White Sands National Monument - New Mexico

[anils]

I will be visiting Bosque next week from 2nd to 6th. If time permits I would

like to visit White Sands National Monument. I was wondering whether Sunrise or

Sunset would be a good time to visit. Any other tips about the place is also

welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

Anil

[SCL]

It has been quite a while since I was last there...my recollection is that you will need to check with the ranger station for hours of operation...it may not be open at sunrise or sunset at this time of year. Also check the weather in advance...sometimes it closes in advance of high winds (because the roads and mounds shift). Also...it seems silly to say this...do not stray out of sight of your car...one can get lost and disoriented quite easily. Lastly, don't forget to use exposure compensation...the glare off the white sand is like the glare off ice...really fooling exposure meters.

[Mary Doo]

"Sunrise or Sunset"? -- Both! I have images of dramatic morning light, as well as moonrise at sunset, framed by yucca plants and sidelighted dunes. Do try to be careful with the dune ripples. Don't stay out too far at sunset. A few of us almost got lost if it were not for the GPS.

 

Mary

[jdrose]

Yes, I was going to suggest a GPS too. Handy devices.

 

Also, be aware of your own footprints. It doesn't take long to scatter them about and mess up your gorgeous scene.

 

This isn't White Sands, it is a dune near my house, but it gives you an idea. I wasn't even thinking. I got the shot looking up the crest and when I turned around to catch the sine wave shape I then realized I had ruined the shot. Live and learn.

 

--- JDR

[jdrose]

"Leave only footprints." Sometimes that is too much.

[mike hardeman]

The only way to shoot White Sands at sunrise is to backcountry camp there, not recommended this time of year, too cold. And, yes, don't stray too far at sunset. I couldn't find my way back to my car and spent 9 hours hiking out of White Sands (the hard way) in the middle of the night when I got lost there in 1994.

[sergey_oboguev]

First of all, you may want to cancel the trip this year. Crane roosting ponds at Bosque are dry for desalting, shooting conditions are much worse than in the past years. I went there but cut my trip short. Road inside White Sands was closed in the middle because of the damage caused by flooding, only first 8 miles of ca. 15 miles were drivable, so you can access only nearby parts of the dunes; you may want to check if the road is still closed or was reopened.

 

Regardless,

 

Both sunrise and sunset are good for shooting at White Sands. It is quite possible in fact to spend the whole day in the dunes (I did in the past, not this year), but of course sunrise and sunset yield more spectacular conditions. If you go, call the park in advance and arrange the access before sunrise. It costs about $50 per hour per vehicle. Coming 1 hour to 1.5 hours before sunrise, drving to the end of the loop and hiking far away in to the dunes provides you the best conditions.

 

If you drive at night from Socorro, you can stop at Denny's at Alamogordo for a "breakfeast" before proceeding to White Sands.

 

Make sure you bring and carry on yourself plenty of water while hiking in the dunes (it will feel cool, but you should drink periodically anyway to avoid onset of dehydration) and some food if you plan on extended hike. Do bring sunglasses, or your eyes will hurt and you may stand a risk of eventual blindness akin to polar blindness. I use polarized sunglasses. Do bring handheld GPS and mark location of your car before leaving it. Certainly do not forget sunscreen and I'd also advise using "safari cap" (or was it "sahara cap"?) from REI. I may also advise REI "sahara" pants for the environment like White Sands: they are reflective, thin and keep you cool.

 

It will be cold pre dawn and will go hot afterwards, so for extended hike it is important to dress in layers and as it gets hot remove them and stuff off in your day pack. Thermal socks (may be even 2 sets) for pre dawn + sandals for the day, fleece sweatpants (under REI sahara pants or similar) and fleece jacket or even two, hand gloves, possibly neck scarf (I use the ring one from Northern Face), ski cap... about an hour after sinrise it all goes into the daypack.

 

Cell phone service is not reliable, but if you climb to the top of a dune it might work sometimes. Or it might not.

[steve_levine]

This is the sort of place that your skills as a landscape shooter are put to the test. The place isnt as easy to get lost as described above. But I wouldn't leave the car without a compass, and a real good sense of where the road is.

 

 

And speaking of finding the roads. We were there in fall of '04, and they were plowing the drifitng sand the same way snow is removed. The ranger told me that the wind can obscure the road in minutes with a good blow of wind.

 

 

And speaking of snow, climbing the hills of dunes is as tiring as hiking in deep snow. A funny tale: there is a road across the area that closes when the AF is testing something. It runs for miles of empty flat road. We were crossing this road going 80 MPH, when several cars passed us going at least 120 MPH. A military police car and a NM SP went by the other way and flashed their lights at the speeders, but didn't bother turning around to pull them over !

[mike hardeman]

Thanks for the reassurance that "the place isn't as easy to get lost as described above".

 

I had been to White Sands many times before that episode. With no moon and 25 mph winds and no maps, I can explain in great detail how easy it is to get lost there. I think if you had been in my situation, you might realize how it could happen, especially if you had intentionally hiked a mile or so away from the road, to avoid footprints.

 

This was all pre-GPS, and a particular sequence of events happened to make getting lost possible, something that at least a half a dozen hikers a year manage to achieve.

 

I think it is a little insulting for someone to sit on the sidelines and second-guess the events of that night, with no real information to base their opinion on.

[steve_levine]

Like I said, never leave the car w/o a compass, and the skills to use it. A $3 compass would have prevented your 9 hour adventure.

[sergey_oboguev]

<br><i>> Like I said, never leave the car w/o a compass, and the skills to use it. A $3 compass would have prevented your 9 hour adventure.</i>

<br>

<br>I do not see how having compass would be helpful at White Sands, at all. (Despite I do always carry one.) You do not need a compass there to figure out where the north is, mountains and radio tower provide enough of a reference. But this is not enough.

<br>

<br>It is not easy to get lost if you hike just half-mile or mile from the road. But this is not what you want to do once you are there for photographic purposes.