We arrived just in time to get a backcountry campsite before sunset. We stuffed our packs with everything we could possibly need for the night (including luxuries like pillows) and set off across the glistening white sand dunes as the sky turned pastel pinks and blues. Supposedly these dunes are the purest gypsum sand in the world, a distinction I would be inclined to believe. The dunes are disturbingly white- unvegetated portions could easily pass for Antarctic tundra. The occasional patch of snow reminded us that the sand was in fact not as white as we imagined. The seasonal permafrost and slight cohesion between the sand grains made for a surprisingly firm walking surface. Remarkably, the sand did not get everywhere.
We strolled cross-country through fields of crescent-shaped barchan dunes and elongate transverse dunes. The interdune area is often stable enough to support yuccas and grasses. These low areas also have fantastical patterns of delicate gypsum crusts in swooping curves and cross-cutting patterns. These are the remnants of older sand dunes that have been planed off by the modern dunes. We found our designated camp area and selected a cozy spot between the dunes that nicely illustrated the vastness of the dune field. Once our camp was constructed, we walked to the top of the highest dune nearby. We felt thoroughly engulfed by the white dunes with lights appearing only on the distant horizons. It was a crisp and calm night.
The next morning I awoke with the sun to get photos of the delicate morning light on the distant hills and white sands. Sunrise was somewhat marred by horizonal clouds, but the views were still spectacular. We felt a weird sense of isolation. We made breakfast and explored around our camp for a while before packing up and walking back across the ridges and valleys of the dune field. Quite a special landscape! Camping was definitely the best way to experience it.
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