Taylor Dome

Overview

Taylor Dome is one of many impressive granite domes found in Sequoia National Forest's Domeland Wilderness, and along with Rockhouse Peak and Pilot Knob (S) is one of three SPS listed peaks found in the wilderness. The peak is a short but enjoyable scramble, and can be easily climbed in a day with nearby Rockhouse Peak.

The easiest route up the peak is likely the west ridge, which can be climbed from a saddle along the Taylor Meadow trail (Pass 8080+). This is all class 1-2 until the final summit block, which is easy third class. The summit block can also be reached easily from the north, from the Manter trail just west of Manter Meadow. It is possible to angle to the west for the usual class 2-3 route up the summit block, or one can climb the class 3-4 north face directly via a slightly awkward chimney and steep, easy face climbing (huge holds!).

Taylor Dome is referred to as Miranda Dome by some guidebooks, but is unnamed on USGS maps.

A pedantic note on the Domeland Wilderness for anal-retentive readers: The wilderness is variously refered to as "Domeland" or "Dome Land," seemingly at the whimsey of whomever's referring to it. USGS maps and the Forest Service refer to the wilderness via the latter name, while the BLM and most authors use a single word. Opinions seem to be divided 50-50 as to the actual spelling. The California Wilderness Act of 1984 suggests the official name of the wilderness is one word, as does the Desert Protection Act of 1994. But who really knows?

Getting There

Follow the directions on the Rockhouse Peak page to Big Meadow. Hike east/south for a little over a mile on the Taylor Meadow trail to a saddle, at which point the trail begins descending towards Taylor Meadow. The dome is visible to the east; the summit is the left (northernmost) of the twin peaks.

Red Tape

A free campfire permit is required from the Sequoia National Forest if you plan on having a campfire; no wilderness permit is required. The nearest ranger office (the Cannell Meadow Ranger District office) is located in Kernville. For contact information, check the Sequoia National Forest website.

When To Climb

The pleasant climbing season is fairly short. The Domeland Wilderness is a low-elevation, semi-arid wilderness, and is best climbed in the spring (May) or fall (October) to avoid the brutal summer heat. Winter brings snow, and the approach roads are gated shut until sometime in May, likely necessitating a long approach out of Kernville.

Camping

The peak is located a little over a mile from the trailhead, so there's little need to camp out here unless you really like backpacking. Abundant car camping options may be found around Big Meadow.

Mountain Conditions

Cherry Hill Road is gated shut during the winter, and is typically opened sometime in May depending on snow conditions; contact the Cannell Meadow Ranger District for current road conditions.

The NWS Forecast is the most reliable source of weather information for the Sierra.

Etymology

"Named after Charlie Taylor, who for many years was manager of the A. Brown interests at Kernville. (Crites, 269)." (Taylor Creek, Meadow)
-Peter Browning, Place Names of the Sierra Nevada.

The peak is not officially named, but has come to be unofficially called Taylor Dome for its proximity to the creek and meadow.

External Links

• climber.org trip reports
  
  
• SPS trip reports
  
  
• How not to climb Taylor Dome
  
  
• Rockhouse / Taylor Dome dayhike - June 17, 2005
  
  

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Images

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