Another year, another beautiful, rough hike in the Santa Rosa mountains.

Final Stats:

13 miles, 5500 ft

Click for more stats

After hiking Villager and Rabbit peaks last January, I didn’t think I would be making it out a year later to hike another peak just to the east. The long drive (~3hrs) each way wasn’t really pleasant even with a night of car camping. However this time, a planned car camping expedition by Kathy and the peakbaggers meetup group for both Friday and Saturday nights allowed for a nice hike on Saturday without the long drive.

Rosa Point is likely less climbed than its neighbours to the west, but it is brutal and beautiful on its own.

We started out at the Thimble trailhead – the same starting place for Villager peak – and headed northeast toward Palo Verde canyon. Our plan was to take the standard route (hps route 1) up, and possibly route 3 down. Route 1 requires ascending the ridge just west of Palo Verde. Route finding can be challenging so you want to start off correctly.

We found a slight use trail and took that up heading NE then slightly NW to the first bump, where we then headed generally north.

Cholla are everywhere, and their ability to ‘jump’ was witnessed by many during the early part of the hike. The pain of them stabbing you in the leg and hands helped improved awareness, and cholla related incidents reduced dramatically as the hike continued.

At a bump at ~3530 ft and 3.5 miles in, we veer NE again following the use trail. For a while I accidentally headed east along the ridge and we had to correct back (should be able to see this on the map), so heading NE should be the proper route. We dropped down to a rocky wash and crossed over. A steep climb up to 3650′ saddle brought us to the junction with route 3. From here we headed north up a very steep and rocky ridge. A good ascent culminating in a ascending Rosa Point – the high point just east of the ascending ridge.

Rosa Point gave great views of the area. It was just another really clear day in the desert. We enjoyed a long lunch on top and looked through the old register entries, and decided on doing a loop and bagging Pyramid Peak on the way down.

Hiking down in this area is probably worse than even just west on the Villager / Rabbit traverse. The terrain is very steep and very rocky. Not only did we have to really concentrate all the time, the pounding on the feet and knees from rocks with no give was not too pleasant!

Back at the saddle, we headed SE all the way to Pyramid. The use trail here seems in better condition than on the way up. At Pyramid, we continued south and pick up the long ridge heading SW then S to the area where there are supposedly “Natural Rock Tanks”. Sadly we did not see any and were probably too tired to really do any extra exploration.

We picked up an old miner’s trail that was well worn and followed it out to the trailhead.

The weather that night was in the mid 40’s, but it could hardly be felt if you were bundled under a sleeping bag. It would have been better if we had a fire going, but they require it be in a raised or enclosed container. So all the light we had was a small lamp and a glowstick.

Our time to start was 5am. We had decided to wake up at 4:15am, but that didn’t happen since for the most part, we were already awake long before that. It’s not as though we didn’t try, it’s just that it was near impossible. Whether it was the excitement or just that it was uncomfortable, who knows? But I got about 2 hours of on-off sleep.

Once officially up, we packed and met the others at the parking lot by the road. It was 5am, and with our headlamps on, we departed.

The trail starts at the road, and from there it’s about a mile walk over almost flat but rocky terrain. Once at the base of the ridge does the climb start. This beginning part is pretty steep. So warm up on the flat portion.

Past the opening portion the grade on the trail lessens and the pace becomes more manageable. It’s also at this point that the sun started to slowly rise over the Salton Sea and the ridge to our east.

The pace was pretty quick on this one. Given the distance and gain that had to be covered, we wanted to be done without lingering too long. The first burned up the trail while I and a fellow hiker went at our own pace. The pace wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t fast either. For the most part, we were ahead of my intended schedule.

The views along the way were magnificent. On the way to Villager there’s a nice cliff on the west side in which the trail comes close to at parts. Heading up wasn’t a problem, but on the way down I couldn’t help but notice the cliff and the deadly drop even more.

The views of the desert were pretty cool too. I didn’t take too many shots of the Salton Sea since it was partially obscured at times. Plus, I couldn’t fit the whole thing in the shot. Also, I really dislike that place.

Villager was a tough peak to get to. It was a constant uphill battle until the top. This was a little more past the halfway mark of the ascent. We still had 4 more miles and about 1800′ to negotiate to get to Rabbit. Since we just covered about 6 miles and about 5000′, lunch was a good idea.

Take a look at the picture to the left. Looks are definitely deceiving. Rabbit peak is the tall peak in the center. Looking at it for the first time, I didn’t think too much of it. But what I failed to see was all the knobs in between. Some of them were a gradual grade. While others were steep ascents.

Finally though, after all you’ve gone through, there’s the graduation knob just to get up to Rabbit. This an 890′ gain in about .60 miles! Truly insane. This is where my pace came to crawl. Each step was more painful than the last. But at the end, it was well worth it. Signing the register felt great, but not as great as finishing my pasta.

We rested here for about 15 minutes and were 30 minutes ahead of our 1pm cutoff. So proud as we were, there were still plenty more to do. 11.5 miles and 1200′ more gain to be exact. By this point, it hurt to stand, walk, and do much of anything. My feet were ok still. They don’t start to become a problem until the 14 mile mark. My knees were still fine too. It’s my gluteus muscles that hurt the most. Even before summitting Villager the first time. I think it had something to do with sleeping on the hard floor the previous night.

Anyways, the back was pretty painful. The trail is pretty unmaintained, and route finding is aided by cairns. Loose rocks litter whichever trail you follow. So you end up hitting them or stepping on them in a weird, painful way. Also, bouldering down was pretty unpleasant too. Here’s is where my knees started to hurt. Thank God for my hiking pole.

At right is the view from Rabbit looking back towards the way we came. Villager is the taller peak on the right. That ridge is still 4 miles of torture to get to Villager. After that, it’s still another 6 miles or sheer torture just to get back to the trailhead.

I also learned that it’s more painful going down then up. At times I was wishing that there was more uphill instead of down. Going up I could keep a slow pace and only my muscles would slowly burn. But going down you get different muscles aching and joint pains. Plus, crouching down at portions to step down from rock to rock didn’t help at all.

Looking back 24 hours later, I can say that this was a great hike. Seeing the sunrise and that transition period where it just becomes light enough to turn off the headlamp was great. Summitting Rabbit Peak after all of that work and standing on the rocks at the highest point and throwing your arms up in victory is such a great feeling. Also, accomplishing something that’s both mentally and physically punishing is a feeling like no other.

This hike I probably wouldn’t do again. Sure it was nice, but it’s not nice enough to warrant a second visit.

In regards to my Prep For Rabbit Peak post, check out the updated tables below:

I had messed up on my planning. So instead of getting 5 liters of water, I only got 4. In the end, it didn’t matter, but still, it would have made a big difference had it been warmer.

I’m not going to post my times up here. Instead, I’m just putting up Zé’s gps file. Note that this file came up weird. It put the starting location at Rabbit Peak and didn’t account for the in and out travel. So double distance and time. As for the elevation profile, look from right to left for the trailhead to Rabbit.

	#	Latitude	Longitude	Elevation	Distance	Time	Avg Speed
	1	N 33° 25' 59.74"	W 116° 14' 20.58"	2031 m	0.000 mi	0s	-
	2	N 33° 25' 18.22"	W 116° 14' 12.39"	1744 m	1.000 mi	29m 27s	2.04 mph
	3	N 33° 24' 37.78"	W 116° 13' 44.95"	1695 m	1.004 mi	27m 26s	2.20 mph
	4	N 33° 23' 54.50"	W 116° 13' 29.94"	1646 m	0.999 mi	27m 01s	2.22 mph
	5	N 33° 23' 14.30"	W 116° 13' 05.82"	1712 m	0.998 mi	57m 29s	1.04 mph
	6	N 33° 22' 35.96"	W 116° 12' 38.13"	1607 m	1.000 mi	31m 54s	1.88 mph
	7	N 33° 21' 51.18"	W 116° 12' 28.04"	1356 m	1.000 mi	32m 02s	1.87 mph
	8	N 33° 21' 05.56"	W 116° 12' 42.36"	1051 m	0.999 mi	38m 13s	1.57 mph
	9	N 33° 20' 20.94"	W 116° 12' 22.47"	841 m	1.000 mi	37m 35s	1.60 mph
	10	N 33° 19' 35.24"	W 116° 12' 00.82"	548 m	1.000 mi	39m 14s	1.53 mph
	11	N 33° 18' 48.01"	W 116° 11' 50.42"	338 m	1.014 mi	31m 13s	1.95 mph
	12	N 33° 18' 08.07"	W 116° 11' 53.40"	296 m	0.802 mi	15m 11s	3.17 mph
			Summary	2014 ft	10.818 mi	6h 06m 45s	1.77 mph

Be sure to read Zé’s write up as well Attack of the Cholla – Ascent of Villager & Rabbit Peaks.

Here’s my Picasa gallery for more photos.

The Meetup site for other reviews.

And for a quick sore report:

> Calves semi sore.
> Left knee was causing a slight limp earlier in the day, but that’s gone now.
> Lower quads are sore.
> Gluteus are a bit sore.
> Trapezius feel sore when flexed.

That’s about it. I should be fine Monday. Also, if the knee feels better by Tuesday, then I should be able to do a light version of my leg and cardio routine.

Final Stats:

Gain: 8500 ft
Distance: 23 miles

The cholla wasn’t the only thing causing some pain yesterday.

Others’ photos and Meetup link here

GPS track here

KML Google Earth file

7 people made the 3 hour drive for this one. Most of us headed out Friday and camped out close to the trailhead. The sky was quite clear allowing for great views of the stars, something hard to get closer to civilization.

Rabbit & Villager Peaks at EveryTrail

After a little bit of sleep, we got up and met at the trailhead with our headlamps on and headed out by 5:15 am. We had to traverse the flat, but very rocky first 2 miles before gaining the first ridge to Villager. This took a decent amount of time as I didn’t exactly fail the faint use trail and had to navigate over more rocky portions.

We finally gained the ridge and headed up steeply.

This is very typical trail for a most of the hike:

We took a brief break here, and watched a solo hiker (Rick Kent) blaze past us.

We continued up, passing up some steep dropoffs (aka cliffs) on the west side of the ridge.

If one really wanted some pain, they could add an out-and-back to Rosa Point from this point, adding at least another 4000 ft gain. That is where Rick Kent headed.

We continued up over the rocky terrain. After the first 2 miles at the start, up to Villager Peak covers ~ 5000 ft in 5 miles, but there are some flat portions in between some steep ascents, including some sections of light bouldering.

In this terrain, it is not terrible difficult to avoid the brush, at least it seems. Yet the cholla plants managed to attached to you without reason (evidence in first picture). They are quite the pain to get out, as placing your fingers even delicately upon their other needle-thin endings will cause more pain. But, as usual, I did not wear pants and have reach my montly quota of leg lacerations.

We made it to Villager, ate lunch, stored some extra liquids (I really have to learn how to not bring 8 liters on such a hike), and convinced Tim to continue on to Rabbit. Not like it took much, deep down he really wanted to go!

Heading to Rabbit from Villager traverses about 4 miles with 1800 ft gain and 1200 ft loss over several bumps, culminating in a steep final 1000 ft ascent to the summit. Though the summit is generally broad, one can see great views from the summit block. Snow on San Jacinto and especially San Gorgonio was eye-catching.

We headed back just before 1 pm, hoping to reach back at the trailhead around 6 as it would turn dark out. We got back just around 7 as John and Jen were having some lower extremity pain, which was not surprising considering the length and rockiness of the hike.

For me, I was extremely surprised to have practically no foot pain. I felt I could walk at least 30 miles, when usually my feet start hurting around 18. Part of this may have been the comfortable Salomons I was wearing, and part that I made sure to not stand on my feet when not necessary. Either way, the combination worked great.

Somehow I managed to create sweat stains that resembled a face.

Hike Description

This hike will take us into the Anza-Borrego wilderness area and the Santa Rosa mountain range. As John Robinson says, “It is one of the testpieces for the serious Southern Calilfornia day hikers. This extremely strenuous hike features a remarkable variety of cactus and yucca.” Apparently there will be lots of desert flora to see.

I’ll keep the description brief, and leave you to read the links provided to read more about what this hike entails. We’ll be doing this as a dayhike although we may car-camp the night before.

This hike will begin just off the Borrego Salton Seaway and head north. We will first ascend Villager Peak, which by itself is 6 miles one way with 5,000 ft elevation gain.

After bagging Villager, we will traverse the ridge between it and Rabbit Peak. This ridge will only be 4 miles in length but has several bumps that will give an additional 1800 ft elevation gain. On the way back, there will be another 1200 or so feet of elevation gain.

The terrain will be rocky, and there will be portions of bouldering and possible scrambling, so you should be comfortable with this as well.

For people who are interested but aren’t sure about doing the whole extreme hike, I would like for a secondary group to form who would only ascend Villager Peak. Hiker Tim, who has done this hike before, has stated that much of the nice views were seen just from the ascent to Villager, so I think it is worthwhile alone. That part of the hike alone would be about 12-14 miles and 5000 ft gain, no slouch. But I’ll need someone to volunter to ‘lead’ this group who will be prepared with knowledge of the path.

For either group, the plan would be to start early. For the primary route, I’m thinking we are going to start at like 5 am, so car camping the night before might be ideal, although not mandatory. Whatever way you choose to arrive at 5 am is fine, but keep in mind this is a pretty long drive from Los Angeles, about 3 hrs. Ideally we will be able to complete the hike around sunset, though we may go a bit past. Headlamps will be necessary.

Links

John Robinson write-up

Sierra Club Description

SummitPost

Jerry Schad

A good description

Tim’s Photos

Photo Gallery #2

Hike Details

Primary Option:

Distance: ~ 21 miles rt

Elevation Gain: ~ 8000 ft

Gain / Mile: 800 ft / mile

Estimated Time: ~ 14 hrs

Terrain: Cross country, ridge, rock bouldering

Difficulty: 11/10

Secondary Option:

Distance: ~ 13 miles rt

Elevation Gain: ~ 5000 ft

Gain / Mile: 1000 ft / mile

Estimated Time: ~ 9 hrs

Terrain: Cross country, ridge, rock bouldering

Difficulty: 9/10

Difficulty MUST READ

For those in great condition. Should be exercising regularly.

You must have hiked with me before – you then know the difficulty that I’m describing. If you haven’t, you’d better message me.

via SummitPost

Getting There
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State on the Meetup site where you are coming from to contact people to carpool with.

Trips are canceled in the event of rain (unless trip leader states differently). So assume it is canceled if it’s raining the morning of.

The trip “leader” is a volunteer and not a real leader (i.e. not liable for the group). Think of it as hiking with a group of friends.

Joining LA Hiking hikes is entirely voluntary and participants assume the full risks associated with the activities. It is each hiker’s responsibility to ensure that s/he is in sufficient fitness and health to participate in a strenuous hike, with the appropriate water, food, clothing, first aid, and navigation equipment for the conditions. The LA Hiking Group and the individual organizers make no warranties about the safety or supervision of these activities.