While heading out into the dunes to sleep overnight, the wind picked up. I put on my special sunglasses with the side shields, typically reserved for when on glaciers and up at higher elevations, just to keep the sand from blowing into my eyes. No matter what I did, my hat would not stay put, and thus it was strapped to my pack. Gusts of wind would push 40+ miles per hour. Sand stinging the skin, finding where camp was quickly becoming a priority.

10 minutes after crossing a dune, the footprints would be completely gone.

After traversing several dunes, my adventure partner, and wife, located a spot tucked away from the wind. We worked our way down one larger and smaller dune, then set up camp in the peace and wind free zone.

As with all adventures however, things don’t go as planned. About and hour after sunset the wind picked back up. As we were safely tucked into our sleeping bags and settled in for the night, sand began to blow in through any space possible. After adjusting the tent and gear as best possible, we fell asleep. The next morning, I awoke to a softball sized pile of sand on my sleeping bag.

A mini sand dune had formed on me while sleeping through the night.