Telescope Peak, Rogers Peak, and Bennett Peak

Desert Peaks Section Emblem Peak
Hiked: 6/9/2026
Distance: 13.6 miles round trip on dirt road, trail, and cross country
Summit Elevation: 11004'
Prominence: 6210' (Telescope)
Elevation Gain: 4175'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.3
Round trip time: 8 hours
Recommended water: 128 oz.
Parking/Fees: National Parks Fee or Pass at Mahogany Flat Campground
Difficulty: Strenuous

I woke up in Mahogany Flat at sunrise and got prepped. It was cool and sunny, a good omen. Early June is probably the sweet spot for weather on Telescope. I decided to tag the sub-peaks of Rogers and Bennett on the way up. Instead of taking the trail from camp, I took the service road that led to Rogers Peak. It was about 2 miles with the switchbacks. Rogers had what looked like a Doppler radar tower with two massive solar arrays. There were a couple of other towers on top, but my cell service was mostly non-existent. I saw the trail a few hundred feet below as it curved from the east side of Rogers around the west side of Bennett Peak. The road ended at Rogers, so I dropped through open country with only low scrub in my way and intersected the trail. I followed the trail less than a mile before I left it again to head up to Bennett. It was easy open country. I walked through a stand of trees, then to the top of Bennett. I had hiked around 4 miles at this point, but there was nothing of note on Bennett. I had clear views of Mount Langley and Mount Whitney, still snow dappled about 80 miles away. Telescope loomed large and implied more work was ahead than behind.

Telescope from Highway 178

Tower and solar arrays on Rogers Peak

Bennett and Telescope from Rogers

Bennett Peak summit
I descended cross country from Bennett to reconnect with the trail. A few bristle cone pines were growing on the upper slopes. Only tiny patches of snow remained on the north side, none around the trail. The ascent at the end was a series of switchbacks. The slope was steep and I could imagine long slides as a serious risk in winter. Like Wildrose, the true summit wasn't visible until I was on the main plateau with an easy walk to the finish. There were three ammo boxes, one with the official NPS register. After signing, I took a long break to enjoy the sights. It was an easy cruise down and plenty of wild flowers in bloom. I met three separate parties on their way up, all of whom had driven up that day. At the truck, I packed up and drove home, missing the worst of the afternoon traffic.

Eastern Sierra on the horizon

Wildrose Peak

Hiked: 6/8/2026
Distance: 8.4 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 9065'
Elevation Gain: 2660'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.1
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: National Parks Fee or Pass at Charcoal Kilns
Difficulty: Moderate

I drove to Death Valley for a two day trip to climb Wildrose Peak (day one) and Telescope Peak (day two). I planned to camp at Mahogany Flat Campground (first-come, first-served) at ~8,100'. The most direct driving approach from the south gave me the ick: driving a lightly traveled road with temps over 100F and no cell service for the last 80 miles. The drive on Wildrose Road to the Charcoal Kilns was uneventful and the dirt road sections were in great shape. I was stopped on the way in by a large herd of wild burros. They were unafraid of the truck, even with the horn blaring. I had to get out and shoo them off them road, a 15 minute delay since they would not stay off the road. I arrived at 2:00 PM and checked out the kilns. A couple were undergoing restoration. The trail to Wildrose started behind the lowest kiln.

Fish rocks on highway 178

Wild burros blocking the road

Charcoal kilns

The trail was pleasant, winding through sparse pinyons and other pines on the way to the ridge. From the ridge, views opened up into Death Valley. A final set of steep switchbacks delivered me to the summit plateau. Wildrose Peak was not visible until the last quarter mile along the plateau. A large cairn was built on the summit. An ammo box held a bound register placed by the NPS. It had a friendly insert asking for photos of any interesting plant or animal encounters. Low clouds had built up in the afternoon casting everything in gray. Telescope Peak was mostly blocked by Rogers Peak. Only the very top was visible many miles behind it. I was alone on the mountain and didn't see anyone on the way back. The road up to Thorndike Camp was in a great shape and any vehicle should be able to make it that far. The final mile to Mahogany Camp had a few deep ruts where high clearance helped. I picked a camp site close to the Telescope trailhead. There was only one other party camped at Mahogany. Without cell/Internet access, I settled in for the night by watching a movie downloaded on Netflix.

Final approach to Wildrose Peak

Telescope Peak

Towers on Rogers Peak above

Mahogany Flat Camp site

Dome Rock and Nobe Young Creek Falls

Hiked: 5/25/2026
Distance: 1 mile round trip on dirt road
Summit Elevation: 6104
Elevation Gain: 180'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.1
Round trip time: 20 minutes
Recommended water: 0 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Dome Rock Overlook Road
Difficulty: Easy

On our last day in Kernville, we decided to do a bunch of mini-hikes. We started with Dome Rock, a large granite dome with an easy walk up on the north side. We parked just off the road, but could have driven to the base of the dome. There was a benchmark on top and nice views. We looked around for about 15 minutes, then drove south to a turnout for Nobe Young Creek Falls. It was another short hike, less than a mile round trip. The trail descended toward the falls, then splintered into branches that took you to the top, bottom or under the falls. It's usually not so easy to get under waterfalls this large (~100'). Standing under it was an unexpected pleasure. Lastly, we stopped at the Trail of 100 Giants, a paved trail through a giant sequoia grove. It was very popular and we were lucky to find a parking spot. Parking for this trail requires a $12 cash parking fee that you pay with an envelope. The trees were outstanding, some with burn scars. Parts of the trail were closed for maintnenance, but we got to see many trees up close. Expect crowds on a weekend or holiday.

Nobe Young Creek Falls

Sirretta Peak and Sirretta North

Hiked: 5/24/2026
Distance: 7.5 miles round trip on trail and use trail
Summit Elevation: 9983' (Sirretta), 9984' (Sirretta North)
Prominence: 1710' (Sirretta North)
Elevation Gain: 2300'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.0
Round trip time: 5 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Forest Road 23S07
Difficulty: Moderate

On our second day in Kernville, we tackled Sirretta Peak (SPS #222). One thing we noticed about Kernville is that it's a river town, not a mountain town. The culture was different than Lone Pine or Bishop. That's not a judgment, just an observation. Recreation was geared around the Kern River, fishing and rafting, not the surrounding mountains.

The drive to the trailhead took one hour and 15 minutes on Cherry Hill Road and Forest Road 23S07. About half of the drive was on dirt, but the roads were smooth and sedan friendly. There were several parties camping around Big Meadow, but we were the only hikers. The trail started in a cedar and pine forest, mostly cedar. It was beautiful from the first step, but Sirretta was not visible for a while. The trail follows a wide draw with soft, powdery dirt. As we got higher, the views got better. We stepped off the trail to let three dirt bikes pass that were descending the trail. This was the first time I'd encountered dirt bikes on a national forest trail. We took a break just before the pass and had great views of Big Meadow. Tall rock piles dotted the ridge, but we couldn't positively identify Sirretta from below. We veered onto the summit use trail where cairns marked the start. It got steeper as we headed for the summit plateau, then we turned southwest for the last quarter mile. The summit was a 100' boulder pile.

Dirt bike on its way down

Use trail to the summit

I led us to the west side looking for an easy scramble, but instead found more difficult class 2. The easiest route was probably directly from the NE and that's how we descended. On top was a large cairn and a benchmark, but I could not locate a register. We took a lunch break and enjoyed nice views of Owens, Sawtooth, and Olancha. If not for clouds, we might have seen Whitney. The Big Meadow looked even bigger from Sirretta. The north summit of Sirretta (peak 9984) was less than a half mile away and officially 1' higher, so it claimed the higher prominence. Leisa wasn't interested, but waited 20 minutes for me to bag it. Sirretta North was a shorter class 2 scramble, maybe 50'. It didn't look as high as Sirretta, so I walked past it at first to see if something was higher further north. Finding nothing, I came back and climbed it, finding a register in a glass jar but no benchmark. It also had nice views and was worth the small effort. The descent was uneventful. With pristine forest and granite, Sirretta made my favorites list. Highly recommended.

Sirretta North summit rocks