Woods Mountain (12,944) & Mt Machebeuf (12,806) by Brian Schultz Wednesday July 23, 2025

Roundtrip mileage: 8.1 miles
Elevation gain: 2,950'
Start to finish: 6 hours

I climbed Woods Mountain 13 years ago but the repeat today was to do the western highpoint which LiDAR says is the higher summit point. I drove to the Herman Gulch trailhead off I-70 and began at 7:40 AM. I was the only person turning onto the Watrous Gulch trail, others were likely going to Herman Lake or other peaks in that direction. When I reached the junction of the Watrous Gulch trail and the Bard Creek trail, I kept left on the Watrous Gulch trail, an excellent trail (photo 1, photo 2) that goes all the way to the Woods/Parnassus saddle.

Just below the saddle I crossed paths with a fellow descending. He hadn't gone any higher than the saddle and was only wanting to get altitude conditioning for his upcoming climb of fourteener Quandary Peak in two days. Louie was from California and has climbed lots of peaks in his home state.

I reached the eastern highpoint, stayed 5 minutes, and headed down the ridge to the western higher summit. There was a snowbank at the saddle but it wasn't an issue to cross as the sun had barely melted the top. I wouldn't be returning this way so no worries for later either. Easy terrain brought me to Woods' western summit and after a couple minutes I descended its southwest ridge to Mt Machebeuf.

Mostly tundra made for straightforward travel to Machebeuf and I arrived on the unranked summit (photo 1, photo 2) at 11:20. After an enjoyable stay of 20 minutes, I headed back down the ridge and then angled across the basin below Woods Mountain. This was easy grass for the most part with an easy stream crossing before dealing with lots of willows. Fortunately, they were easy to get through or around. Then a moderately steep descent from the woods to a wider creek crossing led back to the trail. It began sprinkling lightly but it quit soon and I was back at the trailhead at 1:40.