RonnieAdventure #0445 - Guardian Angel Loop Hike, Red Rock NCA, Clark County, Nevada

Most people have no idea why this hike is called "Guardian Angle Loop;" but if you know where to look, you can find a Guardian Angle rock carving. 

The Guardian Angel Loop Hike at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA) is a little known trail that is not well marked and only shows up on a few web sites. One advantage to this hike is that the trailhead is located outside of the NCA; thus, no fees and no entrance station wait times to get into the NCA! 

The Guardian Angel Loop Trail is actually a composite of various other trails within the NCA; so one disadvantage is that the trail passes through several high visitation areas. The advantage, however, is that the high visitation areas contain restrooms and other public facilities. Another disadvantage is that in several areas the trail is not well marked and requires a lot of rock scrambling through brush and other prickly plants. A GPS unit or a paper 24K topographic map is helpful to find the correct trail at several junctions. 

There are a number of geologic features along the trail, so it would be possible to spend a lot of time just taking pictures on this hike.

The hike starts at the Red Springs Picnic Area, but stays on the outside of the wooden fence that encloses the springs. This is part of the Calico Overlook Loop Trail that connects to other trails within the NCA. A Road Runner was at the picnic area looking for food and to wish us good luck on the trail.

As we were climbing the last summit before we exited the NCA, there were several people that had stretched a cable between two cliffs and were practicing high-wire aerial feats. This is one sport that I have no desire to try. 

BONUS PICTURES BY KOLOHE