Juniper Dunes, North Entrance

• Sand shifted beneath my
• boots. Sweat dribbled down
• my forehead into one eye and
• twisted my face into a grim
• ace.
• I wiped the eye with a
• finger behind my glasses. I
• huffed down a bucket of air
• and puffed it out, huff-puff,
• huff-puff, etc.
• Climbing an 800-foot-tall
• sand dune in the Juniper
• Dunes Wilderness on a bright,
• 90-plus afternoon compares
• with an afternoon walk in the
• park as plucking out whiskers
• one at a time with clam-shell
• tweezers compares with get
• ting a barbershop shave.
• One demands attention.
• The other doesn't. That's my
• guess, anyway.
• The particular 800-foot
• dune mentioned above,
• spread thick with shiny ruby-
• red sand dock halfway up the
• slope, slanted steeper than
• the normal 35 degrees or so.
• That's when piled-up grains
• of sand answer the call of
• gravity.
• I've never heard it, but with
• dry sand and a big slide, a
• bellowing sound occurs, often
• called ``singing sand.''
• I paused, leaned back and
• peered upwards through a
• tight squint. The top 20 feet of
• naked sand seemed to lean
• over me, defying gravity.
• The leaning ridge reminded
• me of a snow ledge ready to
• become an avalanche.
• I'm no Chicken Little
• exactly, but my attention
• piqued, and I scooted out of
• its potential path. Who needs
• a sand slide, singing or not.
• Despite the heat, and the
• attention demanded by the
• terrain, a trip to the Juniper
• Dunes Wilderness area IS
• worth the effort, especially at
• the north entrance.
• You reach that gate through
• a section of pasture on the
• Juniper Dunes Ranch. It's
• accessable only during
• March, April and May.
• So, as May threatened to
• slip away, I left home at 11:03
• a.m. one day last week. I
• stopped twice along
• Blackman Ridge Road to snap
• horned lark photos.
• Sadie the Dalmatian stayed
• home, so cattle in the parking
• area corrals barely glanced
• my way. By 1:03 p.m. I signed
• in at the wilderness gate.
• It's possible to leave the
• gate, climb a short distance
• (30-40 yards?) to a path off to
• the left (south) and avoid
• some of the really steep early
• dunes.
• My strategy, however, since
• few trails exist, involves walk
• ing more or less in a straight
• line, dunes and all.
• At the gate I attached my
• GPS unit to my upper left arm
• with a velcro strap. It plots a
• line on a map as I walk, so I
• can track my route (with di
• rection, moving time, stop
• ping time and distance).
• A compass would suffice,
• but the GPS gives more infor
• mation, so I carry it. If I don't
• forget it.
• Actually, on a clear day, a
• hiker may climb a tall dune
• and see the Juniper Dunes
• Ranch.
• With the GPS in place, I
• climbed the first dune and
• angled to the right
• (southwest).
• The largest number of
• 250-300-year-old juniper trees
• cluster in that direction. I
• stopped often to photograph
• flowers, interesting patterns
• in the sand (created by wind-
• blown grasses), animal tracks
• (including those left by mice
• and Morman crickets) and
• scenic views.
• Once a lizard skittered be
• neath a sage bush. I wanted it
• to be a horned toad, but it
• wasn't. It bobbed up and
• down on the sand among a
• maze of sage bush branches
• and leaves.
• I switched the camera to
• manual focus and snapped
• several photos. For no appar
• ent reason, other than my
• presence, the lizard leaped
• from the sand and clung to a
• branch. I snapped a final
• photo and left.
• I've seen deer, porcupines
• and coyotes among the dunes
• (along with deer hunters and
• illegal motor bikers) there,
• but the lizard and Mormon
• crickets were the main
• critters I saw last week.
• As usual, time rushed by.
• On the north or west side of
• the dunes, hidden from the
• light breeze, the heat
• pounded me. On the ridges,
• however, the breeze felt cool
• against my damp nylon shirt.
• I swigged from the
• 100-ounce CamelBack water
• bag as I walked. It contained
• ice cubes, so the water tasted,
• well, like that fabled elixir.
• After 2 hours, 38 minutes, I
• dropped the daypack and
• cameras beneath a aromatic
• juniper. Sweat soaked the
• back of the bag and my back.
• The breeze felt cool as I sat on
• the ground in the shade.
• I sipped ice water and
• munched two PowerBars.
• The GPS said I'd walked
• 1.74 miles, moving for 1 hour,
• 45 minutes and stopping for
• 53 minutes. I'd made a
• squiggly path in the sand.
• Before I started again, I
• took off my boots, pulled up
• my socks and retied my laces,
• a bit tighter than before, to
• give my feet better support on
• the shifting sand.
• I slipped into the daypack
• and camera bag and headed
• east. After a few hundred
• yards, I turned north.
• My energy flagged a bit,
• and I chose routes around
• dunes when possible. I
• paused for a few photos of
• scenes and bugs on flowers.
• At the gate I checked the
• GPS. I'd covered 3.97 miles,
• walking for 2 hours, 44 min
• utes and stopping for 58:37
• minutes.
• I'd turned the GPS off when
• I sat beneath the juniper tree.
• I drove slowly past the Juni
• per Dunes Ranch to keep the
• dust down and show appreci-
• ation for the owners' toler-
• ance of visitors.
• And I was in no hurry. I
• could drive the 75 miles or so
• home in less than two hours,
• so I would probably be in time
• to wrangle a bowl of soup
• before bedtime.
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•  
• If You Go_.
• To reach the north entrance to the
• Juniper Dunes, which is accessible
• during March, April and May, turn
• onto the Pasco-Kahlotus Highway
• about 45 miles from Walla Walla.
• Drive north for 25 miles or so, and
• turn east onto the Snake River Road.
• After about 3.3 miles turn left (east)
• onto the smooth gravel of Blackman
• Ridge Road. After another two or
• three miles turn left (south) onto Joy
• Road (Rybzinski Road on some
• maps) and pass the Juniper Dunes
• Ranch to the trailhead. Be careful of
• the cattle that may be in the corrals
• or in the pasture.