12/14/13 Rabbit Mountain 6006' #7

Summit ridge of Rabbit Mountain

I was heading to Carbondale to spend time with Dave and Alyssa and their family and wanted a quick hike before the drive.  I had recently discovered Rabbit Mountain Open Space and saw that they had a closure for wildlife that started on 12/15.  This meant the 14th was my last chance to climb Rabbit Mountain.  I drove through Longmont and to the trailhead.  This seemed to be a nice, small space with a few short trails that is very accessible.

Mount Meeker, Longs Peak, and Twin Sisters

I started out on the main trail and turned onto the Eagle Wind Trail.  This is a two-mile loop and I walked through the little bit of snow on the trail until it started to loop back around to the trailhead.  At this point, I left the trail and easily made my way up to the top of Rabbit Mountain.  The day was clear and sunny and I had great views out onto the plains as well as to the west and to the cloudy and windy Divide.  The view of Longs Peak and Twin Sisters was great.  I had read something neat about being able to see Boulder County's highest peak, Longs, from its lowest peak, Rabbit.  I thought about this as I looked to the high peak that had been standing so tall and visible from so many of my past hikes.

After snapping a few photos and enjoying the views I turned back downhill and headed back to the trail.  Once there, I took the side of the loop I had not hiked in and quickly found myself back at the car.  It had been a great morning hike to a summit.

Elevation gain:  500'     Total gain:  10,345'