backpacking #photography #nationalparks
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Gateway to the Sangres The early part of the Sand Ramp Trail, when you're merely walking across sand instead of walking up sand.

The start of a #backpacking trip in #GreatSandDunes NP, #Colorado. The challenge is the #SandRamp trail where the sand piles up against the mountains - walking on steep sand with a backpack. The views from above are your reward.

#photography #nature
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