Calico I & II via Secret Loop - 11/17/21

180 Degree Panorama from Calico I Peak

Ascent to Main Tank and Calico I Peak

Approach to Calico II Overlook Peak

George and Bob taking their Leave

A Fit Five left Red Springs with two friends who wanted to say "Hi" to Mike's niece, Erin, while she was here on a short visit. The scramble for today would be a challenging one and they had other things to attend. We hiked up the Calico Hills / Basin Trail to the bottom of the Angel Pass climb. As usual, Mike led us up a creative way. The scrambles on this climb have endless combinations! At the pass, we met up with a couple of hikers with two dogs that greeted us with barks and wagging tails. After we rested a little and made some readjustments for the warming morning, we started down the other side finding the angel carving at the bottom. Again, we took a short breather. The next section of the route was a long steep scramble up.

Nearing Angel Pass Summit

Resting and Readjustment on Angel Pass

Erin and Uncle Ray at the Angel Carving

Starting up Calico II Ascent

The Calico II Canyon is used by many rock climbers as there are several climbing walls on either side. It begins with a path through brush then slab climbs on the left side of the canyon. As we were climbing up through the bottom of the canyon, we saw 4 or 5 rock climbers at various stages of their climbs. After recovering a dropped hiking stick, we zigzagged here and there to find the trail. We got a little off course but did find the trail. A lot of scrambling and a few jokes later, we climbed out of the redstone and entered the whitestone. We could see Calico Peak (Calico I) straight ahead of us in the blue sky. The last part of the climb brought us to the main tank overlook. Yes, it is bone dry! We took another short rest as we marveled at the deep hole.

Trail weaving through the Brush

View back to Calico II Turnout

Climbing the Calico II Ascent

Climbing into the Whitestone 

Our climb continued when we crossed over to the other end of the tank and turned left. There is a crack, chute, or wash (your choice) that leads to the upper level of the sandstone here. The climb through the crack is fun and interesting, requiring hands. At the top of the chute, we turned right and climbed through the frozen sand dunes up to the high point that we call Calico II Overlook Peak. Another climber gained the peak at the same time. He said he was hitting all the high points of the Calico Hills. That is no easy task! We took his photo and he took ours then we pointed him in the direction of Calico I and Red Cap. Off, he went not really knowing much about the area but very capable of dealing with whatever he found.

Leveling off at the Main Tank

Dry Main Tank

Final Climb to Calico II Overlook Peak

Fit Five on Calico II Peak

After our break, we headed for Neal's Descent. This is a steep drop down the sandstone on the north face of Calico II. It's exciting and has choreographed moves down through a large narrow crack. At the bottom, we crossed past the main tank and started another steep climb up the whitestone to Calico Peak. We sat at the top for a few minutes gathering our reserves for the finale to this monster scramble. Mike said there is a trail down that is "not as bad as the Daring Descent." ... Ok. So, down we went. First, we dropped down right under the peak. Hanging on tight, we dropped, scooted over, dropped, took a couple of steps, etc., until we were on some solid slab sandstone that allowed us to look around. I realized that we were down climbing the beginning of the Daring Descent!

Neal's Descent (Part I)

Neal's Descent (Part II)

Neal's Descent (Part III)

Beginning climb to Calico Peak

We dropped slowly as Mike found his way. Then, finally, we reached the redstone and dipped into the small rocky wash. Just when I thought my fears of doing the whole Daring Descent had materialized, and before we hit the difficult tree drop, Mike and Erin turned right taking us out of the small canyon crack. (Oh, thank goodness!) So, now, we were on a shelf, of a sort, traversing the big red wall on the west side of Ash Canyon. At first, the scramble was easy and fun. One obstacle was a huge boulder that had created a large rabbit hole to hike through. The scramble was constant and I didn't have many chances to take photos. We were descending but Ash Canyon below was also descending. ("Uh, Mike, we're not gettin any closer to the bottom!")

Climbing up to Calico I Peak

Top of Daring Descent

Still descending Daring Descent

Connecting with Secret Trail

After five hours of difficult scrambling, we were getting a little silly. Finally, our trail dropped a lot more as we entered into another canyon and turned left. Arrows were drawn on the walls to direct us at this junction which could cliff out in any other direction. There was a little more dropping to do in the new canyon until we found the trail that led us into Ash Canyon and out the other side. Phew! All that was left was a hike back to the cars. Although the route is daunting, to say the least, this is a fantastic day's worth of scrambling. Thanks Uncle Ray!

Stats: 5 miles; 1900' gain; 5.75 hours (in no hurry)

Under the Boulder on the Secret Trail

Weaving down at the Junction of next Canyon

We did that.