Lewis County High Point Trip Report
Date: May 27, 2001
Author: Ken Jones
We used the information in Barney Metz's write-ups. They made our trip easier. We called Brian, of the
Landowners Hunting Co-op, for permission, at (208) 798-0840. He was very helpful, and gave directions
to both the Lewis and Nez Perce points. (It's not clear to me if the Nez Perce HP is on Co-op land. The
Co-op seems to consist of a large number of scattered parcels in both Idaho and Washington, based on
signs we saw.) Note that the combination on the Lewis county gate changes from year to year - get the
current one from Brian, as the one in Barney's write-up is no longer valid.
From the junction of Forest Road and Business Route 95 in Winchester at 0.0 miles, we followed Forest
Road past Winchester Lake State Park (0.3) and the end of the pavement, and reached a T-intersection
(1.7). Turning left, we headed south on Forest Road to a sharp right at 5.5 miles, and a left bend at 6.5,
reaching Forest (a cluster of buildings with a slow speed limit) and a junction at 7.6. We turned right
onto Soldiers Meadow Road, and bore left at 8.6 miles. This is part of a complicated intersection (one of
those triangular affairs, but larger than normal) which took us southbound onto (signed) Hoover Point
road. At 11.0 we kept left, reaching the fence at 11.2. The gate was open on this day. The road
deteriorated immediately. We kept right at an indistinct fork at 11.3, and continued south to an
(unlocked) gate at 11.6. At this point, the mud holes in the road was making it uncomfortable to drive
(even with 4WD), and we decided to walk.
We headed south, through the gate, and kept left at a junction (unmapped) soon after. This left fork
passes just to the east of the mapped 4795' point (no markings found). We returned to the unmapped road
and continued on until we were northeast of the other two 4780'+ contours, which we then visited. No
clear winner among these three, and no way to sight one through the vegetation.
For planning purposes, this one was still a bit muddy over Memorial Day weekend of a drought year.
Note: To combine this trip with Nez Perce county, head back to Soldiers Meadow Road. From the
junction mentioned above, it is about 6.0 miles west on Soldiers Meadow Road to intersect the Nez Perce
County route.