Gobblers Knob is a fairly popular peak pretty close to Salt Lake. It is visible from many parts of the valley. Access to the peak is good from both Mill Creek Canyon and Big Cottonwood Canyon.
I've climbed the peak twice, first in '93 from Butler Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon, then again in 2000 from the same route. A good route that I have yet to do is from Alexander Basin in Mill Creek Canyon, where the lingering snowfields make for a good glissade.
Take the standard Butler Fork trail past the branch for Circle-All Peak and soon the obvioius Baker Pass between Mount Raymond and Gobblers Knob becomes visible. The hike to this pass offers beautiful views to the south of the higher peaks around the Twin Peaks wilderness area. This pass is also easily gained from Mill Creek Canyon via the Bowman Fork trail, which is slightly longer than Butler Fork. To this point you won't really have much of a view of Gobblers Knob as Raymond is much more prominent. From the saddle tracks lead west to Raymond, and east to Gobblers Knob, as well as north into Bowman Fork.
From the pass there is a pretty clear track right to the summit. The climbing is quite steep but not as rugged as Mount Raymond is to the west. A first sub-peak is only a few feet lower and offers a better view to the west. During my 2000 climb a number of hikers were on the summit when I got there who had came up from Alexander Basin and I watched them carefully downclimb to the ridge above the basin then slide down the snowfields. This looks like a good climb to do in June of most years.
The climb is about eight miles roundtrip from Butler Fork with a climb of 3,100 feet. It takes about five hours round trip and is essentially trail all-the-way. Climbing via Bowman Fork will add about 900 feet to the climb. It is a good climb, but I think it's neighbor to the west, Mount Raymond is probably a little more fun because of the more rugged summit ridge. Obviously climbing both peaks in one trip is quite feasable for many hikers.
2004 Update: Climbed Gobblers Knob for the first time via Alexander Basin. This was an outstanding hike. Because it's on the north side, there was more shade than the Big Cottonwood routes (Butler Fork namely). The trail starts about eight miles up Mill Creek Canyon (still a $2.25 fee per car) and climbs very steeply most of the way to a meadow at about 9,000 feet where you see Gobblers Knob for the first time. The trail ends in this meadow, but a definate track continues up higher. At about 9,200 feet the trail ran into some snow and mud and was rather unpleasant. I opted to climb up some loose rocks to the right (west) where I rejoined the trail just before the ridge at about 9,800 feet.
From the ridge the peak looks formidable, but there is a faint trail right to the summit. The views to the south of Cottonwood Ridge are outstanding. As I approached the summit I was greeted by two rather obnoxious dogs that spent most of the time I was up there barking wildly, making for a pleasant summit experience! Soon those two hikers left, and I finally had some peace and quiet. After a short rest I began the trip down. Two other girls who came up shortly after me concurred that they also were not looking forward to going down the rocks, but fortunately we found the trail in the trees, which made the descent much easier (except for a few muddy sections).
The trip down is short and steep, but I enjoyed every step as the weather was perfect on this day. The ascent of Gobblers Knob from Alexander Basin is 3,100 vertical feet and the hike is about 2.5 miles each way. The round trip took about 4.5 hours. I would say this is the most enjoyable way to climb Gobblers Knob, though early in the season snow can linger in the upper bowl, and require an ice axe to climb the headwall.
