Ascending the Calico Tanks Trail

North Las Vegas Travelog #3
Red Rock Canyon NCA - Sat, 18 Feb 2023, 10am

We got up early this morning to hike in Red Rock Canyon, a favorite outdoors area near Las Vegas. We visited a few vista points then started the Calico Tanks trail (previous blog). The trail follows a gravel wash to start. It skirts the bottom of the Calico Hills and seems not that interesting. Past a fork that leads to the top of Turtlehead Peak the Calico Tanks trail turns to head up a red rock canyon and starts to get interesting.



The pic above shows one of many vistas from the lower reaches of the canyon we climbed. The gray mountain in the background is Turtlehead Peak. I think the sandstone structure in the foreground, though, actually looks like a turtle. You can see its head rising up on the right, with its forelegs to the left and right of that.

After the canyon narrows, it's climb, climb, climb.



Most of the climbing is directly on natural rock. In a few places there are rock stairs built for the trail. In others you just walk/scramble up the sandstone. In places where it gets steep there are steps carved into the rock. The pic above shows one of these steeper parts. They're enough of a challenge to be fun without being dangerous or overly difficult for moderately prepared hikers.



As we climbed higher into the canyon we found a small surprise: ice! In some places a few inches of water had pooled along the trail and frozen over. The weather in Las Vegas took a cold turn early in the week.... Recall flights on Tuesday were a mess because of high winds and snow!

Temperatures have been running several degrees lower than average since then. Down in Las Vegas at 2,000' elevation that has meant daytime highs around 55° this week (13° C) and overnight lows of 39° (4° C). Up here in this canyon, around elev. 4,500', temps likely run 8-10° cooler, making it possible for ice to last in shady places like this. On the higher peaks in the far distance you can see significant snow cover remains from Tuesday.

BTW, this particular ice puddle was frozen over, not sitting in chunks or cubes, 60 seconds earlier. One of the youngsters in the group ahead of us smashed up all the ice with loose rocks because, hey, when you see a thing of natural beauty, you either (a) appreciate it and leave it for others to enjoy, or (b) destroy it if you can. Sadly there are two types of people.

Fortunately for us there were bigger patches of ice farther up, patches too big for philistines to destroy!



This pic shows the actual Calico Tank, the thing this trail is named for. Water naturally pools here. The lowest lip on this rocky bowl is at least 20' high. We've only ever seen a few inches to maybe of foot of water in the basin. This trip it was frozen over with ice at least 2" thick. That was enough to foil the countless philistines trying their darnedest to smash through it with every loose rock within 50' they could heft.

Keep reading: Amazing Views Atop Calico Rocks!

Atop Calico Rocks & Back Down

North Las Vegas Travelog #4
Red Rock Canyon NCA - Sat, 18 Feb 2023, 11:30am

The ascent on the Calico Tank trail (previous blog) is just tough enough to make you earn the reward. That makes the payoff all the more sweet. The surest bet on the Las Vegas Strip? It's this view of it:



This is the vista from atop Calico Rocks. It's about 15 miles straight-line distance from the Strip and 2,700' above it. With a naked eye you can identify several of the casino hotels just by their shapes and relative positions. Oh, and the rocks are pretty, too. 😅



From up here there are views in all directions. The pic above shows one of the lower peaks in the Calico Rocks. The parking lot at the far right of the frame is one of the scenic vistas we stopped at in part 1 of this hiking blog.

It was windy up at the top this morning. We stayed up there for about 20 minutes before deciding enough was enough and heading back down. Of course, heading back down is not "throwing in the towel".... Quite to the contrary, it's a chance to see everything again, from the other side!



Just below the trail summit is the Calico Tank. I included a pic of it in my previous blog. Here it is from the other side. It's still frozen over pretty well. The hordes of rock-throwing philistines haven't managed to destroy it yet.

It's a hands-and-feet descent, BTW, from the vantage point where I snapped this picture down to the edge of the water. Like I said, this trek is just tough enough to make you earn its rewards.



As you head down this trail there are so many places where you have to marvel, "We came up that?!" It's like you forget that you're out of breath on the climb up because the beauty distracts you that much.

In beauty we walk.