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| Calico Hills Trail approaching Sandstone Quarry |
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| Rattlesnake Trail view back to Escarpment |
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| Climbing to Kraft Saddle with Gateway Canyon to Left |
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| Kay and Rita above Calico Basin |
What a perfect day for a hike at Red Rock! And, there were very few hikers in the park! Very few! Most of the snow had fallen three days ago. Therefore, most of the snow below about 4000 elevation feet had melted. It was cold. We were bundled up to start from the Red Springs Picnic Area parking lot. We parked near the evidence in 4 different places that cars had been broken into in the last 2 days. (Broken window debris.) More and more people are getting cameras for their vehicles, so beware ne'er do wells! We found the trail that leads up from the parking lot to climb the hill to the south. The view of Calico Basin and the surrounding hills and mountains was outstanding! ... and that was just the beginning.
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| Red Springs and Calico Basin |
Down to the wash and up to the following ridge and we were warming up fast. The trail took us around the south end of the Calico Hills with a beautiful view of the snow dusted Sandstone Bluffs in the distance.
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| Hiking around south end of Calico Hills |
As we hiked up to Calico I turnout on the Calico Hills Trail, we enjoyed the escarpment views that had been hidden in the clouds for a day or two.
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Sandstone Bluffs (Rainbow, Mescalito, & Bridgepoint) behind Moenkopi Hill
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| Hiking between Calico I & Calico II |
Between Calico I and Calico II turnouts, we saw small pockets of snow in the rocks. There was also clumps of snow on top of large grass clumps and blackbrush along the trail. There was still a high cloud cover over the park so the colors of the rock were deep contrasting with the white snow. We dropped into the wash to pass through beneath Calico II and, a little later, we had to do a wardrobe change in the warming sun. About half way between Calico II and Sandstone Quarry, snow began to be more prevalent on the hillside leaving the trail clear. Closing in on Sandstone Quarry, there was a little more snow on the trail. We counted 14 cars in the quarry parking lot but only a handful of hikers were around. We passed through and out toward Turtlehead Peak. Our group photo was taken here. There was a lot more snow in this area of the northern Calico Hills and beyond.
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Wash below Calico II
I couldn't stop taking photos of the frozen scenery! Rita and Mike were very patient with me as they also enjoyed walking through the wonderland that so very rarely happens at Red Rock Canyon NCA.
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| Hiking between Calico II and Sandstone Quarry |
We ducked through the snowy greenery at the beginning of the Calico Tanks Trail and turned left onto the Rattlesnake Trail. Even though the sandstone was only topped by the fluffy stuff, there was some snow underfoot and the bushes appeared like basketballs of white.
Sandstone Quarry
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| The Triad |
We walked through the redstone corridor and turned left. A check of the small slot passage told us that there was a 6" puddle inside and a hike around the slot would be suggested since the stone was wet and possibly slippery if we were to scramble around the puddle. Hiking over the sandstone to the left of the slot was more beautiful anyway. Following the Rattlesnake Trail route, we climbed up the hill and began following the trail along the north side of the sandstone hills. The trail was mostly snow free albeit narrow. But, this area was by far the snowiest of the day. I think I stopped every 20' for another photo! Arriving at the large rock outcropping below Red Cap, we chose a few dry seats for our break.
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| Calico Tanks Trail |
To my left, there was an icicle about 20" long! From the top of the rocks, there were nice views of Ash Canyon Overlook and Gray Cap.
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| Rattlesnake Trail |
After the break, we continued down the hill toward Rattlesnake Wash. The limestone rocks in the wash were a little slippery but we did okay negotiating them and using the trail on the left side.
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| Rattlesnake Trail |
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| Entering the Northern Calico Hills |
This part of the hike took some concentration so that we didn't fall on our behind. And, finally, we came to the junction with Gateway Canyon to turn right. Again wary of the nature of wet limestone, we carefully dropped down a few of the canyon's scramble opportunities starting with the "Sliding Board." A couple more drops and we were in the gravel descending the middle portion of Gateway. The previously huge cairn that marked the right turn of Rattlesnake Trail is now a skinny little thing. The rocks are strewn about right there if anyone wants to build it back up. We turned and began our final long climb of the day. As seen in the third photo of this entry, most of the snow in this area was gone. Still, the landscape colors were amazing with just the bush snow and rock crack snow to add to them.
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| View Back to the Sandstone Bluffs |
When we reached the Kraft Mountain saddle above 5-Stop Hill, we passed the first hikers of the day. We all stopped to talk since we knew one of the hikers.
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| Rattlesnake Trail |
We were in no hurry to finish the last portion of this awesome hike. This will definitely be one hike for the history books!
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| View Back on the Rattlesnake Trail |
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| Ash Canyon Overlook from Rattlesnake Trail |
We gazed down into Calico Basin and noticed that most of the snow there had melted even from this morning. Any worries that 5-Stop Hill would be slippery dissipated. Down the hill and veering to the right, we followed a trail that led toward Ash Creek. The creek had snow lining its sides but that was all the white stuff here. Ash Canyon had a good amount of snow but that would probably be gone soon. We connected with the Girl Scout Trail above the old filled-in foundation. This trail traverses below the red sandstone and passes through the old picnic area that is almost never used. I say "almost" because today, there was someone sitting at a table reading. A perfect place to study!
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| Rattlesnake Wash Trail |
Down the hill from the tables, we crossed the small wash and stepped up onto the Calico Hills sandstone base. Of course, we began seeing other hikers as we neared the parking lot.
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| Down the Sliding Board |
We turned left at the first opportunity then veered to the right. This trail wiggles you down to the Red Springs parking lot.
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| Points of Interest |
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| Rita starting down Gateway Canyon |
Lucky for the bandits, there were no cars broken into while we were away. My car has cameras! This was an absolutely wonderful day in a snowy wonderland. Just the right amount of snow for hikers to enjoy. And, thank you to Mike and Rita for allowing me to take more than twice the amount of photos I usually take on a hike!
Stats: 7.4 miles; 1700' gain; 4.5 hours (lots of photos!)
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