Backpacking the Dome Land

When recent trip reports online suggested that our planned itinerary in the Dome Land Wilderness was going to take us through a boggy, overgrown mess, we huddled up and agreed at the last minute on a Plan B - an out-and-back backpack in the nearby Golden Trout Wilderness.  Little did we know we would be trading up in a big way.  Our hike just got better and better as we went - past forests full of chipmunks and songbirds, wildflower-filled meadows, and a rushing stream full of the wilderness' namesake golden trout, we found our camp in a storybook alpine valley, complete with a delightful hot spring!  We made that hot spring our base camp for two nights, enjoying early morning and late night soaks, and we spent our layover day seeking out a nice swimming hole on the Kern River. The weather was perfect, and so was our hardy bunch of explorers: friendly, fun, cheerful and adventurous.