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Slide Guide will appear during Summer, 2024
There’s an area in the Calico and Brownstone Basins that is unfamiliar, a bit strange, disorienting and at the same time wonderful. It’s possible to get lost there and experience, for a moment, the feeling of being in another world. This is the strip of wilderness between Gateway Canyon and Brownstone Basin. On maps, the area does not look very large or imposing. How could you ever get disoriented in such a small strip of wilderness? Yet this area can be like the Bermuda Triangle of Red Rock Canyon.
There are no marked trails in this foreign strip of wilderness. And, there are places in the canyons where familiar frames of reference are missing. Over recent years, I’ve explored so much of the vast, amazing wilderness surrounding Las Vegas and become so familiar with the peaks and ranges I’d forgotten the feeling of not knowing exactly where I was at every moment. It’s a weird and wonderful feeling of suddenly looking around and having the experience of landing in another dimension. For the first time, when I summited high points, I was surprised to see all the surrounding frames of reference turned around! Turtlehead Peak was not where I thought it would be. The La Madre Mountains Ridgeline suddenly popped up in a strange location as did the Rainbow Mountains, Kraft Mountain, Blue Diamond Hill and the Brownstone Basin! Just for a moment…it was truly a strange, wonderful feeling of seeing all the once familiar surroundings scrambled! With plenty of water, plenty of time and daylight and on a Spring day when the temperature was reasonable, I was free to enjoy not knowing exactly where I was, even if only for a brief moment! Have you ever had that experience?
This adventure route looked pretty simple: Start at Gene’s Trailhead in the lower Calico Basin, navigate through Gateway Canyon, summit Gray Cap Peak, descend the long Gray Cap Ridge and then return to Gene’s Trailhead. I’d navigated both ends of the route before. Only the quarter-mile mid-route was unfamiliar. Turns out, rather than descending the length of Gray Cap Ridge, I descended into mid-Brownstone Basin to return to Gene’s Trailhead.
The mostly limestone Gateway Canyon is a fun puzzle to navigate. When you emerge into the beautiful calico sandstone area in the upper canyon near the base of Gray Cap Peak, the sudden change of terrain is incredible. It’s like being in an entirely different wilderness. Then, as you top the high points above, you might expect that at least one or more of the great surrounding reference points might not be exactly where you thought it should be. I’m sure the second time in this area, everything will be familiar, but that first time…
The best time of year for this adventure is mid-to-late Spring or early to mid-Fall. You want to have plenty of daylight, yet reasonable temperatures (not the 110+ degrees of mid-Summer; not the potentially icy conditions of Winter that can make navigating slick rocks and ledges hazardous). At the right time of year you’ll have the freedom to loose yourself in this beautiful wilderness area and find you way out again!
From Hwy 215 in the Summerlin area, take the Charleston Blvd exit, turn upward (West) on Charleston Blvd toward the mountains. Charleston Blvd becomes Blue Diamond Rd. (159) as you leave the city. Take the Calico Basin exit off 159 (right turn) onto Calico Basin Road. Park at Gene’s Trailhead near the beginning of Calico Basin Road.
From Gene’s Trailhead, take Gene’s Trail up and over a ridgeline and into the opening of Gateway Canyon. You’ll see Kraft Mountain on the left and Gray Cap Ridge on the right. Gateway Canyon is between these two high points. At the mouth of Gateway Canyon take the trail to your left that will guide you down across Gateway Canyon where you will connect with the East side of the Kraft Mountain Loop Trail.
Once you cross the opening of Gateway Canyon, take a right onto the Kraft Mountain Loop. Soon the loop trail will descend again into the Gateway Canyon wash. The terrain appears simple enough: A fairly wide canyon wash winding around through the canyon with a few boulders to climb over. Then you hit the first real barrier. Get used to it. The entire length of Gateway Canyon is marked with a series of low to high vertical barriers. As you approach each barrier the first thought is, “How am I going to climb that smooth, vertical wall?” You probably aren’t going to climb the barriers unless you’re a skilled, experienced rock climber.
But here’s the key: “Where there’s a barrier, look for a bypass.” Remember that phrase throughout your navigation of Gateway Canyon. It’s always, 100% true. For each of the many imposing barriers in Gateway Canyon, there’s a bypass route to the right or the left. You may need to backtrack a bit from the base of the vertical barrier wall and look around carefully. But your careful study of the terrain will surface a nice, easy bypass trail that most often ascends on the side of the canyon, circles above that imposing vertical wall, and then descends again into the canyon landing above the barrier wall. If you ever find yourself engaged in heroic rock climbing to overcome a barrier, you missed the nice, easy bypass trail!
You’ll know you’ve successfully passed through lower Gateway Canyon when you reach and begin to clear the North end of Kraft Mountain (on your left). The canyon wash dramatically widens and the incline levels off. If you were doing the Kraft Mountain Loop, at his point you’d look for a trail branching off to your left to continue around Kraft Mountain. Instead, continue up the now wide-open Gateway Canyon Wash. Turtlehead Peak can be seen in the distance ahead.
That nice wide-open wash soon narrows again. Instead of colorful calico sandstone boulders and ledges, now you’re experiencing gray limestone boulders and ledges. It’s interesting to see how the action of water has carved out beautiful channels in the limestone. And the terraces are pretty incredible. There’s even a lone shrub that has a smiley face, likely carved into it…or possibly natural? That would be totally bizarre! The limestone barriers in upper Gateway Canyon are far more imposing and challenging than the sandstone barriers in lower Gateway Canyon. But remember, “Where There’s a barrier, look for a bypass.” You’ll never be disappointed, and upper Gateway Canyon will be a fun, challenging puzzle you can navigate mostly at an easy walk with a few light scrambles up easy slopes and over reasonably easy rocks and ledges!
It’s pretty obvious when you reach the upper opening of Gateway Canyon. The terrain again becomes colorful calico sandstone! You’ll see Turtlehead Peak ahead and a bit to your left. If you’ve seen the more familiar view of Turtlehead Peak from Red Rock Canyon, this view will be quite different. It’s like looking at the back side of Turtlehead Peak. The slope is far more gradual than the cliff on the Red Rock Canyon side. Great terrain for future exploration! That’s ahead and to your left. Ahead and to your right is the sandstone gully that will take you to Gray Cap Peak.
This is where I got a bit disoriented. I’ll explore, map out and video document the main route to Gray Cap Peak soon. On this day, rather than staying in the main gully, I ascended the slope on the left side of the gully. There were, after all, abundant cairns seeming to indicate this was a route, and the high points above seemed to be in the direction of Gray Cap Peak. The slope got steeper and rockier. When I eventually reached a high point I wasn’t looking down on the Brownstone Basin. I was looking down on Kraft Mountain! Totally turned around!
I could, however, see upper Brownstone Basin and the La Madre Mountains ridgeline in the distance to the North. So I decided to wander around this strange strip of wilderness between Gateway Canyon and the Brownstone Basin. Pretty amazing! Beautiful sandstone, spectacular views at every high point, peaceful tinaja pools artistically placed among the sandstone formations, bonsai-like shrubs, pines, juniper and cacti decorating the terrain. It’s a truly wonderful slice of wilderness and a great place to loose yourself…given adequate provision and mild weather conditions! Looking forward to returning!
With the sight of Brownstone Basin ahead, I decided to descend into that basin, then take the familiar length of the basin back to Calico Basin and Gene’s Trailhead. Locating a descent point to Brownstone Basin isn’t as easy as it looks from a distance. There’s a line of cliffs between you and the Brownstone Basin. And, just about every potential descent gully is choked with thick, thick walls of nearly impenetrable brush. I eventually found a route down to the Brownstone Basin. After that I was on trails and roads all the way back to Gene’s Trailhead. What an adventure!
Have fun exploring this wonderful terrain between Gateway Canyon and the Brownstone Basin. Come prepared on a good day with extended daylight but still-mild temperatures. Bring lots of water so you’re free to explore without the urgency of a dwindling water supply. I brought 6 liters.
David Smith has devoted the better part of one day each week over the past 20 years to experiencing a mountain trail running adventure. He began in the Pacific Northwest with the Columbia Gorge and Cascade Mountains; then moved to Southern California and experienced the Angeles Crest mountains; then the Northeast where he experienced the Hudson River Valley and Minnewaska; finally in 2016 to Las Vegas where he is experiencing and documenting Red Rock Canyon, the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston area), Death Valley and beyond!
Return often to experience one new adventure each week! From the home page scroll to “Most Recent Adventures“. More about David Smith…
The trail adventures on this website require proper conditioning, preparation and safety precautions. There are many factors beyond our control including weather conditions, unstable ground, loose rocks, insects and snakes, people you may encounter, your own level of physical conditioning, the potential of getting lost just to mention a few. While this site offers guidance, helpful tips, direction and training, the reader assumes full responsibility for whatever may occur during their trail adventure. Have fun and be safe!
