Eureka Dunes

Hike Review

Eureka dunes are the highest dunes in California (and maybe the United States). But dunes shift with the wind and there are no set trails or paths.
Cassie and I spotted the highest peak and hiked up until we got to the top.
Some of the sand was well-packed, so it was easy to walk, but some were soft, which made it difficult. Especially difficult were the steep slopes, where every two steps up, we seemed to fall a step.
It was very windy (probably gusting up to 50 MPH winds), which meant that the sand got absolutely everywhere. The worst was the effect on our eyes, as we were teary for the entirety of the hike.
There were only a few other people around and there was plenty of space for everyone. Still, at the peak, we shared it with a father/son pair that got there just a bit before us.

What I Learned

I wished I had packed my snow goggles, as that would have done a good job of keeping the sand out of my eyes. I also wished I had packed a balaclava to help keep sand off of my nose, mouth, and ears.
We wore our adventure sandals and that worked well for the hike.
I wore my hat, which I promptly lost to the wind within the first mile. Thankfully, it was still at the spot I lost it when we got back.
We took a shower with lukewarm water and while it was cold, it was necessary to get the sweat, sand, and sunblock out of our skin.

Fears Faced

Near the top of Eureka Dunes, I had a mild panic attack as my fear of heights kicked in. It was illogical given how much the sand would have slowed my “fall,” but I could not reason my way out of it and was paralyzed. Cassie got the truth out of me within a minute and coached me through it (once I told her that I did want to reach the top). With Cassie’s help, I was able to slowly get to the top. While the years of rock climbing have helped me with my fear of heights, it looks like it has not been defeated yet.

What Happened?

1.8 miles, 1 hr 52 mins, 1502 ft of ascent

We arrived at Eureka Dunes with two hours of sunlight remaining. After parking and changing into appropriate clothing—we had arrived from 10k+ feet mountains so we were a bit overdressed—we grabbed our headlamps and headed into the dunes.

With the wind blowing at our faces, the going was slow, but the views were jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Of note were the patterns in the sand the winds would create. It looked like the dunes were dancing to a rhythm that we quite couldn’t latch onto.

When we got to the top of Eureka Dunes, we took our time to catch our breaths and (for me) calm my nerves. After about 10 minutes, we were done with getting sand pelted into our faces and headed back to the safety of our car. The hike down was better as our pace was faster, and the wind was blowing with us; still, we couldn’t wait to get to our car and figure out how to get all the sand off of our bodies.

As the sunset, the views were as good as it could get. The sky turned from blue to orange to purple, and we savored every moment of it.