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| - Calico Basin is a literal mecca for bouldering. It is also a free way to gain access into some portions of Red Rock. Additionally it is hope to Red Springs, a cool and unique spring and watering hole in the desert. That being said, I normally come to Calico for a terrific trail run!
Directly north of the Calico Basin area is a small "mountain" known as Kraft Mountain. Some would say it is more of an over-sized hill. In front of the Mountain are some world class bouldering spots. On the back side are some great climbing routes and famous crags. Circumventing the mountain is a great loop trail for hiking or trail running.
There are three different parking areas that offer access to different areas of Calico Basin. The first is most often used to access Red Springs, the second to hike into Red Rock, and the third for bouldering and hiking on and around Kraft Mountain. These three different parking areas also allow for three different distances for those interested in trail running. The route can be as short as 4 miles or as long as 6.5 depending on where you park.
Finding the trail around Kraft Mountain is easy. As you head towards the mountain you come across a few trails that will get you all the way around the mountain. I prefer taking the trail in a counterclockwise manner. This allows for a longer more gradual ascent on the backside of the mountain--saving a slightly steeper downhill section for the second half of the hike/run. The backside of the mountain takes you along a wash that often has a few spots of water in the spring or after rain. This wash has some truly beautiful areas along it. There are also some short areas that require some scrambling along the wash. When I run with my wonderful, Yellow Lab, Pedroia (she's a Red Sox fan) the scrambling is enough that I need to help her up 3 different sections...it is also not so difficult that I can't easily do this--only slightly impacting the rhythm of my run. Toward the end of the wash there are a couple of options that offer different lengths as well. The shortest hugs the mountain and takes a left toward a short seasonal waterfall over some exceptional sandstone. The other route continues straight towards a saddle where you take a left to complete the loop, or can extend to wards several other up & back trail options.
This is a hike that can be done with kids and people that are not in tip-top shape, but there is enough elevation gain that those folks will be feeling it and should bring water and plan on a few hours. Trail runners can do it in under 45 mins from the closest parking area. My favorite is extending the run a bit by starting at parking for Red Springs and running the base of the western hills until you reach the Kraft trails. All-in-all you end up running in sand, dry streams, over sandstone, on dirt trails, and on rocky trails...not exactly a beginners trail run...but not so steep to scare the novice runner off.
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