| Precious time, the San Rafael Knob and the Wickiup. Trip Report |
Geography Parents  Loading... Trip Reports Trip Reports
| | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Utah, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 38.74552°N / 110.79712°W Date Climbed/Hiked: Mar 19, 2009 Activities: Hiking Season: Winter | Page By: Wasatchvoyage Created/Edited: Mar 28, 2009 / Mar 28, 2009 Object ID: 501720 Hits: 868 Loading... Page Score: 89.38% - 24 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Many different forms of motivation, and the first attempt.The San Rafael Knob has always had a special significant meaning for me, to start things off. First off, it's the highest point in the San Rafael Swell, an area introduced to me years ago when I was active in the local scouting program. We camped in the San Rafael area by a formation called the "Red Knoll." This was back some time around the spring of 1988. Immediately since that trip over 20 years ago, I have fallen in love with the area. The best way to explain it to most is that it is a huge playground, with so much to see and do.
I made the San Rafael Knob an objective to complete during the early winter season of 2008, around the holiday's when the local Wasatch Mountains were getting pounded with snow and subsequent avalanches. People were dying, so a desert summit seemed to make sense then at that point. With the whole avalanche scenario, it was best to keep it out of the equation for a while.
The first attempt at the San Rafael Knob was December 27th, 2008. This was just after the large Christmas snow storm that covered much of the upper State of Utah with snow. This trip down was faltered from the beginning as I had a limited time window to get it done. I had the alarm set for 2:30 a.m., anticipating the travel time to get down to the area from Salt Lake. I ended up sleeping in until 4:00 a.m., and didn't hit the road until 4:45. The drive down was plagued by ice strewn roads from Salt Lake to Price making the travel time well over an hour and half longer than normal.
I arrived at the exit on I-70 around 9:45 a.m., and blundered around for an hour attempting to get to the Devil's Canyon trailhead location. The snow was about 12" deep everywhere making the rough dirt roads a mess. I turned my truck around and drove east of the Justensen Flat's area about 1 mile, parked, and headed cross country to the base of the Knob. It was at that moment when I looked at my watch and realized I was running out of time. Not to make the trip a complete waste, I scurried around to the south side of the Knob, shot some photos, and then headed back to the truck to get back to Salt Lake for some obligations later that evening. Honestly there was a little disappointment in not making this one, as I'd only missed one other summit during 2008. I knew I would be back...
Taken during the December 27th attempt, south side of the San Rafael Knob. |
The second attempt, oversought by discretion.After missing the Knob during the last weekend in 2008, and wanting to make a great start to 2009, I drove back down to the Knob area on January 2nd, 2009. This time I woke up on time, the roads were clear, and I had another summit objective without time constraints. I prepped for this one more thoroughly by reading the S.P page on the peak several times, looking at the photos included and the comments attached to the images.
The snow was still there, however I was able to get my truck two miles further east from Justensen Flats, and was able to get from the start of the route to the Knob across the many small ravines and washes in just under 1 hour.
Taken during the approach, on the 2nd attempt, Jan 2nd, 2009. |
I made my way up the route of the north west ridge as described on the main page, traversed the north face to within 100 feet of the east ridge. Traversing the north face proved to be very challenging as all the sandstone was incredibly slick from the still fresh snow a week and a half prior. About 100 feet from the north east side of the Knob, a steep chute, likely 45 to 50 degrees, blocked my path. The small 6" wide ledges that most everyone prior had traversed was covered with one foot of snow. I stood there at this point for a while, contemplating on what to do. After about 20 minutes of studying the route, I slowly made my way out on the ledge, gripping the rock with white knuckles. The exposure even just a few feet out was concerning me at this point. After about making my way out about 10 feet, both my feet lost traction! Fortunately at that point I had a somewhat decent hold on the rock with my hands. I locked up there for a moment, then slowly regained my footing and crept back to the original place I had stood for 20 minutes. The adrenaline wound down a bit, and I scanned the upper and lower portion of the area, and realized that this ledge was the only way to get around to the route on the back of the Knob.
After staying at that point surveying the area for what seemed hours, I got a fairly strong feeling to let this one go for a while until the conditions were better. I knew that if I lost my footing again and slid down that chute without protection, I most likely would not come home alive.
Looking back at the Knob after the 2nd attempt, feeling fairly disgusted with myself. |
Again, discouraged, I made my way back to the truck. I did have other plans to make up for the loss if I did not succeed however. Instead of heading home, I drove west on I-70 to Richfield, and booked at room at the Hampton Inn there for the night.
December 19th of 2008, I took my Dad with me to Fossil Mountain, located in Utah's Great Basin area. On that trip the wind had blown one of my trekking poles down the steep east face, and with Dad being there I didn't bother to retrieve it. The trekking pole had been with me on every outing during 2008, so there was some sentiment involved in an attempt to get it back. And this time, I was alone.
After staying the night in Richfield, I got up early and continued west on I-70 to I-15, then south to Beaver. I began working my way west through Milford, and then out almost all the way to the Utah-Nevada border. From that point I drove a network of remote dirt roads northward, leading to the base of Fossil Mountain. Adding a twist to the retrieval of the pole, I climbed the west face of the mountain, traversed to where the pole rested in a steep chute under the summit, and then climbed back down the normal route to the truck. Fossil Mountain didn't have a layer of snow to hinder my progress as did the San Rafael Knob. I was able to hit the top of Fossil Mountain again on this one. So, the weekend was not completely lost without a summit.
To read more about the retrieval of the lost trekking pole, check out the trip report here.
A little elated after an east face climb of Fossil Mountain to retrieve the lost trekking pole. |
The third attempt, and the Wickiup.March 19th, 2009, I decided to head back down in the general area of the San Rafael to complete two objectives. One was to research and climb The Wickiup, a very interesting looking peak just north of I-70. The second objective was to attempt the San Rafael Knob again.
This time around I was under the time constraint again, having to be back in Salt Lake at 6:00 p.m. for prior arrangements. I ended up leaving the house just after midnight, and drove straight down to a rest area just to the west of exit 116 on I-70, which leads to the Justensen Flats area. I dozed off in the truck for about an hour and a half, then drove east to the Sinbad area, close to where The Wickiup is located.
I got the idea to setup The Wickiup page due to the fact that it is such an interesting peak, in shape, form and color.
The Wickiup, photo taken in August of 2008 while heading to the La Sal's. |
I began to research the area, and found an old mining road, now designated by the BLM for ATV/off road use. Fortunately this road took me right to the base of The Wickiup, and I hiked up to the peak from the south. The route up was steep, with a lot of loose scree and rock with some minor cliffbands here and there. Once getting to the top, the actual summit dome was rotten, making almost every hand and foothold a nightmare.
From the top a GPS reading was taken, lots of photos, and checking out the cool scenery. I scouted the route down in lieu of the south ridge I came up, and headed down the east ridge. This route down seemed to be much better than the south. Also on the way down I found some interesting rocks, with ripple formations evident. After checking out the rocks and the area, I made my way back to the truck.
The Wickiup, with early morning light on the south ridge. |
The Wickiup from the east. |
Ripple marks in the stone at the base of The Wickiup. |
After gathering more info and photos of the area, I drove west back to exit 116, and drove through Justensen Flats, then down the old Copper Globe road. This time around there was no snow on the ground, and the truck had no problem at all reaching the starting point in Devil's Canyon.
I high tailed it up the ATV road up to the base of the San Rafael Knob, studied the north face and found only a few sporadic patches of snow. I decided to go for it, and within 10 minutes I was at the crux section to access the north east ridge. I made my way across the steep section where I had slipped months prior, without any issues at all.
Looking west at the crux which had hindered the summit two times prior. |
Following the rest of the route to the peak was a blast, and in another 10 minutes from the crux I was at the top, finally!
Summitmarker. |
View south east from the summit. |
200 mm look at Turkey Tower from the top of the Knob. |
After enjoying about 45 minutes at the top, I made my way down back to the truck, and headed home.Conclusion.After missing a goal two times in a row, the San Rafael Knob is finally done. Since that success there is an odd sort of appreciation for being stubborn at times. I will say that turning around during the second attempt was probably the wise thing to do, however there is nothing like setting up an objective, and the sense of satisfaction of accomplishing it. Images
|
|
The Wickiup, UT. > Precious time, the San Rafael Knob and the Wickiup.
