July 27-30
Day 5
Great Sand Dunes National Park was on our radar for a while. Finally we had full day to explore and a plan what to do, so just took off from our campsite at 7AM, crossed dry Medano Creek and started walking up the mounds, along ridges, across valleys and steep peaks. Bright sand contrasted with blue sky and dark green mountains on the horizon. Our 8 km included one of the highest points (High Dune) 175 m above the creek bottom. It was great experience somewhat reminiscent of free roaming on Root Glacier. Some mounds looked pristine in the morning, with no human footprints, but with quite a few different tracks of other creatures. Then there was a more crowded area full of people walking and sand-boarding. Under full sun and up to 90°F heat often on steep, sinking sand – darn good warm-up.
We moved to a different campsite and rested during hot midday hours getting ready for evening walk upstream Medano Creek which looked more like a wash with little water still flowing in places, but then disappearing into sandy bottom. To save time, we started from Point of No Return, a short car ride from the campground, towards Sand Pit and Castle Creek. On the way back, we spent 1.5 hr on small shoulder dune waiting for complete darkness to watch stars.
In very friendly environment, we enjoyed off-trail navigation training using GPS and traditional skills, first across muddy terrain with dense vegetation, and at the end in almost complete darkness (did not meet any pumas or bears, but more bugs than we expected).
Day 6
After breakfast at the dunes we started driving west across San Luis Valley. Huge, flat pan between mountain ranges filled with gravel, volcanic ash and sand. We stopped at San Luis Lakes and then drove all the way to Wolf Creek Pass. Joanna booked Wolf Creek Ranch Lodge, but it was too early to check-in so we drove to check Lobo Overlook (trailhead for next day’s hike) and then walked half-way around Big Meadows Reservoir on South Fork Rio Grande. Lazy 3 km stroll. We saw and heard (Merlin) a dozen different bird species, including female Ruby-throated Hummingbird and American Three-toed Woodpecker (hard at work and not paying any attention to us watching from several feet away).
The Lodge (recommended) turn out to be a motel (part of a larger complex on relaxing terrain and river) looking old and disappointing at first, but inside completely remodeled, modern with fully equipped kitchen and a lot of character. Very nice.
Day 7
We returned to Lobo Overlook for a short hike on Continental Divide Trail, only 7 km and couple hundred meters down and up, but all above 3400 masl. Very nice views and lots of flowers. Altitude slowed us down a bit. We continued to Pagosa Springs. Hot springs were tempting, but it was getting late and we decided to O/N in Durango. Stopped at the station to confirm schedule and ticket info for backpackers morning train to Silverton (we considered leaving our car there and returning from Durango by train after trekking).
Day 8
Durango to Silverton Highway 550 is scenic. Our first short stop was at Pinkerton Hot Springs. We then quickly decided on another day-hike a few miles off the highway. On the way we faced the usual question, if it was worth driving all the way to trailhead through passable, but rocky section of the forest road risking car damage. No, just parked by the side of Lime Creek Road and walked extra km or so. Trail to Potato Lake was easy 7 km return with 200 m gain to 3000 masl. Close to Silverton, we stopped at Molas Pass and took side road to Little Molas Lake Colorado Trail trailhead – our starting point for the trek a few days later.
As we were driving, Joanna was franticly looking for a place to stay in Silverton. Luckily we found Columbine Roadhouse (recommended) just outside town. Very nice room, living-room, fully equipped kitchen, nice owners. Another place with a lot of character. We had a base for 4D/5N.
