Wood Mtn./Pt. 13708/Animas Forks Mtn.

Statistics

Date - 09/09/2026
Elevation - 13,660'/13,708'/13,722'
Route - Southeast Slopes/East Ridge/North Ridge
Miles - 4.4
Elevation Gain - 2,040'
ACME Mapper - Link
CalTopo - Link
Partners - Not Applicable

Description

After a couple of moderate days of hiking in a row, I opted for a bit easier hike which would also serve as a quasi rest day for me. I camped on the top of Cinnamon Pass and slept until 6:00 am. The hike to Woods Mountain went quickly across tundra, up an old road, and then on steeper slopes. I was slightly chilled, so I only stopped long enough for a few photos and then continued west down the west ridge of Wood Mountain.

I hiked on the ridge or on use trails south of the ridge to reach the saddle between Wood Mountain and Point 13708. The east ridge of Point 13708 was not quite as steep as descending Wood Mountain, and you could either stay on the ridge proper or use faint trails on the south side of the ridge. It took slightly more than an hour to traverse between the two peaks. Again, I only stayed on Point 13708 for about 5 minutes.

The traverse from Point 13708 to Animas Forks Mountain was largely on a narrow and exposed ridge. This section was a very enjoyable scramble that required little route-finding, but did hold your attention. It only took me 40 minutes to complete the traverse between the last two peaks of the day. Animas Forks Mountain was my only Bi-Centennial Peak for the day.

To be honest, the most challenging part of the day was the descent off of the east ridge of Animas Forks Mountain. The lower I got the more loose and steep the terrain became. Eventually, I cliffed out just above where the conditions got easier. I had to scope out a couple of steep and narrow chimneys to find a path down a class three scramble. Once below the cliffs, I circled the basin back to Cinnamon Pass in order to not lose much elevation.

My loop only took 4 hours and 45 minutes with less than 5 minutes on each of the three summits. The map/LIDAR elevations for Animas Forks Mountain are 13,722'/13,740' which moved it from #136 to #133 when considering all other elevation changes. The map/LIDAR elevations for Wood Mountain and Point 13708 also changed, but neither of these peaks are ranked.

Photos