Rabbit Island

The Jones brothers arrive at the island on a cold and windy day. The island is about 1,300 miles from its owner, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Rabbit Island caretaker Hugh Jervis removes a kayak from the main lodge.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

A dusting of snow. The island features tall cedars, bald eagles and spectacular cliffs.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Doug Bennett, executive director of the Orange Coast College Foundation, hikes a trail around the island’s scenic perimeter. “It’s complicated to own an island,” he says.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

The deck on one of Rabbit Island’s four cabins affords a view of neighboring islands. Students who visit the island in the summer sleep under mosquito nets.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

In the kitchen of the main lodge, caretakers Jervis, left, and Bill Hayward swap stories about their experiences on the island.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Gaping at washed-up lumber during their hike around the island’s perimeter are Hayward, left, Jervis and Bennett.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

A bald eagle is perched on a nearby island.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Bennett takes in the scenery at dusk. Owning an island sounds exotic, but upkeep for Rabbit Island has sapped the college’s pocketbook and helped relatively few students.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

A deer looks is caught grazing. The island has enraptured the 25 or so students who have made the voyage each summer to catalog the flora and fauna. Black-tailed deer paddle from island to island.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Jervis pulls kayaks into the main lodge. The island has a generator, solar power and a desalination machine. In addition to a working toilet, there is the option of using the old-fashioned outhouse, complete with half-moon window.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Keeping warm inside the boat’s cabin, Bennett is ferried on his return trip. Rabbit Island is an hour and half off Vancouver Island.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)