I had a different adventure planned for the day but it fell through, and I had this one on the list, so YEAH LETS DO IT (I was excited)! I've been up Rabbit a few times. Mostly to connect to the Santa Rosa Traverse. This was the first out and back for Rabbit itself so I was curious how it would go. 6am start. Perfect weather! Only saw a handful of people all day (mostly on the downside of Villager), so I pretty much had the ridge to myself:)
I made it to the box on Villager in 2:07 and stumbled my way forward to Rabbit Peak in 3:24. I'm used to pushing across that ridge at a little slower pace because I'm typically carrying my water/gear for the SRT but with only 3.5L of water (only used 2.75L) I was able to pick up the pace, but SHEESH the lack of trail is much more challenging at that faster pace! All manner of pokey things and loose rock do everything they can to slow you down! I face planted twice (a little blood never hurt anyone). I made it back to Villager in about 4:30 then tried to put the pedal down for the finish. The final 2 miles of sloping ridge seems like it will never end! Thankfully this ol' 49 year old still had something left in the tank to get the final time in just under 6 hours. If I wasn't fiddling with my phone camera so much, I think I could've dropped another 30 minutes but thats neither here nor there. Next time when I turn 60?:)
Like I said, wasn't on my original roster for this weekend, but glad it worked out! Beautiful ridge on a near perfect day!