Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Oregon Adventure #1: Conquering the Dunes

Conquering the Dunes


     Mission: Find a Large Sand Dune and Climb to the Top!

              One of the things I've always wanted to do is get closer to the giant sand dunes on the coast. After reaching the limit of the road I now want to go find one of these large piles of sand and climb to the top!

The Climb

Luckily, as it happens a set of dunes were right along the road heading back from the beach. I pulled over to an atv staging area. A little nervous that I might get run over by one of these ATV's flying over the dune I set out for my first real Dune experience. Standing at the bottom of twenty feet of solid sand I decided to try and scale the steepest part. The sand slides freely every time I dig my cowboy boots in to take a step up. I'm reminded of those stair exercise machines where you're staying in place but supposedly climbing flights of stairs. Pausing half way up I look at the tracks in the sand and marvel at the fact an ATV made it up this without tipping  backwards.

The View        

              I finally crest the top of the dune, after a lot of concentration and balance. The view is a little surprising, it flattens out in front of me and is strewn with ATV tracks all over. I  turn around to admire the distance covered in climbing up then glance to the West where the ocean is still churning. Finally after tromping through the sand I slide very carefully down the back to my truck. As far as adventures go this has been amazing!


       

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