The big piles of sand featured in this video are the Panamint Dunes, located at the north end of Panamint Valley. Most people start the hike to the dunes at about 5.8 miles from the highway where the dirt road makes a sharp right towards the Big Four Mine. The elevation at this point is 1570 feet and the hike to the top of the dunes is 4.5 miles (each way) with an elevation gain of over 1000 feet. Needless to say, anyone doing this hike is likely to need to empty the sand out of their shoes more than a few times!