Hike Rabbit Peak, Mile High Mountain, Rosa Point, Pyramid Peak Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA

Jan 06, 2023 — Getting to Rabbit Peak is a somewhat popular desert adventure, but it seems to be normally done as a backbacking outing due to its length. It's a summit that's haunted me for years, mostly because I'd been up to Villager Peak when I was an itty newbie hiker and couldn't bring myself to reach Rabbit Peak on that hike. Now I've been saving Rabbit Peak for when I could also loop in Mile High Mountain and Rosa Point since separating them into two hikes would mean repeating quite a bit of the same stuff. Whiley was psyched on this proposed route, but I went to bed the night before coming to terms with the fact that I'd only make it Rabbit Peak because I was sick, the daylight hours were minimal, and our proposed route stats daunting for this early in the mountain-fitness year. Our friend Kevin drove from NM to join us on Rabbit Peak to check out the area for his first time, certainly a committment and I applauded his stoke. The three of us ultimately had completely different route plans and time schedules, the result being we only passed each other at various points along the route while not actually hiking together at all. I thought it was pretty silly, but I also had a lovely time pushing myself in the mountains alone. I even managed to keep my headphones off and just be in my thoughts *gasp*.

I woke up feeling a lot better, and after a slow morning to get myself amped I started well after sunrise. Typical. Whiley had already jogged off to do the loop in reverse, starting with Pyramid Peak. Her reasoning was that she wanted to get the rougher and somewhat unknown terrain out of the way early. I chose to head up to Rabbit Peak first since it was the summit I wanted most. In hindsight, I'd say doing my route in reverse (the way Whiley went) is maybe more prudent since you have the Villager Peak Trail to descend on if it gets dark, though I had a blast ascending all the way to Rabbit Peak first on one big straight ridge shot. Kevin had started a couple of hours before and we had a cute little text exchange where he poked fun at my late start as he reached the summit of Villager Peak.

There's initially not a clearly defined trail through the desert, but it seems everyone gets funneled into the proper trail within the first half mile. This trail took me to the very start of the southern ridgeline of Villager Peak, where led clearly along the crest, gaining elevation quickly. Fortunately the grade isn't ridiculously steep, so I was able to make really good time as the ibuprofen kicked in and I started enjoying the morning. Along the way to Villager Peak, I got a glimpse toward Mile High Mountain, toying with the idea of going for it later in the day. About halfway to the peak, the west face of the ridgeline shifted in character, becoming an eroded and gorgeous cliff that paralleled the trail.

At about 4600' the trail became a little harder to follow since the ridge crest creeped into Class 2 terrain. Going the wrong way may result in harder scrambling, so I recommend making sure you're paying attention. Past the Class 2 portion the route eased up a bit, a hilly slope leading to the summit of Villager Peak. I didn't waste any time and continued toward Rabbit Peak, the trail significantly less easy to follow. I suppose many more hikers head up to Villager Peak than schlep out to Rabbit Peak, and the lack of clear trail demonstrated as much. Overall you can't go too wrong, though I recommend sticking to the crest for most stretches. Veering too far left or right on the slopes means some bushwhacking or side-hilling to get back. Even if I lost the trail for a short time I would always find it again shortly after. The route from Villager Peak to Rabbit Peak requires a few major notable dips, as well as some minor ones. Of course these humps need to be overcome on the way back as well to reascend Villager Peak, resulting in aroung 7,800 feet of vertical gain if you're just doing Rabbit Peak as a out-and-back and omit the additional Mile High Mountain loop extension. I texted Whiley to warn her that the route was lumpier than we expected, for which I received the simple response, "you're lumpy". I reached the base of Rabbit Peak, an 800+ foot ascent on a steeper slope leading to a flatter, forested area and ultimately the Class 2 summit boulder.

Shortly before returning to Villager Peak I passed Whiley, who told me the route from Pyramid was great and there weren't any surprises. I was feeling excellent and still had plenty of water, so I committed to doing this long-awaited extension. She can't keep all the fun to herself! This meant my next peak was Mile High Mountain, which required a significant chunk of vertical loss and regain to reach. On my way down from Villager Peak I kept scoping a viable descent off its eastern slope. It was steep everywhere so I thought my best option would be to descend along the crest back the way I had come up for as far as I could before dropping east toward Mile High Mountain. I think my route worked well, since dropping off sooner would have resulted in a longer stretch of steep, loose stuff.

Once at the saddle, I started up toward Mile High Mountain on a social trail that materialized, surprisingly easy to follow. It became notably more loose at one point, but didn't exceed Class 2. I continued along the ridge crest from the summit, which had a nice social trail all the way to Rosa Point. I thought the views coming down toward Rosa Point was the best of the day. The Salton Sea was an excellent backdrop for Rosa Point, and the ridgeline snaked into the distance for what seemed forever. Along the way there were at least three significant bumps that started wearing me down a little. Fortunately all the hard stuff was over and the rest of the hike wouldn't have significant climbs or scrambles.

After the quick detour to get Rosa Point's summit I continued along the ridgeline on a still very clear social trail as it dropped steeply to the south, bypassed a significant hill, and led all the way up to Pyramid Peak, the final summit of the day. This peak is very pretty, though far less tall than the previous peaks on the route. I wanted to reach it mostly because it would provide a really nice somewhat well-established descent route option, especially since it was looking more likely I'd be losing light soon and was looking foward to getting down to a reported old miner trail. The descent from Pyramid Peak starts by following its southern ridgeline, then taking a less-clear social trail onto a very minor humped ridge where the terrain is overall clear of brush and rock. I descended without issue for about 1000 feet, though toward the end of this little ridge the trail became a bit harder to follow as it dropped into a drainage below.

It's important to note that this drainage will not lead back to the trailhead. I almost missed a critical exit point where I needed to leave the drainage to gain a very old miner trail. This trail ascended west from this drainage and up into the hills, gaining a couple hundred vertical feet. I was able to stick to the miner trail the entire way as it crested a minot saddle and headed down into a major wash below. If you decide to do this hike in reverse, locating this miner trail from within the wash could be tricky. I followed this wash and then through random open desert to get back to the trailhead.