I scrambled to the top of the Knob with a group of geocachers back in '06. http://udink.org/2010/02/06/san-rafael-knob/
Liba Kopeckova - Apr 18, 2016 10:06 am Date Climbed: Apr 17, 2016
nice hike
Nice solo hike - weather came in with a snow and moved… beautiful day. Road a little long to hike on, but relatively easy route finding. Make sure you find the right access - follow infrequent cairns, then the route will never be more than class 2/3 hike.
scgrant - Mar 27, 2015 12:08 am Date Climbed: Mar 20, 2015
San Rafael Knob
Great hike with my dad. We followed Devil's Canyon to the base of the Knob. A bit of route finding and scrambling got us to where we needed to traverse around the east side of the knob to the final approach on the south side. This section getting to the east side was a bit sketchy as there was some fairly decent exposure on the small ledges, with quite a bit of snow and ice. From there on out it was no problem to the top. Unbelievable views in all directions from the summit. On our decent we retraced our steps down to the base of the knob and then followed the OHV (824) track back to my truck. Our descent path was significantly shorter but our ascent path was far more scenic.
I camped near where the road drops down into Devils Canyon where there are great views of the Knob and plenty of camping, although it is pretty thrashed by ATVers. Luckily I had that area to myself at the time. Glad I didn't continue driving down to Devils Canyon, though- there are some gnarly spots and lots of deep sand at the bottom. Fun anyways to just walk it. Then a nice stroll up the ridge to the base of the Knob and a fun route across the north face to the NE ridge. At that point I started messing around and looking for a more direct route up the steep ridge until the dogs started getting annoyed, so we just continued around to the east side and found the easy way up (easy for dogs, too). I really enjoyed the views from this summit! And I can't wait to get back to the Swell to do some more exploring!
Scott - Apr 8, 2013 4:54 pm Date Climbed: Apr 7, 2013
San Rafael Knob
Fred Genske joined me for a climb of the San Rafael Knob. We didn’t drive all the way to the standard trailhead so road walked to the ATV track which we hiked. We started off on the wrong track, so we had to do some backtracking and traversing, but once on the right track, we quickly made our way to the Knob.
The San Rafael Knob was a beautiful scramble to the top of a spectacular summit. Interestingly, there was still some snow on the north side. I was going to climb the Northeast Ridge directly, but Fred found an easier way up on the south side.
After enjoying the great views, we descended the knob and made our way quickly back to the vehicle. It was a good climb.
Diggler - Nov 1, 2012 8:20 pm Date Climbed: Oct 31, 2012
Halloween ascent
Wow- finding out there is a class 2 route up this thing was quite a surprise! With some sparse directions from Bjørnstad's guide, I set off from an obscure parking spot off of 'trail' 0823(?), I was more concerned that I wouldn't find my truck (successful ascent or not) after the fact. This made me nervous until I was successfully back. Left the truck @ 13.31. After some devious route-finding, eventually found my way to the base of the mountain (of course there was a 4WD road that went to the base!). Walked around the NE shoulder & began ascending up somewhat sketchy easy 5th slabs. Got to the shoulder visible to the N & headed up the SE ridge. Easy to mid-5th. Top was wonderful (summited @ 15.22), but didn't really enjoy because of impending route back to vehicle. Left @ 15.30 (my turnaround time). Downclimbing wasn't TOO bad. Tried to follow my route to get to the base, & to my delight, found the road a few hundred feet from my truck- PHEW! Back @ truck @ 17.14. In retrospect, a great climb & day, on a somewhat obscure formation in the spectacular Swell.
seanpeckham - May 23, 2011 3:35 pm Date Climbed: May 22, 2011
Cross-country northwest route
We parked on the east branch of the Copper Globe road (past where the main branch turns to go into Devil's Canyon) between two buttes that are directly northwest of the Knob, intending to follow Michael Kelsey's route (bringing his book was the only homework we did). We navigated by his crude map and a compass, whenever the Knob and/or our buttes weren't visible. Our route deviated by spending more time in Devil's Canyon, rather than rim-walking, and we didn't cross to the other side in the same place. In retrospect it was a pretty good route, but we felt uncertain about our choices because of how untravelled the area appeared; now I come on summitpost to find that most people drive a lot closer to it, okay. The climb itself was fun and the highlight, and we loved the views especially into Reds Canyon which we'd never seen before, but the extended cross-country travel made it more rewarding.
Matt Lemke - Apr 10, 2011 8:06 pm Date Climbed: Apr 1, 2011
Off route
Took me awhile to find the right route but eventually got it
voxnihili - Sep 1, 2010 8:59 pm Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2010
Childhood Goal
I spent most of my childhood looking at the knob. Finally went out and hiked it with my dad. Beautiful day.
shknbke - Nov 19, 2009 12:20 am Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2009
nw ridge
Cool peak albeit short. We made a most excellent day of it by adding 4 other nearby peaks to the day. I'll be back to explore this area more!
SarahThompson - Nov 16, 2009 5:00 pm Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2009
Short, fun and easy
The standard route is interesting but easy, a little too short though. We extended the outing by climbing a few of the surrounding ranked summits. A nice day in the Swell, saw nobody all day.
Dean - May 17, 2009 5:57 pm Date Climbed: May 15, 2009
Northwest route
Hiked in via the Copper Globe road which ended up as an 8 mile hike but the nice breeze made for a good hike (can be hot in this area) Did this with Andy Martin and was the 4th day in a row of peakbagging for us.
Kadee - Nov 24, 2008 3:30 pm Date Climbed: Apr 16, 2007
Northwest Route
Lots of fun. Great views. It seems like every time I go back to this area there are a couple more people each time. Very fun area to explore and a lot of cool stuff to see. Hiked with a couple friends from Vermont.
Jeremy Franchow - Apr 29, 2007 7:13 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2004
Northwest Route
Combined this with a visit to the Copper Globe Mine. Great area with a lot of history and easy access. Keep an eye out for wild horses!
I climbed San Rafael Knob a week after a snow storm. My vehicle wasn't able to make it to the trailhead because of rough conditions. It added a couple miles to the hike. This is one of the easier scrambles in the Swell but the views are well worth the effort.
Udink - Jul 18, 2016 10:36 pm Date Climbed: Apr 22, 2006
Fun scrambleI scrambled to the top of the Knob with a group of geocachers back in '06. http://udink.org/2010/02/06/san-rafael-knob/
Liba Kopeckova - Apr 18, 2016 10:06 am Date Climbed: Apr 17, 2016
nice hikeNice solo hike - weather came in with a snow and moved… beautiful day. Road a little long to hike on, but relatively easy route finding. Make sure you find the right access - follow infrequent cairns, then the route will never be more than class 2/3 hike.
scgrant - Mar 27, 2015 12:08 am Date Climbed: Mar 20, 2015
San Rafael KnobGreat hike with my dad. We followed Devil's Canyon to the base of the Knob. A bit of route finding and scrambling got us to where we needed to traverse around the east side of the knob to the final approach on the south side. This section getting to the east side was a bit sketchy as there was some fairly decent exposure on the small ledges, with quite a bit of snow and ice. From there on out it was no problem to the top. Unbelievable views in all directions from the summit. On our decent we retraced our steps down to the base of the knob and then followed the OHV (824) track back to my truck. Our descent path was significantly shorter but our ascent path was far more scenic.
MTfred19 - Apr 26, 2014 8:45 pm Date Climbed: Apr 22, 2014
Excellent!I camped near where the road drops down into Devils Canyon where there are great views of the Knob and plenty of camping, although it is pretty thrashed by ATVers. Luckily I had that area to myself at the time. Glad I didn't continue driving down to Devils Canyon, though- there are some gnarly spots and lots of deep sand at the bottom. Fun anyways to just walk it. Then a nice stroll up the ridge to the base of the Knob and a fun route across the north face to the NE ridge. At that point I started messing around and looking for a more direct route up the steep ridge until the dogs started getting annoyed, so we just continued around to the east side and found the easy way up (easy for dogs, too). I really enjoyed the views from this summit! And I can't wait to get back to the Swell to do some more exploring!
Scott - Apr 8, 2013 4:54 pm Date Climbed: Apr 7, 2013
San Rafael KnobFred Genske joined me for a climb of the San Rafael Knob. We didn’t drive all the way to the standard trailhead so road walked to the ATV track which we hiked. We started off on the wrong track, so we had to do some backtracking and traversing, but once on the right track, we quickly made our way to the Knob.
The San Rafael Knob was a beautiful scramble to the top of a spectacular summit. Interestingly, there was still some snow on the north side. I was going to climb the Northeast Ridge directly, but Fred found an easier way up on the south side.
After enjoying the great views, we descended the knob and made our way quickly back to the vehicle. It was a good climb.
Diggler - Nov 1, 2012 8:20 pm Date Climbed: Oct 31, 2012
Halloween ascentWow- finding out there is a class 2 route up this thing was quite a surprise! With some sparse directions from Bjørnstad's guide, I set off from an obscure parking spot off of 'trail' 0823(?), I was more concerned that I wouldn't find my truck (successful ascent or not) after the fact. This made me nervous until I was successfully back. Left the truck @ 13.31. After some devious route-finding, eventually found my way to the base of the mountain (of course there was a 4WD road that went to the base!). Walked around the NE shoulder & began ascending up somewhat sketchy easy 5th slabs. Got to the shoulder visible to the N & headed up the SE ridge. Easy to mid-5th. Top was wonderful (summited @ 15.22), but didn't really enjoy because of impending route back to vehicle. Left @ 15.30 (my turnaround time). Downclimbing wasn't TOO bad. Tried to follow my route to get to the base, & to my delight, found the road a few hundred feet from my truck- PHEW! Back @ truck @ 17.14. In retrospect, a great climb & day, on a somewhat obscure formation in the spectacular Swell.
seanpeckham - May 23, 2011 3:35 pm Date Climbed: May 22, 2011
Cross-country northwest routeWe parked on the east branch of the Copper Globe road (past where the main branch turns to go into Devil's Canyon) between two buttes that are directly northwest of the Knob, intending to follow Michael Kelsey's route (bringing his book was the only homework we did). We navigated by his crude map and a compass, whenever the Knob and/or our buttes weren't visible. Our route deviated by spending more time in Devil's Canyon, rather than rim-walking, and we didn't cross to the other side in the same place. In retrospect it was a pretty good route, but we felt uncertain about our choices because of how untravelled the area appeared; now I come on summitpost to find that most people drive a lot closer to it, okay. The climb itself was fun and the highlight, and we loved the views especially into Reds Canyon which we'd never seen before, but the extended cross-country travel made it more rewarding.
Matt Lemke - Apr 10, 2011 8:06 pm Date Climbed: Apr 1, 2011
Off routeTook me awhile to find the right route but eventually got it
voxnihili - Sep 1, 2010 8:59 pm Date Climbed: Aug 8, 2010
Childhood GoalI spent most of my childhood looking at the knob. Finally went out and hiked it with my dad. Beautiful day.
shknbke - Nov 19, 2009 12:20 am Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2009
nw ridgeCool peak albeit short. We made a most excellent day of it by adding 4 other nearby peaks to the day. I'll be back to explore this area more!
SarahThompson - Nov 16, 2009 5:00 pm Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2009
Short, fun and easyThe standard route is interesting but easy, a little too short though. We extended the outing by climbing a few of the surrounding ranked summits. A nice day in the Swell, saw nobody all day.
Dean - May 17, 2009 5:57 pm Date Climbed: May 15, 2009
Northwest routeHiked in via the Copper Globe road which ended up as an 8 mile hike but the nice breeze made for a good hike (can be hot in this area) Did this with Andy Martin and was the 4th day in a row of peakbagging for us.
Kadee - Nov 24, 2008 3:30 pm Date Climbed: Apr 16, 2007
Northwest RouteLots of fun. Great views. It seems like every time I go back to this area there are a couple more people each time. Very fun area to explore and a lot of cool stuff to see. Hiked with a couple friends from Vermont.
Jeremy Franchow - Apr 29, 2007 7:13 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2004
Northwest RouteCombined this with a visit to the Copper Globe Mine. Great area with a lot of history and easy access. Keep an eye out for wild horses!
mountaingazelle - Apr 19, 2007 4:21 pm Date Climbed: Apr 15, 2006
Northwest RouteI climbed San Rafael Knob a week after a snow storm. My vehicle wasn't able to make it to the trailhead because of rough conditions. It added a couple miles to the hike. This is one of the easier scrambles in the Swell but the views are well worth the effort.