Today was the first Saturday of the split hikes. At 8am, a larger group of twenty hikers set out for the La Madre Springs and Cabin from the Willow Springs Picnic Area and at 8:30am, a smaller group of nine hikers set out for the Calico Tanks from the Sandstone Quarry. The writer joined in the hike to Calico Tanks so as not to miss another chance to photograph the beauty of that area. The report on the La Madre Springs hike was that it went well and only experienced a few drops of rain.
Mt. Charleston received a topping of snow early this morning and Red Rock Canyon was covered in a very low hanging cloud of moisture. Once we got onto the scenic loop visibility was fine even though the escarpment was still in the cloud. On our side of the canyon there was blue sky. We hiked up into the calico canyon finding our way around large puddles in the middle of the trail by climbing up onto the sandstone rocks to the side.
With the unusual weather and difference in trail routes, the hike was interestingly different. We made our way to the large tank which had six inches of water in one area. Sitting on top of the overlook rocks, we couldn't see the city nor much of anything else but it was still very pretty. While taking our break there, the clouds rolled in and the cold wind whipped up. We hiked the return portion with half clouds and half sun. The hike was 2.5 miles round trip with about 450 feet of elevation gain.
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