I figured out that if Utah was on the way from Montana to Texas, Colorado could be on the way, too. I’ve tried to add Great Sand Dune National Park to several trips before, but it’s always been off the route. What I really want to do is take Medano Pass out of the park, but I didn’t want to do that solo. So after work on Friday, I left Alamosa for the park, did a little 2 mile hike up to an overlook, and then attempted to hike to the top of the dune. It was a colossal ass kicking and I did not make it to the top before sunset, but I got close enough for a great view to end my last hike of this trip.
After that, a long way back to Austin — finally opting for the direct route. I stopped overnight in Dalhart for another night of car camping, but I ended up a little too close to an active rail line for a solid night sleep. I think the train horn bast at 2am smashed out all the Xterra’s windows. Too bad there were trains at 4 and 6, also.
In all, that makes 30 days, 6,199 driven miles, 60 hiked miles, (only…) 10 running miles, and a little climbing though five national parks, four national forests, and sixteen states on this “work on the road, hike in a mask” social-distancing, loosely planned, ever-so-slightly inspired-by-a-computer-game impromptu roadtrip. Weird times, but time in nature was cleansing, and needed.
I suppose I should figure out what Arthur Morgan is up to these days. I bring news from the west.