Mosca Pass Hiking Trail at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

#greatsanddunes #colorado #hikingadventures

* Mosca Pass Hiking Trail
* Hiking at Great Sand Dunes National Park
* Hiking Trails in Colorado

Welcome back to the Nash Potatoes Outdoor Show! Today, I'll be hiking the Mosca Pass Trail at Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado.

Total Length: 6.9 miles
Elevation gain: 1,476 feet
Total Time: 3 hours 18 minutes

In my last hiking video, I talked a bit about getting older and how it's been affecting my life. Well, today I've got a pretty good story to highlight this even further. Recently, I've been moving around a lot. So, my hiking backpack needed to be reorganized.

I got so tired of forgetting to bring things on my hike that I actually made a list of stuff I might be prone to forgetting. While I was packing my backpack, I thought to myself...man, I'm really good at this. Maybe I should make a video about what to bring on your next hiking trip. It was a little bit of confidence, a little bit of simply being proud of myself, and a little bit of arrogance.

I recently watched a video on YouTube produced by The History Channel. The title was, "When Bears Attack: 3 Real Life Nightmares."

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/gNED5bezPD0?si=NapxD8WW__a5LzIY

I'll post a link in the description of this video in case you're interested in watching it. With this video still fresh in my mind, bringing my bear spray was a top priority of mine.

So, I made sure that was packed, closed up my backpack, and set it on the stool inside my camper. Then, I put my cooler in the car, put my coffee mug in the car, and took off for Great Sand Dunes National Park, which is just 30 minutes from my campground.

The last 3 days were extremely windy, but today was much calmer. So, I was excited to get on the trail and enjoy some outdoor time.

I got to the trailhead around noon. I got out of my car, walked around to the passenger side to get my backpack and guess what...I actually forgot to BRING my backpack!

To this day, I don't even know how that was possible. It's like going to the beach and forgetting to bring your bathing suit. How does that even happen?!

Luckily, I had my camp knife on my belt and my water bottles & cameras were in the cooler. There was no way I was driving 30 minutes back to the campground. So, I decided to give it a go without the backpack. My plan was to simply fight off any bears with my camp knife, LOL.

This is one mistake I don't think I'll make ever again...

Anyway, let me tell you a little bit about this trail. The amount of snowfall made the second half of this trail a bit challenging. I hiked it without using traction, but YakTrax or microspikes would've been helpful.

There were some large, open fields near the end of the trail. I can imagine this might typically be a great place to see wildlife such as deer or elk.

Cameras used:
- GoPro 11 Mini
- Sony Handycam FDR-AX43

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ABOUT ME:
► I grew up in Kalamazoo, MI and graduated with a Marketing degree from Oakland University.
► I moved to Longmont, CO in November 2016 and fell in love with all the beautiful hiking trails that Colorado has to offer. So, in April 2012, the Nash Potatoes Outdoor Show was born.
► In November 2019, I took a 4-month camping trip in my pop-up camper. This gave me an opportunity to travel, explore, unwind, and create lots of great videos.
► In December 2020, I began recording a series of downhill skiing videos in Colorado. These quickly became popular and my passion for YouTube was re-ignited!
► I actually had so many great memories of my first camping trip that I decided to do another one. So, in April 2021, I converted a 12-foot enclosed trailer into a camper and documented the whole process.
► In June 2021, I reached 1,000 subscribers and was able to monetize my channel.
► By January 2023, I was already at 2,000 subscribers and counting!
► The Nash Potatoes Outdoor Show allows me to share all of my experiences with you. Join me on my adventure as I talk about life, laughter, exploration, and creating content for YouTube...enjoy!

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