Kelso Dunes
Hike Review
Cassie and I hiked to the top of Kelso Dunes.
While there was a clear trail at the beginning of the hike, about a half mile into it, there was no set trail. That was not a problem, as the goal (peak) was clearly in sight, and there seemed to be an infinite amount of ways to get there, with none being a bad option. Similarly, the way back was pretty clear at the top as the parking lot was clearly visible. We walked on sand the whole time.
While the skies had bits that looked stormy, we had great weather (not too hot and no rain) the whole time we were out walking.
It had rained the night before, so the sand was packed, which made hiking on sand much, much easier than usual.
Because it had been raining for the past few weeks, there were lots of green grass growing all over the dunes.
The parking lot was huge, with lots of room. There are a few different parking lots, and each is similarly far from the top of the dunes. We pulled into the first lot, which had a clean bathroom with hand sanitizer.
The drive to the dunes is on a dirt road, but this is only after Kelbaker Road and is a short, decently graded road. There were plenty of passenger cars without high clearance in the parking lot.
What I Learned
That wet sand is so easy to walk on. I mean, I guess I should have known since at the beach, the part easiest to walk is the closest to the water, but in a dune so far away from water, I was still caught by surprise at how easy the walking was compared to the other sand dunes I’ve been on. However, the steeper the dunes got, the more the sand crumbled and the more difficult the hiking got.
I also did not expect there to be so much plant life on the dunes. There was a tinge of green as there were bits of grass everywhere, especially on the flatter sections.
What Happened?
3.1 miles, 1 hr 41 mins, 615 ft of ascent
I had attempted to hike up Kelso Dunes a few years ago but because of the winds and the late start, I gave up. Still, I have a picture from that day hanging on my bedroom wall. For this second attempt, Cassie was here to hike the dunes with me, and we did a morning start.
The hike into the dunes was magical for me due to the amount of greenery that accompanied us. Everywhere we looked, there were tall and proud stalks of grass as far as we could see. The trail we were on looked clearly defined as it was the only bit without the green grass. The farther we walked in, however, the amount of grass lessened and the sand started to show different shades of itself. Instead of just the khaki brown, the desert revealed patterns of black on the ridges of sand dunes. Apparently, this denser sand is Magnetite Sand (https://www.nps.gov/grsa/learn/nature/magnetite-sand.htm) and is dark due to its iron content!
As we neared the top, my fear of heights kicked in and I found myself breathing hard. But unlike at Eureka Dunes, I was able to calm down, only focus on my footsteps (instead of the steep drop to the sides), and take it one step at a time. And sooner than I had thought, I was at the top with Cassie.
We shared the peak with a nice French couple and took in the views. The view felt deceptively grand for only being a little more than 600 ft from the start of the hike, but it was a welcome feeling. We did see the storm clouds threatening in the distance, so we beat a retreat down to Ramona (our truck).
We followed a similar path to the one we took going up and with each step we found ourselves surrounded by more and more greenery. And, back at Ramona, we cooked ourselves lunch (a delicious bacon egg sandwich) and made plans to go north!
