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I made it to the top of Rabbit!

I didn't take many pictures on the way from Villager to Rabbit. Matt was having difficultly with bad cramping in his legs all day. We made a late start from Villager for Rabbit - not until 2pm. He still struggled and wasn't sure if he was going to make it. I told him to take a couple advil and eat a snickers bar. This is a little trick I have learned over the years when someone isn't feeling well. Still it seemed like he wasn't going to make it and his pace was getting slower. I wasn't sure if I myself had the energy to finish the trip to Rabbit and back. I started to feel my mind telling me to go back, it was too late, etc. So eventually I quit looking back for Matt and just went into lock-down-determination mode. I was going to the top no matter what, even if I had to crawl back to camp at midnight.

On the final slope up Rabbit (about a 1000 ft gain), I started feeling sick and I couldn't go any further. I stopped and reached for an energy bar and a piece of chocolate. I chugged down some Gatorade and looked for Matt. The hair on the back of my neck rose when I could not find him, and I realized I was completely alone on this remote desert ridgeline, near the point of exhaustion, with still a tough climb ahead and an even longer/tougher hike all the way back to camp. A little chill of fear ran through my mind. But soon my determination kicked in again, and I embraced the fear as just another challenge in the day. Bring it on. And then I started back up the mountain and eventually made it to the top.