GC1JYBR The great sand box
Type: Earth | Size: Not chosen | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: dndsterns @ | Hide Date: 12/16/2008 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N37° 45.140 W105° 32.103 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0

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This cache will require hiking on the Great Sand Dunes. The tallest Dunes in North America. There are also 4 requirement in order to log this cache.

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All sand dunes are somewhat similar. They all need sand, water, a space to form, and they are all constantly changing. However, each sand dune is different in its own way. Each sand dunes' shape is determined according to how much sand and what kind of sand is available to be blown into dunes. The direction of the wind is also essential. A sand dune can be as small as an anthill or as tall as a skyscraper. All sand dunes are formed the same way, every single one is a pile of sand built up by the wind. Once the sand has been picked up by the wind, it will go wherever the wind carries it. These dunes were formed from sand deposited by the Rio Grande and its tributaries, which flow through the adjacent San Luis Valley. For thousands of years, prevailing westerly winds have blown over the Rockies and down over the river flood plain, picking up sand particles on the way. These are then deposited at the east edge of the valley before the wind rises to cross the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The process continues and the dunes are still being gradually enlarged by the wind, which also changes the shape and sand patterns of the dunes daily. In some places, patches of black sand are found caused by deposits of magnetite, a crystalline black oxide of iron. This is one place where footprints are definitely not a problem, unlike many desert parks of the Southwest where the delicate sandy soil is easily damaged by visitors. We are going to study the effects of the wind on this portion of the dune. Is the dune getting smaller or is it growing right now? As you log this cache you will be helping with the study.

4 Logging requirements.
1 Go to the posted coord and get your picture with your GPS in hand; then post the picture in your log
2 You must also record and post your elevation reading in that location.
3 Tell us if the dune is growing or shrinking in that exact location since the last logged visit. I will start this off with a current elevation reading of 8,682 feet.
4 - Your final task will be to research sand dunes and email me the type of sand dune you are visiting.

07/03/2019 By emilyschrader
Such a fun adventure! We are loving earthcaches! Questions/ answers were difficult with the app but we progressed

03/08/2019 By Cr8tivetcher
Will send answers n photo when we get back to NY

10/11/2018 By White Spirit Bears
TFTC. This was a really fun one to do, even though there were high winds and I was being pelted with sand the whole time. After summiting high dune, I had the same reaction everyone else had when I saw how much farther it was to the GZ dune. But I had come this far so I descended and made my way towards GZ. Pic 3 shows the GZ dune from the top of high dune. GZ ended up being high on the steep slope on the back of the left side dune above the central depression. Pic 2 shows the steepness of the slope and how far I was below the ridge at GZ. Pic 1 is me hiding behind my hood at GZ in the sandstorm. Elevation was 8587 at GZ, down 80 feet or so since the previous cacher in June. The top ridge of the dune was easily 80 feet above me, so its likely that the dune is moving around and not really shrinking or growing very much.

06/18/2018 By djbtex
Visited the dunes today and although it started out not too windy by the time I got to the top of High Dune - and then beyond, and then of course had to walk back the wind was sandblasting me! Wow! What a trek! I had some companions on top of High Dune who took my picture but was able to get the GPSr shot at GZ. Elevation was 8666' - up slightly from the previous cacher - although there have been some who have not posted so difficult to ascertain continuous growth and of course GPSr accuracy. It sure is easy to see how the dunes can fluctuate on a day like today though when you can actually see the wind moving the sand. I would say this is one of the most difficult terrain earthcaches I have done - well above the rating it has been given.

05/28/2018 By LaPalmaFan
That was a hike! Two steps up, one down... and windy as hell. We got a decent sandblast cleaning... marvellous views up here. Our GPS-reading was 8655 ft, that is up 29 from the last log with a reading. But actually this is more within the normal positioning error of the GPS, so the dune may still be of the same height...
Downward was easy and fun: jump-running down the dunes ;-)
ThanX!!

05/14/2018 By Hipp67
This year I went to the USA, together with Mahus. We flew from Munich to Denver, where our roadtrip through a part of Colorado started.
Our route took us from Denver - Colorado Springs - Great Sand Dunes (Crestone) - Salida (St.Elmo) - Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park back to Denver.
From there we flew to Detroit, Michigan for two days. Afterwards we drove to the Niagara Falls (Ontario and New York) .

We had a great experience, for example we saw the City of Denver, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Great Sand Dunes, a Ghost Town, the amazing Rocky Mountain National Park, a little bit of Detroit and at the end the great Niagara Falls .
We were hiking, saw a lot of wildlife (even a bear with two cubs), enjoying the great country and the friendly people and of course we were "Caching". For some of the Caches, for sure, i will give a FP .

Sorry for the unit log and thanks to the Owners.
The answers, if necessary, were sent by Mahus .

Greetings from Austria
Hipp67

05/14/2018 By Mahus
On our roadtrip through Colorado, we also visited the Great Sand Dunes, a really impressive place. I have never seen anything like this before .
It was exhausting, but also great fun to walk up the dunes and then enjoy the view over the entire dune field .

Thank you for the Earthcache , the answers and explanation to the altitude were sent to the owner.

+FP

Best regards from Austria.
Mahus

03/09/2018 By cindiana.jones
Wow, what a hike! I am fascinated by these sand dunes, but after that hike I kind of hate them lol. But I am so glad I did it. This adventure made me arrive at my hotel at midnight (normally I'm asleep by 10pm) but it was entirely worth it. Answers sent. Thanks so much for challenging me to come here, and for this earthcache.