Backpacking the Domelands Wilderness 2022 - Finding Solitude in the Southern Sierra Nevada
Domelands Wilderness (Southern Sierra Nevada)
Nights Out: 4
Mileage: ~40
Trailhead: Turnout along Kennedy Meadows Road
Agency: Sequoia National Forest - Domelands Wilderness
Dates Hiked: April 20-24, 2022
For those interested, here is a list of my gear that I have found works well for me. This is, of course, an affiliate link and your enjoyment of these may vary:
During our trip to Cougar Canyon earlier in the year, Dreamer and I started talking about being able to meet sometime in the spring to explore places we haven’t been before.
Update 2023: Adam (Dreamer) has since started a backpacking training company, using his vast experience in the outdoors as well as 30 years of being a teacher, called Alpine Adventure Coaching.
We initially aimed to meet in Los Padres National Forest, but after his 67-mile trip along the Condor Trail, he was in the mood for something different and mentioned Sequoia National Forest.
I scanned the map, and similar to when I saw the Ruby Mountains, I saw an area called the Domeland Wilderness.
I researched around for a little bit and discovered some positive things going for it:
No permit required
Very lightly visited
No bear canister required
Has interesting Geologic Features
Has year-round water
Will likely be clear of snow this early in the season
Wasn’t crazy high in elevation
We can make a lollipop route from Kennedy Meadows
Although it was no longer quite halfway between us, as Dreamer had to drive a lot longer than I did, it worked out great for us.
We didn’t have any specific campsites in mind and were just going to play it by ear.
Domelands Wilderness Trail Map (Click to enlarge)
We planned to hike the Domelands Trail in a counter-clockwise lollipop, head up to the high point of the trail at ~7,800’ and drop down to Manter Meadow, and head back up to the Rockhouse Saddle, dropping back down to Rockhouse Basin, making our way back to the PCT.
We arrived at Grumpy Bear’s Retreat in Kennedy Meadows in time for dinner and caught up on our respective lives while enjoying food and beer out on the patio. It’s always great to see good friends.
Inside were some PCT hikers well into their cups. We hung out until the temperature dropped and we settled into our respective cars to sleep. I confirmed that my RAV4 is a little too short for me to sleep comfortably in.
Day 1 - Kennedy Meadows to Tibbets Creek - 9 Miles
The next morning, we ate a hearty breakfast at Grumpy Bear’s retreat and were able to get a ride from the owner to take us out to the trailhead, saving us nearly 3 miles of road hiking each way.
Our first view of the Domelands from the trail
As the dust settled from the owner’s truck, we adjusted our packs and headed out on the trail. He gave us a tip that there was a trail that followed the fenceline to the PCT and that would save us some more distance by going straight west to the PCT, rather than north to meet it.
Domelands Wilderness - Sequoia National Forest sign at our trailhead
Grumpy Bear's sign on the PCT - with their impressive offerings
We were excited, looking around at the sage-covered meadows and quickly seeing the granite knobs of the Domelands in the distance.
It was sunny, but cool. There’s always a bit of excitement at the start of a backpacking trip; we were fully loaded with food and curious to see what was over the next hill.
Hiking along the PCT toward the Domelands Wilderness
We had a nice pace and chatted about our lives. We passed some private property here and there as the rolling trail continued south into the Domeland Wilderness.
We could see the South Fork of the Kern River below us and could see potential campsites nearby, but we were headed up high to Tibbets Creek, which our research indicated was a perennial water source.
South Fork of the Kern River along the PCT
We saw a couple hiking northward to Grumpy Bear’s on the PCT who would be the only people we would see for the duration of the trip. We only saw two sets of footprints going clockwise against our route until we dropped back down Rockhouse Basin in two days.
We'll be camping on the other side of that frog-like rock formation on the left
The Domes of the Domeland Wilderness
The PCT enters some trees for a bit
We continued to follow the PCT away from the river when we both suddenly stopped and realized we may have passed a side trail just a few feet behind us. Sure enough, we got back to the turnoff and hiked southwest towards another trail and the South Fork of the Kern River.
We left the PCT and could see where we'd be coming from in two days
The trail dropped down to the river and we found a wide section to cross. We decided to remove our trail shoes and cross, me in my crocs and Dreamer barefoot. The water felt great and we sat on the opposite bank, putting our shoes back on.
Headed toward the South Fork of the Kern and up that ridge
Must cross the Kern and climb up. Campsite is on the other side of the ridge, under the rock formation on the left
Kern crossing
There were flowers blooming and interesting green plants in the shallow water of the river. We made a mental note to remember this spot as a potential campsite on the way out. There appeared to be plenty of sites in the area with large granite outcrops.
We scouted the area and could plainly see Trout Creek meeting with the Kern, but could only see some willows in a drainage to our south. That was likely Tibbets Creek. We found some cairns here and there and a very faint use trail and started climbing a steep hill between the creeks.
The steep climb along Tibbets Creek
Looking back down from where we came
The valley dropped behind us as the hill flattened out near the top. We encountered some fallen eroded wooden poles and some barbed wire, which looked wildly out of place so far out there, in the nearly trailless wilderness.
The faint trail levels out on top
We walked over to Tibbets Creek and saw only willows with an occasional glimpse into some orange, smelly, stagnant pools.
This wasn’t the flowing year-round creek that we had heard about. We consulted our GPS and confirmed it was Tibbet’s Creek. We started to wonder about our water source, as we continued up the drainage, searching for a campsite.
Looking for the good water. This was orange and smelled stagnant
The wind had started picking up as we climbed the hill and now it was blowing with vigor. We hoped we would find a site with some shelter, as we started scouting for spots on either side of the creek.
The other side of the frog formation
We crossed through the reeds, past some large bear scat, and found a flat spot on the southern side of the creek, hoping for some refuge from the wind. We hiked back down to the creek, only finding reeds.
Finally, with relief, through a curtain of willows we saw a clear pool of water along the mostly dry creek. We filtered the water and filled up our bottles for the evening.
Our campsite at Tibbets Creek
We hiked back to the site and started setting up our tents in the growing wind. The ground was soft with pine needles and sand, so I dragged some logs and large branches over to my site, while Dreamer used large rocks for his. We needed anything we could to stand up to the howling wind.
The wind was so strong, the tent poles on my tent were flattening out under strong gusts. I rigged my trekking poles to the guy lines facing the wind and they provided some great stability. The tent never threatened to collapse after that.
Our cooking spot in the shelter of the large boulders
Confident that our tents wouldn’t blow away, we had our dinner in the shelter of a large boulder, which mostly protected us from the wind. The temperature was dropping quickly, however, and we were expecting a storm overnight.
We enjoyed the evening from the protection of another boulder until the cold and wind got to us and we hunkered down for the night in our respective shelters.
Day 2 - Tibbets Creek to Little Manter Meadow - 10+ Miles
The wind blew all night and the sky opened up above our tents. We woke up to a layer of snow blanketing the ground.
While the storm had rages above us, I had slept warmly and soundly. Dreamer got up early to take some pictures and went back to his tent, which was simply a tarp over a bivy. I stayed inside my cozy tent until the sun was ready to come. It was a chilly morning.
Dreamer's cozy tarp and bivy
I was still asleep and warm when this was taken
Dreamer happy to be in the sun
No much snow remaining, but still plenty of wind
We had a nice breakfast in the sun as the snow melted around us. We dried our tents in the rising sun as we packed everything up. On the way back to the north side of the creek, we passed some more bear scat, which wasn’t fresh, and continued up the valley.
Old bear scat
The valley was a relatively flat stroll that followed alongside the mostly dry creek until we lost the trail. We decided to explore off-trail and climbed to a ridge and followed it high to the southwest.
Our campsite from across Tibbets Creek
Headed out along the gentle first part of the canyon
Dreamer crossing a log as we started cross-country up a ridge
We enjoyed ourselves, climbing high on a ridge that was devoid of any human signs. It was wonderful to be perched so high, with a view of the drainages around us, being in a place that few modern people had visited.
Our elevated ridge, no footprints
It was an easy-going, undulating ridge until we found ourselves atop a granite cliff, unsure if the way ahead was clear. We could see the pass, still far above us, through some amazing terrain. We pondered continuing up the ridge or dropping down and traveling far north back to the trail. We scouted around for ways down and decided to descend, traveling cross-country toward the trail.
Some of the domes from the other side
We dropped into a steep drainage, crossing a creek, and climbed up and around a hill, which gave us a wonderful view of the granite domes to the east. We would lose the trail from time to time through the thick brush.
For a bit, there was an occasional blaze on a tree, but it was very irregular and we rose and fell through various drainages. Dreamer saw some deer, but they were gone by the time that I caught up to him, even though I was only about 50’ behind him as we explored cross-country in between finding the trail.
We dropped again and I was getting hungry, so I signaled to Dreamer that we should stop for a bit and I thought he had heard me and was expecting him to stop, but he kept going until I finally saw him sit on a log.
I joined him and we realized he hadn’t heard me. We enjoyed a well-earned break in a grassy clearing while we ate on a comfortable log. We still had a long way to go, but the day was warm in the sun with a cool breeze. It was nice to be out there, with very few signs of humans.
If anything, the sheer solitude was one of the highlights of the trip; outside of the PCT, this place simply wasn’t visited often. The solitude was healing and peaceful and made us smile along the way.
Back on the faint trail toward the pass between the domes
We got started and hiked back up to another ridge and found the trail leading to the west, of course losing it time and time again. We saw the large domes on either side of the pass above us, so we were confident of our direction.
Getting close to the pass
The trail disappears
We lost the trail again as we traversed through some knee-high bushes and then we came to the brush-choked pass. Luckily, we have a good eye for bushwhacking as we waded into the brush, walking over logs from small clearing to small clearing.
Near the top, we came to a clearing with an interesting boulder in it. It was large, but with a tiny base. It looked like a breeze could blow it over, but here it was, on a windy pass with no intention of going anywhere.
Balancing rock
We made it to the pass and took a little break. It was about 4:30PM. Happy to start going downhill, we started seeing snow on the other side. We found the trail and started dropping at a decent pace back into the forest.
More snow in the shade
Looking down the lushness of other side
About an hour later, we encountered some signs on the trees pointing us to the Domeland Trail. There were some trail junctions, but we pointed ourselves south along the clear path toward Manter Meadow, our possible destination for the evening.
Domeland Trail: Our first sign since we started
As we approached the large meadow, the temperature dropped dramatically and the icy wind started blowing. There were snow patches all over and we started looking for a flat place to put our tent and a water source.
We continued heading south until we could see Manter Creek leaving the meadow to the east. We scouted around and could not see any clear ground to put our camp. It was also getting very cold.
Heart Rock near Manter Meadow
Frigid Manter Meadow
We decided to continue on for a few more miles to the east, following Manter Creek, and make it to Little Manter Meadow. Hopefully, there would be sites there and it would be protected from the wind.
The trail to Little Manter Meadow
We turned to the east and headed along the trail, which was sometimes lost through the fallen leaves. It felt a lot warmer, so we felt we made the correct decision as we continued east, with Manter Creek rushing through a gorge to our right.
In the dim light, we finally made it to the edge of the meadow, realizing we’d have to cross the icy river twice in order to get to where we’d like to go. We didn’t want to do that. We were cold and tired and didn’t want to be shivering as we stopped hiking for the day.
We could see a way along the side of a steep rock outcrop, so we scooted across a loose hill, being careful not to get caught on more barbed wire, which once again seemed out of place so far out in the wilderness.
We finally found a flat spot near the creek. There were obvious places where people had camped in the past, but they appeared to be close to the creek and would be damp, or they were under dead trees with dangerous branches above. In this wind, it would be a bad decision.
Luckily the winds died down as we attempted to set up our tents. Our brains were tired and all the locations seemed sloped until we’d reorient the tent and it would seem sloping the opposite way. We continued that tired trend until we picked a spot and went for it. Flat enough.
Dreamer decided to skip dinner and head straight into the tent while I sat at an old fire ring and made my dinner with my stove. It was after 8PM, and I communicated with my wife via GPS and she had been getting worried, since this was the latest I’d contacted her in awhile.
It was so cold, the condensation of my breath obscured my vision in the glow of my headlamp, as I got into my warm tent and settled in for the evening. It was a tiring, but beautiful day.
Day 3 - Little Manter Meadow to Rockhouse Basin - ~11? Miles
We had a great night’s sleep and woke up to the sun hitting our tent. We had a relaxing breakfast and refilled our water from the creek and headed off on the sunny trail to the east.
Manter Creek by our campsite
Our Little Manter Meadow campsite in the morning light. I slept under the tree in the center.
There were patches of snow here and there and we immediately lost the actual trail as there were several use trails throughout the area. We then found the proper trail as we started to climb up to Rockhouse Pass.
Headed out along Little Manter Meadow
Headed up toward the Rockhouse Saddle
We climbed high up the switchbacks up to the flat top of the pass. We had a great view and had a rest and a snack on a large boulder at the top.
Almost to Rockhouse Saddle
We started down the other side, finding a use trail on the southern edge of the canyon. The faint use trail came and went as we waded through the dense brush and crumbling hillside. We scrambled down and up through many eroding gullies, sometimes finding cairns, and sometimes following some deer tracks.
Dreamer looking to our imminent descent into Rockhouse Meadow
The trail was barely there, if at all, as we scrambled through manzanita and loose sand and rocks
It took us over three hours to push ourselves down from the pass, which was likely a distance of under two miles.
The challenging navigation, the dense brush, and the loose dirt on the hillside left us ready for a long break.
We approached the ranch at the bottom of the mountain and explored around each side, looking for a way around the fencing, but there appeared to be an easement through the gate in the fence, so we took that through the field and had a break on a large log on a dirt road. It would have been miles in either direction if we circumnavigated the barbed wire fence that stretched into the distance.
Made it to the cabin at the bottom of the hill
We saw a strip of green up ahead and refilled our water at a charming little brook, also giving our feet a good soak in the process.
Time for a rest, a snack, a water refill, and a foot soaking
A look back what we came down below Rockhouse Saddle
Refreshed and refueled, we pressed on, walking on a dirt ranch road, heading toward the South Fork of the Kern River. We reached the edge of the river and enjoyed a refreshing crossing. Our feet enjoyed the cool water, but we still had far to go.
Crossing the South Fork of the Kern felt great on our feet
We were headed to the site where we crossed two days prior. The trail followed a sandy single track and sometimes a dirt road. It sometimes got close to the river and sometimes traveled high to the east across ravines. It was very sandy and tiring. We found deer and beaver skulls.
Dropping down Rockhouse Basin
I took a photo of a horned lizard after a small creek crossing and didn’t take another photo for over two hours. The wide valley was beautiful, but after the intense bushwhack down the saddle, the hours in the sun and the sand took my spirit away.
By the time we reached the large rock outcrop of the river crossing, I was ready to be done for the day.
Our swimming and dinner spot at the Kern River
Luckily, the wind wasn’t blowing as strong, so we set up our tents and headed to the water for a quick dip. It was extremely refreshing and I was glad that I was able to bathe before the sun set behind the mountains to the west.
We lounged on the warm granite, enjoying our last dinner on this trip as the sky darkened. We donned all our layers and set up our chairs out of the wind behind a big wall of granite and watched the meteoroids streak through the sky.
Once we were chilled, we headed to our tents and got warm for the evening.
Day 4 - Rockhouse Basin to Kennedy Meadows - ~6? Miles
The sun hit our tents pretty early, so we got up and had a relaxing breakfast on a large sunny outcrop. It was another beautiful morning on the trail and we savored our time out there.
Final campsite along the South Fork of the Kern River
An amazing campsite along the South Fork of the Kern River
We retraced our steps along the PCT back to the edge of the wilderness and messaged the owner of Grumpy Bear’s Retreat and, after about 45 minutes, he was able to steal away from a busy morning at the restaurant to come pick us up.
PCT along the Kern, getting closer to the cars
We had a nice lunch at the Retreat, chatting with others enjoying their meals and watching the steady stream of PCT hikers picking up their resupplies.
Hearts and stomachs full, Dreamer and I parted ways, happy to have shared another adventure, but also ready to be home.
Domelands Wilderness Pano
