Walking along the tops of the dunes actually reminded me a lot of hiking in the snow. The wind shapes the sand just as it shapes snow drifts, creating large wind-lips and fragile ledges that can shift with the slightest change of weight. The consistency of the sand also changes with little warning; you might be sinking to your ankles in one section and then unexpectedly be standing on a windswept area of hardpack.
While at the top of this set of dunes, the wind picked up and demonstrated just how quickly the sands can move. In the few moments I took to wrap my scarf more tightly over my face, Ziggy wandered away from me and his footprints were almost immediately filled-in with fresh sand. Here, Ziggy heads off to the valley floor while his footsteps disappear.
No comments:
Post a Comment