Villager Peak And Rabbit Peak

BOU AVENUE
Villager Peak And Rabbit Peak

On 29 December 2024, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked up Rabbit Peak in the Santa Rosa Mountains of southern California. When I was searching online for good hikes to do in close proximity to the Salton Sea, Rabbit Peak came up, but like the infamous furry creature from the movie Monty Python And The Holy Grail, this is one Killer Rabbit! The usual ascent route via the non-technical south ridge--which includes a traverse of Villager Peak--entails a round-trip distance of over 34 kilometres with a cumulative elevation gain exceeding 2000 metres. Some people choose to break up the ascent over two days, but this necessitates hauling overnight gear as well as extra water which was unappealing to both Zosia and me. We naturally had some apprehension about attempting Rabbit Peak as a very long day trip, but ultimately, we decided that life was too short to pass up on an opportunity to slay the Killer Rabbit.

Zosia and I got up well before dawn and drove to the trailhead (33.302709, -116.197979) located along the Borrego Salton Seaway (Highway S22). Starting with headlamps, we headed north on a well-trodden path across the desert flats. The path braids a bit at first but eventually consolidates into a well-defined trail. About two kilometres from the trailhead, we crossed a big wash and began climbing in earnest up the south ridge of Villager Peak. The initial climb is quite steep, but then the ridge broadens and flattens out making it much more pleasant to hike. Further up the ridge, we ran into three hikers on their way out. They had camped on the ridge the previous night, but for some unknown reason, they had failed to even reach the summit of Villager Peak. As we would soon discover for ourselves, the trail becomes less distinct on the upper ridge, and although travel was still technically easy, having to route-find through the desert scrub added another layer of fatigue to an already wearisome climb. Over 5.5 hours after starting out, we staggered onto the summit of Villager Peak, but with Rabbit Peak still far away, we stopped only long enough to snap a photo and sign the register before moving on.

	Zosia gets off to a pre-dawn start.
	A good trail crosses the desert flats and leads to the start of the ridge straight ahead.
	Zosia pauses near the start of the ridge to admire the morning sunlight illuminating San Ysidro Mountain in the distance.
	After an initial steep section, the ridge flattens out for a lengthy stretch.
	Zosia gets her first clear look at the summit of Villager Peak which is the last bump on the left.
	Zosia passes some precipitous cliffs along the ridge.
	Although the ridge ahead looks innocuous, it is actually more tedious to hike than it appears.
	Sonny and Zosia sit on the summit of Villager Peak (1754 metres).

The connecting ridge to Rabbit Peak is essentially more of the same terrain that Zosia and I had already hiked. However, having to lose a lot of hard-won elevation dropping into the many dips along the way was rather demoralizing since we knew that we would eventually have to climb back up all of them. The top of Rabbit Peak is surprisingly a semi-forested plateau, and if not for a particularly conspicuous boulder which stands above everything else, the true summit might be difficult to pinpoint. Apparently, there is a "summit" benchmark located near the east end of the plateau, but it is most likely lower (we did not bother to visit it). Despite the lateness of the day, we took an extended break at the summit of Rabbit Peak to rest and refuel. We already knew that we would be completing this trip in the dark, and it was important to reset ourselves mentally for the long return journey.

Darkness fell as Zosia and I made our way back across the connecting ridge to Villager Peak. We eventually had to break out our headlamps, and as it became harder to discern features on the ridge, I began to increasingly rely on my phone's GPS application to keep us on track. Climbing back over Villager Peak was probably the most daunting challenge of the trip since we were mostly climbing uphill, off-trail, and in the dark. Given our physical exhaustion, our progress was understandably slow, but psychologically, it was uplifting to know that every step we took got us closer to salvation in the form of our waiting car at the trailhead. Arriving back at the summit of Villager Peak felt like a minor victory as we knew that most of the significant uphill sections were behind us. Navigating the upper sections of the south ridge was still tricky in some places, but again, my phone’s GPS application proved to be invaluable in the dark. Even when we finally regained the good trail at the lower flattened part of the ridge, we still managed to go astray a few times. Fortunately, these minor route-finding errors were inconsequential, and we inevitably made it back down to the desert flats very tired but safe. Another half hour of easy walking had us back at the trailhead where we promptly rehydrated, brushed our teeth, and went straight to bed in our car to end a very long and tiring day.

Rabbit Peak is 5.3 kilometres away as the crow flies.

Visible to the northwest are Toro Peak (far left), San Jacinto Peak (distant left barely peeking above the intervening ridge), and Rabbit Peak (right).

	The connecting ridge to Rabbit Peak is longer and more complicated than it looks.
	Zosia faces the final steep climb before the top of Rabbit Peak.
	More than nine hours after starting out, Zosia finally approaches the summit of Rabbit Peak.

How does this "bunny hill" take more time to climb than all those other higher peaks?

Here is the view to the northwest from the summit of Rabbit Peak.

	Zosia and Sonny show off their "ears" on the summit of Rabbit Peak (2027 metres).
	Zosia descends Rabbit Peak and faces a long and strenuous hike back to Villager Peak (left).

Doesn't seem like an environmental hazard when seen from a distance!

Ironically, the most comprehensive view of Salton Sea is not from either summit but from one of the bumps along the connecting ridge.

We're not even halfway back to Villager Peak yet here!

Despite the long trek still ahead of her, Zosia pauses to enjoy the beautiful desert scenery in waning daylight.

	The sun has just disappeared over the western horizon.
	A final faint burst of light illuminates this rock beside Zosia.
	Zosia takes a catnap beside the trail during a rest stop.
	This is the view from the trailhead of Villager Peak's south ridge (centre) on the following morning.
	Total Distance: 35.0 kilometres Total Time: 18 hours 15 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: ~2288 metres GPX Data