Santa Rosa Mountain: Rabbit Peak and Villager Peak

[marmot]

sounds like two good peaks! never been here before, but the elevation gain is much, 5000 feet in only a few miles to the top of villager peak. A good combination would be rabbit peak and villager peak. It would be nice to do both in winter, a day when there is snow above 4000 feet. very pretty i bet

anybody ever been hiking in the santa rosa mountains, or done villager or rabbit peak?
If so, how was it?

I'm also interested in doing the skyline sometime in winter, when the snow level is extremely low (3000-4000 feet).
Has anybody done the skyline in winter or when it was like this?

ps..my stationary home is in the high- high- desert (4500 feet), and it is very pretty when there is snow.

Once, I was actually playing with the idea of doing mt. baldy from my house in one day.

[RJSUSC]

Not sure if you're familiar with a very notable dayhiker by the name of Bob Burd, but he wrote up an account from when he dayhiked both Villager and Rabbit, he had some fun that day! A link to his trip report can be found here:

http://www.snwburd.com/bob/trip_reports/villager_1.html

As for doing skyline in the winter, I have never done it around that time, but I think its pretty rare for the snow level to be down to 3,000 ft, I live in Cherry Valley, not too far from P.S. and it rarely snows here (I live at about the 3,000 ft level), and when it does snow, its even rarer for the snow to stick around longer than a day or two. The temps are even warmer in the PS area, so I would imagine that these conditions are extremely rare. I don't know for sure though, Cy and Perry would be able to answer this question I'm sure.

[Cy Kaicener]

My friend Robie Madrigal has done it when the snow was below Flat Rock. It took him 13 hours instead of the usual six and a half. It took him almost six hours from Flatrock. You need instep crampons, ice picks and an ice axe. Sometimes you need snow shoes as well. He had snowshoes with spikes like crampons.

[Yichus]

Hi, Marmot:

My friend Hal Bradley, his brother, and I hiked Skyline last winter, about a week after the snow level dropped to the 2500ft level in the San Jacintos and other mountain ranges. My friend Cy was also with us. We encountered patches of snow at about the 4500 level. From Flatrock onward, however, the trail was completely covered in snow. It was slow-going all the way up because we were busting trail, but it was fun. We got off trail numerous times. In fact, at one point we found ourselves descending about 500ft below the trail near the first traverse. It was an awesome experience, one that I'd like to repeat again. Soon.

Rob M.

[wingding]

We backpacked in to Villager Peak, dropped our packs, and then day hiked to Rabbit and back to Villager to camp on a Saturday. Then we hiked out to the vehicles on Sunday.

Pictures of the trip:

http://kathywing.smugmug.com/gallery/1254196


I actually like the hike to Rosa Point better than the hike to Rabbit. Rosa Point pictures:

http://kathywing.smugmug.com/gallery/1245290