I had intended on doing something bigger after the conference I was attending in Vegas was over. However, I couldn't really justify making my wife sit by the pool alone while I was gone for 12 hours and she didn't (maybe myself too) have the energy for a big day. Then she said she wanted to go if we did something close and something relatively easy. Hmmm... sounds familiar to Monday's Outing.

Having just done New Peak near Calico Basin and enjoying the scenery, I remembered Kraft Mountain right next to it fit my wife's criteria, so that's what we decided on at 8:30am.

Kraft Mountain is a rugged looking mountain from the trailhead. It doesn't have a ton of prominence by definition, but it is steep from Calico Basin and from the drive in from Las Vegas. Unlike New Peak, the route up Kraft was going to be a bit more challenging, as it was a maze of sandstone towers and gullies.

We headed out, arriving at the trailhead around 10am. It was much warmer than Monday and 20 times more cars at the trailhead (40 instead of 2). We hit the trailhead and made our way to the saddle between New Peak and Kraft Mountain. In the room that morning I had studied the photo I had of it from Monday and started my planned attack.

I guess my route was solid, as we started finding cairns on it. The sandstone was great to climb on and you could go up really steep walls without too much danger as the rock was sticky with lots of hand and foot holds.

We were more worried about keeping out of the brush, so we just stayed on top of the rocks and made our way to the ridge. Once on the ridge, we had to lose a bit of elevation to avoid class 5 climbing. From the base of our drop, the peak was directly above.

We popped out on top after a very very fun time scrambling and route finding. One of those peaks you just aren't sure about until you reach the summit. The summit was awesome with a register, beautiful blue skies, and great views.

We chatted, relaxed, and snapped photos then headed down. It was harder staying on route on the way down, but we did great. After a quick break in the shade, we raced back to the trailhead so we could catch a nap and some pool time before another fun night on the strip.

Kraft Mountain from that direction is interesting, with little hidden sandbox-like areas and even pine trees hidden amongst the sandstone towers. Add it to your list for your Vegas morning after "Hangover" trip.

To get to the Calico Basin, head west on Charleston, out past the 215, and turn right onto the signed Calico Basin road (about a mile or so before the scenic loop) and follow all the way to the parking lot (passing Red Springs picnic area). There are a few turns along the way.

The trailhead is a gravel lot on the left hand side of the road.

From the trailhead hike the trail to the saddle between New Peak and Kraft Mountain at the head of Calico Basin.

From the saddle, turn right (east) and head up Kraft Mountain. There are some cairns you can follow.