JULY/AUGUST 2019
BACKPACKER.COM 97
Stoney Indian Pass
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA
Climbing higher into the atmosphere does more than make you feel closer to the stars;
where the air is thinner, the visual clarity improves, so the stars look closer. Set out for
a three-night, 36.3-mile out-and-back, starting on the Belly River Trail and camping
beside Glenn’s La ke a f ter 12.8 miles. Push up a nd over 6,908-foot Stoney India n Pa ss
before descending down to Stoney India n La kes ca mpg round at a high-elevation ta rn.
Pitch your tent, eat dinner, then pack your sleeping bag a nd pad a nd tr uck .6 mile (a nd
583 ver tica l feet) back up the pa ss to watch the sweeping, west-facing ridgeline above
Stoney India n La ke catch the day ’s la st light. A nd then: the sta rs. Spend your la st night
at Glenn’s or Crosley La kes—it ’s ha rd to go wrong in Glacier’s backcountr y.
Tra i l h e a d Belly River Season Summer Permit $40 + $7/person per night; pay.gov
Contact nps.gov/glac
S TA R DUNE
GREAT SAND DUNES
NATIONAL PARK, COLORADO
Welcome to the country’s wildest
sandbox. In unpopulated southern
Colorado, rows of folded dunes trap
pockets of perfect darkness and, on
windless nights, absolute silence. You
can’t go wrong camping anywhere
in this sandy wilderness, but if you
need a target, aim for 775-foot Star
Dune, the tallest one around. There
are no trails out on the dunes, so head
northwest from the Dunes Parking
Lot, crossing the braided and shallow
Medano Creek (widest with spring
runoff in late May) en route to High
Dune, the tallest pile of sand you can
see from the creek. After a mile or so
(hiking on sand is slow going; bank
on travelling about half your normal
speed), you’ll crest it, unlocking a
viewshed that includes the marbled
Crestones, which cling to their snowy
mantle until early summer. Star Dune
lies another 1.5 miles west. Find a f lat
spot in a dune’s lee to set up camp and
bring a ll your water.
Tra i l h e a d Dunes Parking Lot Season
Late spring and fall; the surface of
the sand can reach 105°F in summer.
Permit Required (free); obtain at the
Visitor Center. Contact nps.gov/grsa
A MONG
THE STA R S
- Mare Tranquillitatis
One of the moon’s darkest
spots, this basin, about the size
of Texas, was the setting for
“one giant leap for mankind”
when Neil Armstrong bounded
out of the Apollo 11 lunar mod-
ule, 50 years ago.
- Copernicus Crater
Thanks to bright white dust
on a dark background, this
58-mile-wide, 2.4-mile deep
indent is easily spotted with
the naked eye. It’s larger than
the Great Salt Lake.
- “The headlights”
This brighter the crater, the
younger it is. These twin im-
pact sites on the southeastern
quadrant are 100 miles apart.
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) JESSE ALBANESE; STEVEN GNAM / TANDEMSTOCK.COM; ISTOCK.COM / ONFOKUS. TEXT BY DAVID GLEISNER (MOONED)
It ’s a long way from
the pass down to
Stoney Indian Lake.
MO ON WA L K
Eagle Mountain
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL
PARK, CALIFORNIA
With an absence of shade and a pro-
liferation of granite that ref lects the
moonlight, you can leave your head-
lamp in your pack for the final climb
of Eagle Mountain, the 5,350-foot
highpoint of the Eagle Mountain
Range. Start by daylight at the
Cottonwood Visitor Center and head
east, off-trail, toward the large draw
below the peak. Set up camp at the
foot of the mountain (around mile
4), then fill a light pack for the last
mile to the top, where dry desert air
erases distortion between you and
the heavens. Tip: Bring a GPS for
backup navigation on the return trip
from the summit; routefinding can
be tricky, especially in the dark.
Tra i l h e a d Cottonwood Campground
Season Spring and fall Permit
Required (free); self-register at the
trailhead kiosk. Contact nps.gov/jotr
