#SandRamp
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rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/21o784Bhtt...
Zwischen dahinter
Mount Zwischen, Sangre de Cristo Mountains
flic.kr
January 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/LLtLjT
Backpacking on the Sand Ramp Trail
Mount Herard in the backgorund.
flic.kr
January 6, 2025 at 9:24 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
The scene from my second morning at this #backpacking camp, after yesterday's snow had melted away. Today's hike climbed to Aspen camp on the #SandRamp Trail in #GreatSandDues #NationalPark, #Colorado.

#photography #nature #outdoors #NPS
flic.kr/p/2setWoZ
Morning dunes
Cottonwoods frame the morning light at the edge of the dunefield. Great Sand Dunes National Park.
flic.kr
May 28, 2026 at 12:55 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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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Moody Dunes
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
flic.kr
January 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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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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.
flic.kr
June 19, 2025 at 4:05 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/21tLigK
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, ...
flic.kr
January 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
The #SandRamp Trail in #GreatSandDune #NationalPark, start of a great #backpacking trip. The route climbs the dunes, so you spend a lot of time hiking uphill on sand.

#photography #nature #NPS #Colorado #outdoors
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Headed out
An early stretch of the Sand Ramp Trail. If you have a 4WD (not AWD) you can skip this part by using a trailhead where the trail crosses a jeep road. But why?
flic.kr
May 25, 2026 at 3:11 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/21ku9ZV
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...
flic.kr
January 8, 2025 at 2:23 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
Thanks to the snowfall two days before, the return from the high point of the #SandRamp trail offered many views of snowy #mountains.

#GreatSandDunes #NationalPark #backpacking #Colorado
#photography #outdoors #SangredeCristo
flic.kr/p/2seodvb
Snow in the high country - Explored
Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Great Sand Dunes National Preserve. Explored #272 on 22 May 2026. Thank you, everyone, for your favorites and kind comments.
flic.kr
May 31, 2026 at 3:17 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/LSEE7u
View from Aspen camp - Explored
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, USA. Explored # 181 on September 7, 2016
flic.kr
January 7, 2025 at 3:28 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/21C8ngN
Gateway to the Sangres
The early part of the Sand Ramp Trail, when you're merely walking across sand instead of walking up sand.
flic.kr
January 5, 2025 at 4:02 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/HMVEoD
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,...
flic.kr
January 12, 2025 at 10:01 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
More #backpacking in #GreatSandDunes #NationalPark - a view of how the #SandRamp Trail navigates the space between dunes and #SangredeCristo #mountains.

Spot the bilingual pun in the image.

#photography #NPS #nature #outdoors #Colorado #nationalparks
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Zwischen
Zwischen is the German word for "between." The Sand Ramp at left provides a transition zone between the sand dunes and the mountains -- as you can see. The Sand Ramp Trail uses this transition zone t...
www.flickr.com
May 26, 2026 at 1:23 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
After the switchbacks, the #SandRamp Trail ascends gently to my camp at Aspen. #GreatSandDunes #NationalPark, #Colorado.

Though most of my nights dropped below freezing, even on chilly days in May you're exposed to bright sun.

#photography #outdoors #nature #NPS #backpacking
flic.kr/p/LJ9bST
Headed back
After the climb out of Cold Creek, the Sand Ramp Trail hugs the line between sand and scrub - with great views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
flic.kr
May 28, 2026 at 4:08 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
View from above the #dunes at #GreatSandDunes #NationalPark in #Colorado. To go #backpacking on the #SandRamp Trail, choose a cooler month (this is May). There's no shade on the trail. This camp has shade but no water. It lies at 9240 ft.
#photography #outdoors #nature #sanddunes
flic.kr/p/2iZYMGE
Dunes from above
Late afternoon view from near the Aspen backcountry campground (9240 feet, 2816 meters).
flic.kr
May 29, 2026 at 6:02 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
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
flic.kr/p/22KoEEx
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.
flic.kr
January 15, 2025 at 8:24 PM
rpahre.bsky.social
What goes up must go down. After #backpacking across the #SandRamp Trail, you get this view of the #SangredeCristo #Mountains before descending to this valley.

And, yeah, you get to climb back up the sand on your return.

#GreatSandDunes #NationalPark #Colorado #NPS
flic.kr/p/21ku9ZV
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...
flic.kr
May 26, 2026 at 9:38 PM
niclasj.bsky.social
Thanks @TheMehulPatel @NuvoPolitico @glovies @sandramp for being top new followers in my community this week (via http://commun.it)
January 29, 2025 at 3:20 AM