Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Monument

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Author Message   Felix Gumbiner (Felixthecat) New Member Username: Felixthecat Post Number: 32 Registered: 02-2004 Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 02:10 am:    Hey guys, I just got back from a few days in the Great Sand Dunes area (Alamosa, CO area). There are miles and miles of unspoiled BLM sand and dirt roads that zigzag all through the San Luis Valley. It's absolutely gorgeous; if you're in CO and haven't explored this area, you should. I drove from Boulder, CO, and it took me about 3.5 hours to get down there. Mosca Trail and Blanca Mtn Road and two fantastic 4x4 roads that I was able to get through with my stock '96 Disco. Blanca Mtn Road is a bit hairy at the top, but the views are worth the 2 hours it took me to get to the top... you can camp anywhere along, too...   justin monnin (Ineedthissale) Member Username: Ineedthissale Post Number: 75 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 05:37 pm:    i miss Boulder   Brian Friend (Brianfriend) Senior Member Username: Brianfriend Post Number: 1176 Registered: 09-2002 Posted on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 03:42 pm:    Felix, Are you saying that you drove the Mt Blanca trail stock in two hours?   zane pukajlo (Zane) New Member Username: Zane Post Number: 40 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 06:54 pm:    Are you sure you drove Blanca? That is one of the harder, if not the hardest, trail in Colorado. I bet you drove Medano Pass since you can setup camp on most of that route.   Felix Gumbiner (Felixthecat) Member Username: Felixthecat Post Number: 58 Registered: 02-2004 Posted on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 05:03 am:    Medano Pass, that was it. Sorry for the mixup. Yeah, not Blanca with the Jaws rocks...   Brian Friend (Brianfriend) Senior Member Username: Brianfriend Post Number: 1177 Registered: 09-2002 Posted on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 10:41 am:    That makes more sense. There are some pics of Mt Blanca and Jaws under my photo gallery.   Larry Grubbs (Larryg) Senior Member Username: Larryg Post Number: 271 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 02:45 pm:    So I take it there isn't much snow down there on the passes now?   Felix Gumbiner (Felixthecat) Member Username: Felixthecat Post Number: 65 Registered: 02-2004 Posted on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 04:40 pm:    We drove to the top of Mosca Pass via Red Wing and camped up there. That's the only spot I saw snow, and it was pretty light.   Nathan Hindman (Nathanh) Member Username: Nathanh Post Number: 179 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:41 pm:    So were you able to go all the way across Medano Pass? I'm suprised that it's already open... Thanks, Nathan Hindman http://www.pangaea-expeditions.com   Felix Gumbiner (Felixthecat) Member Username: Felixthecat Post Number: 67 Registered: 02-2004 Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:41 am:    Yeah we made it to the top with some difficulty... There was some pretty deep snowpack and my Disco was loaded down with 2 other people and camping supplies. It was beautiful up there though, not a soul around.   Felix Gumbiner (Felixthecat) Member Username: Felixthecat Post Number: 68 Registered: 02-2004 Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:45 am:    I'm sorry, I'm getting confused... It was my first time down there. If memory serves me correctly Medano Pass is the one that runs across the east side of the Dunes. That was closed about halfway through, but with some wonderfully deep sand to negotiate along the way. It was closed at the Castle Creek campground, I believe. Mosca Pass was via Red Wing, and was open albeit relatively difficult to navigate due to snowpack.