Walla Walla County High Point Trip Report
Date: October 19, 2003
Author: Ken Russell
Not wanting to climb over a No Trespassing sign if I didn't have to, I decided to try a different approach
to Lewis Peak. I drove east from Walla Walla on SR 12 to the quiet little town of Dixie where I turned right
onto the Biscuit Ridge Road. At the end of pavement, this road has a sharp left switchback and begins to
climb Biscuit Ridge. I Helmanized the climb by parking about 5.5 miles after hitting dirt, where the road
crosses an open saddle. A little more than a mile farther, a spur road branches left toward Lewis Peak.
At the end of this spur I found a wire fence that was falling apart, but no signs.
I crawled under the fence and headed north along a trail that shows on the map as the Intake Trail.
About 3/4 mile after leaving the spur road, the trail crosses the south side of the hill south of Lewis Peak.
From this hill to the top of Lewis there was a well worn quad track, but the only sign was a Forest Service
Please Close The Gate sign. It was attached to what looked like the only post still standing in the fence.
The rocks on the south side of the summit area look to me like the high point, but I walked around the
whole summit to make sure. I searched for the bench mark and came up empty. With all the vehicle tracks
on the summit, it may have been wiped out or covered up.
Addendum: On October 27, 2003, a hunter was attacked by a cougar on Lewis Peak while preparing to
skin a freshly killed elk. He was able to stab the cougar causing it to flee.
At last report the cougar had not been located.
You can read the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
press release.