Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2020

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Knoll Benchmark (also called “Knoll”) is located on the Continental Divide in the South Beaverheads just west of Monida Pass at I-15. It is a relatively meaningless bump on the undulating, weaving Continental Divide. It is easily climbed from Modoc Road to its south. There is a lot of private land in this area so be careful. This climb is entirely on public (BLM) land. USGS Monida

Access

From Exit 190/Humphrey on I-15, drive east to the frontage road on the east side of I-15. Reset your odometer. Drive north on the frontage road. At 2.6 miles, go left onto Modoc Road and through an underpass to reach the west side of I-15. After crossing underneath I-15, the road turns right/north. At 5.0 miles, the road bends sharply left/west and moves away from I-15. At 6.4 miles, the road turns hard left/south and crosses a small stream. Park here (6,842 feet).

East Ridge, Class 2

The Climb

Walk north briefly on Modoc Road and cross to the north side of the stream. Look for an old 2-track road heading right-ish/northeast from Modoc Road up onto a shoulder. Follow the old 2-track as it heads northeast then bends left/north and left again (northwest) to reach the east ridge of Knoll Benchmark. Follow the ridge crest westward, sometimes with the help of an old 2-track road, sometimes not. Be sure to stay to the left/south of a fence row that is well right/north of the ridge crest. That fence row is the dividing line between BLM land (left) and private ranch land (right), though I saw no signage or orange paint on the fence.

The terrain on the ridge crest is easy, short scrub so it goes quickly. There are a few ups and downs along the way. The summit of Knoll Benchmark has two separate benchmarks in ground boulders and lots of triangulation posts and a triangulation tripod laying on the ground. There was no summit cairn so I built one using talus from the nearby triangulation cairns.