Domeland Backpack: Renewal and Regrowth

 
Domeland Wilderness from Rockhouse Basin
Domeland Wilderness from Rockhouse Basin

“What are men to rocks and mountains?”
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“It’s a barnburner. It’s cooking,” reported the Los Angeles Times.

The Manter Fire in July of 2000 raged through 55,000 acres in California’s Domeland Wilderness and Sequoia National Park. Since the 2000 fire, dead trees have continued to fall every year and rapid growth of whitethorn, a waist-high thorny brush has encroached on much of the trail system.

Fortunately, I experienced Domeland Wilderness in my early days of backpacking before fire ravaged the land. My memories are filled with green meadows, running creeks, tall trees, granite domes, and the expansive views from the top of Siretta Peak. Every spring I think about going back.

Last weekend, fifteen years after the fire, Dan and I headed out to revisit Domeland armed with outdated maps and little current information on the condition of the old trails. It was a good opportunity to explore, test new gear, and get some training in for my upcoming summer treks.

Our semi-loop planned route looked like this: Kennedy Meadows trail head, south on the PCT, west on Rockhouse Trail, climb Rockhouse Peak (tallest peak in the wilderness), to Manter Trail, climb Taylor Dome, back to Manter Trail, north on Woodpecker Trail, east on Domeland Trail, and retrace our steps to Kennedy Meadows.

An ambitious 3 day plan.

The trip was enjoyable, but very challenging due to non-existent trails with miles of bushwhacking through thorny bushes, climbing up and over downed trees, and lack of water due to California’s drought. Most year-round streams were dry. Manter Creek and the North Fork of the Kern River on the east and west sides of Domeland were running freely. Evidence of bear activity (prints and scat) was frequent throughout our route.

Climbing Rockhouse Peak was fun, very rewarding, and the highlight of our trip. The second peak to climb was Taylor Dome. At the end of the second day, we reached the last pitch to the top of the dome. Dan and I both felt uncomfortable with the exposure of the class 3 move required to reach the top of the summit. After much apprehension, we decided it wasn’t worth it, took a photo, and headed down. I think it was a smart decision, but a bummer because the cross-country approach was not an easy climb.

The regrowth and renewal of the forest was encouraging, but trail maintenance is badly needed for visitors to safely navigate the riches of this wilderness.

To celebrate, we enjoyed chatting with northbound Pacific Crest Trail hikers, while eating burgers at the Kennedy Meadows Store. Thru-hikers are leaving Kennedy Meadows heading into the Sierras leaving the desert behind. Coincidentally, I even saw a few hikers I had given Cokes to while trail angeling with Goaltech on the trail a week ago on the PCT in Tehachapi. Jill, a PCT thru-hiker even wrote about it on her blog, Day 36 – Tehachapi and Trail Celebrities. Now that was cool.

TRIP DATE May 23-25, 2015
LENGTH 49.7 miles on maintained trail, faint use trails, and cross-country
ELEVATION GAIN 8,029 feet
SUMMIT ELEVATIONS: Rockhouse Peak elevation 8, 360, Taylor Dome elevation 8,802
TRAIL HEAD Kennedy Meadows, CA on Nine Mile Road, 1/8 mile west of Kennedy Meadows Store
DIFFICULTY  Strenuous on maintained trail, faint use trails, bushwhacking, cross-country travel, and class 2 and 3 climbing
NAVIGATION  GPS and good map skills required
BEST TIME TO HIKE Spring and fall (hot in the summer)
EXTRA INFORMATION Rockhouse Peak and Taylor Dome are on the Sierra Peaks Section list
LINKS Rockhouse Peak and Taylor Dome climbs on SummitPost

Day 1 – Kennedy Meadows to Saddle below Rockhouse Peak
16.6 miles

Camp 1 - Saddle Below Rockhouse Peak
Camp 1 – Saddle Below Rockhouse Peak

Click once on any photo below to view full size. Flip through all photos by clicking arrows on the sides of photos or on mobile device, swipe. To exit slide show, click X in the upper left hand corner.

Day 2 – Saddle below Rockhouse Peak to Domeland Trail
18 miles

Rockhouse Peak Summit
Rockhouse Peak Summit
View of Owens and Jenkins Peaks from Rockhouse Peak Summit
View of Owens and Jenkins Peaks from Rockhouse Peak Summit
Manter Meadow
Manter Meadow

Day 3 – Domelands Trail to Kennedy Meadows
15.1 miles

Sunrise on forgotten Domeland Trail
Sunrise on forgotten Domeland Trail
Pacific Crest Trail LOVE
Pacific Crest Trail LOVE

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9 Comments

  1. Just hiked this loop 11/25/2021-11/27/2021! Thanks for sharing your logistics. Definitely a challenging but beautiful route. Domeland Trail east of Bart Dome and the “trail” in the Rockhouse Peak area were essentially nonexistent; GPS, blazes, and cut down trees helped with navigation, but prepare for a mentally and physically exhausting hike in these parts since you’ll be referring to GPS frequently and bushwhacking. Long sleeves and pants essential! Rockhouse Meadow seems to be private property now (always?)… I had to go over some barbed wire and ignore a pretty imposing “POSTED, NO TRESPASSING” sign to get to Rockhouse Peak; I don’t think there was any alternative route.

    Unfortunately, the fewer hours of daylight and solo traveling made ascending any of the peaks too risky for my taste. South Fork Kern River, Manter Creek, and Trout Creek were the only freely flowing water sources. Great fun, but I may skip Domeland Trail east of Bart Dome next time and make another loop!

  2. Hey great site! I will check out more. I got here since I’ve been looking up info for Domeland or South Sierra Wilderness for a possible Spring backpack. Great article on your Domeland trip and helpful info on the trails and water.

    • Christy "Rockin'" Rosander

      Welcome Hiking Mike! Thank you. This was a really nice and challenging hike. You should do it. Just bring pants for the brush. With all the snow and rain the Sierras have received this year there should be water in the seasonal stream beds. Good luck and thank you for commenting.

  3. It never fails to amaze me how photos of those on the trail have the nicest and happiest smiles!!! Awesome.

    Glad you two had a good and safe trip. I’ve heard where you’ll be shortly! Can’t wait to read about it.

    • I KNOW! The countdown is on. One more day of work and I am off for the summer. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Yep, I will be hitting the Tahoe Rim Trail this Tuesday with my good hiker friend, Wired. It will be epic.

      Great to know you will be following along. 🙂 Yaaaaaaay. Almost summer.

  4. The two of you look great ! Little evidence of young conifers…St Helens showed a faster tree recovery though very slow growing in the ash fields.
    Loki
    Love your trips :)My Shingles outbreak on the CDT 🙁

    • Loki, Ah man shingles on the trail. So painful, stressful, and disappointing. Rest and heal quickly and get back on that trail soon!

      You are so right. In dryer areas like the California mountain ranges, regrowth is so slow and often never really recovers at all. It does make for interesting lighting, nice wildflowers, and spooky scenery. All in the life of a hiker.

    • only went off trail for diagnosis and medications.
      Cought it early…rash almost gone but remaining skin sensativity very noticeable.. Part of my life along the trail.

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