From Washington State Route (SR) 24, turn north onto a 2WD gravel road about 26.0 kilometres east of the junction with SR 243 or 29.2 kilometres south and west of the traffic circle with Bench Road just south of Othello.  Drive 3.3 kilometres and cross a canal on a good bridge.  Continue northward for another 3.5 kilometres and veer left at a 3-way junction.  From this junction, a narrower road (high-clearance recommended) runs westward for about 7.5 kilometres all the way to the top of Wahatis Peak.  Although I could have easily driven much further in my Honda CR-V, we chose to park about 3.0 kilometres short of the summit.

From where we parked, Zosia and I basically walked the remainder of the road to the summit.  Although the gentle ascent was a bit monotonous at times, the far-reaching views and abundance of wildflowers helped to keep things interesting.  Less than a kilometre from the top, we spotted what looked like two black dogs scampering about on the south side of the summit block.  We thought it was unusual for dogs to be in such a remote location but figured that they maybe belonged to someone who had driven up to the top.  When we reached the summit though, there was no one else in sight, and the dogs had also disappeared.  We later spotted them far down the south side of the mountain and speculated that they might actually be wolves.

After stopping for a half-hour break just below the top, Zosia and I took a short cut down the same slope where we first spotted the wolves.  Upon regaining the road, we simply retraced our steps back to our parked car, and we had no trouble with the ensuing drive out.

	Zosia begins hiking about three kilometres from the summit of Wahatis Peak.
	The east ridge is generally broad and flat.
	The road is dead easy to follow.
	In this zoomed-in view of Wahatis Peak's summit block, there appear to be two wolves (circled) running near the access road.
	Just below the summit are these unusual rock patterns which may have been formed by a process known as spheroidal weathering.
	Zosia stands in a pile of rocks on the west side of the summit block.  Visible on the distant horizon are Mount Adams and Mount Rainier (both snowy white).
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the summit of Wahatis Peak (824 metres).
	Zosia descends to check out the lower east end of the summit block.
	A flock of sandhill cranes flies overhead.

Zosia takes an off-trail short cut down to the road on the east ridge.

 

	During the return hike, Zosia finds a weathered US dollar coin on the road.  The year on the coin is 2000.
	Here is a view of Wahatis Peak from Washington State Route 24 to the south.
	Total Distance:  6.2 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  3 hours 33 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  152 metres GPX Data