Taylor Dome / Rockhouse Peak / Sirretta Peak
Ascents of Taylor Dome (West Ridge, class 3), Rockhouse Peak (East Face, class 3) and Sirretta Peak (North Face, class 2), with Mike Callen, May 22-23, 2020.
Timeline:
May 21, 2020. Mike drove up from San Diego and got to my house in LA a little before noon. We had lunch, went for groceries, and set out on the drive to Big Meadow, taking the eastern route via Highway 14. Shortly after starting up the road toward Sherman Pass, I realized I had forgotten my sleeping bag at home. I had an emergency blanket and between the two of us we figured we had enough clothes for me to survive, so we proceeded onward. We arrived around 19:00 at the corral near the Manter Meadow trailhead, where we set up camp. We made a fire and had a nice dinner of chicken, chips and beer. I chose to spend the night in the tent. It was bitterly cold, and despite wearing multiple layers of clothes and covering myself with the survival blanket, I did not sleep a wink.
May 22, 2020. We got up before 6:00, made coffee and breakfast, and set out toward the Taylor Meadow trailhead, a short distance from camp. It was a slow start because Mike forgot his phone and then his sunglasses, so we had to go back to the car twice. Finally at 7:25 we set out for good, and made quick progress toward Taylor Dome, reaching the summit at 9:05. There is an exposed but easy traverse followed by some easy class 3 rock to get to the highpoint, the western summit. It was a cold and windy morning, but beautiful, and we enjoyed the views north toward Manter Meadow and Olancha Peak, southeast toward the peaks in the Chimney Peak Wilderness, and northwest toward Big Meadow. We left the summit after about 25 minutes and headed straight north through wooded slopes to rejoin the Manter Meadow trail, which we followed east toward Rockhouse Peak. Just before Manter Meadow, we took a wrong turn on the trail and wandered a bit too far north, a mistake we quickly corrected thanks to my brand new GPS unit. There were a few tents at Manter Meadow, whose occupants we would meet a bit later while descending from Rockhouse Peak. We stopped at Little Manter Meadow for lunch and reached the base of the cross-country portion to Rockhouse Peak at 13:00. We found an easy drainage that took us straight to the flat terrain below the peak proper. The 3rd class ledge traverse and slab climb to the summit of the peak was easy but a lot of fun (the highlight of the day), and we were on top of Rockhouse Peak at 14:02. We took some time enjoying the outstanding views of the Domeland Wilderness around us. Departing at 14:20, we made our way carefully down the slabs and exposed ledges. At the base, we came across a party of 5 intent on climbing the peak. We return to camp quickly, stopping for the second half of our lunch at Little Manter Meadow again. We were back in camp at 18:30. This time, I opted to sleep in the truck. I fired up the engine before going to bed to warm it up, and again at 2:00 when it started to get very cold inside. That afforded me a few hours of sleep. (An 11:05 hour day, 17.7 miles, 4,400 feet of elevation gain)
May 23, 2020. This was to be an easy day up Sirretta Peak. We got up shortly before 6:00 and drove to the Sirretta trailhead for a leisurely breakfast in the warming sun. We departed for Sirretta Peak at 8:37, and once again took a wrong turn (up the Sherman Pass trail rather than the Sirretta Trail). Another quickly corrected mistake. We were relatively slow hiking to the summit, reaching it at 10:37. There, we met Tom Becht, an SPS list finisher who told us he was with Bob Burd that day (Bob being away climbing some obscure knob). We stayed quite a while on the summit, eating lunch and taking pictures, departing at 11:26. We were faster on the return, reaching the car at 12:40. We stopped in Kernville for gas and to purchase a supply of their famous local beer. The Kern River drainage was full of Memorial Day weekenders, seemingly unconcerned by the COVID pandemic. We chose to return through the western route (Highway 5). Shortly after passing Bakersfield, I got a call from my colleague Paola Giuliano telling me that my thesis advisor, friend, mentor and frequent climbing partner, Alberto Alesina, had died suddenly of a heart attack while hiking with his wife that same day. A tragic and heartbreaking ending to this Domeland adventure. (A 4:03 hour day, 6.9 miles, 2,150 feet of elevation gain)