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Apr 12, 2018 — This super fun scramble through the Calico Hills of Red Rocks was my last hike to finally finish all the peaks in the Calico Basin. It hits the five peaks on the west side of the Basin: Calico Hills South, Red Book Point, Calico Peak, Tank Peak, and Red Cap Peak as a nice traverse with never-ending scrambling. From the ridge, there are nice views of Turtlehead Peak to the north and New Peak and Kraft Mountain to the east. This is definitely a choose-your-own adventure sort of scramble, and although I outlined our route (see map), it's unlikely you'll take the same one. We encountered lots of potential Class 4 and 5, but always were able to find a Class 3 way down, even if that required leaving the ridgeline for short spurts.
From the Red Spring Picnic Area, head up to Calico Hills South (Class 2+), route-find along the ridge (Class 3) and head down into the gully below Red Book Point. We chose a gully as the weakness to attempt the ascent and it worked (Class 3+), with only one section where a chokestone required some real thinking. From Red Book Point, head down the northwest side, keeping your eyes on the sandy Class 2 ascent you'll be making to get to the Calico Peak and Tank Peak saddle, where you'll likely encounter swarms of people relaxing at the end of the Calico Tanks Trail. We found a Class 3+ route to the Calico Peak summit, and a Class 2 route to Tank Peak's summit. From Tank Peak, continue along the west side of the ridge where there are a series of beautiful ledges wide enough to walk on comfortably, until Red Cap Peak comes into view. We took a weird route up a gully, down a gully, and then back up another gully to ascend Red Cap Peak, but maybe you'll find a more straightforward way (Class 3+). From the Red Cap Peak summit, continue north and find a gully that safely descends via the northeast. Follow Ash Canyon, and although a trail is marked on Google Maps, it's pretty useless. I've gone down Ash Canyon twice now and neither time have I found an obvious trail. Boulders block the canyon, but some easy route-finding will get you down (Class 2).
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