This can be a pretty tough trail will all the elevation gain in the first few miles. During wildflower season, the views are totally worth it. 

We were getting to the end of the yellow balsamroot flowers which is a good majority of the fields of flowers up there. There were still some purple lupines holding on, and some indian paintbrush starting to bloom. But May is a better time to hit this trail.

Definitely start early to beat the heat. I really recommend taking the shuttle from Skamania. It is easy to park there, and your permit is included when you go during peak season. 

We tend to take the "More Difficult" trail up to the viewpoint. It is a little bit shorter, and is usually less populated. On the way back down, we like to take the Augspurger trail. This trail is about a mile longer, but is also less populated with hikers, and it gives you a different view on your way down. 

We got on the first shuttle out of Skamania, and started the trail at 8am. We were at the look out by 10am, and back to the shuttle by noon (since we took the longer Augspurger trail back down).

Did my annual solo hike up the Dog Mountain Trail and down the Augspurger Trail.

The weather was fine ... some low clouds on the river but, after having reached the top - around 10:30 am - the clouds dissipated quickly.

There were some bugs but they were not too bad. I do recommend having some deet handy though.

Unfortunately I'd forgotten to put my hiking poles in the back of my Outback so coming down, even on the less steep Augspurger Trail, began to take its toll on my 76 year old legs.

Overall a lovely day and the hike was very nice indeed.  I only wished that there had been more red and blue flowers mixed in with the yellow Balsamroot but you can't always have everything!

4/30/19 It's 3:39am and I am the first car in the lot! This is my first time ever hiking or stopping here. There are two handicap parking spots. The parking lot is riddled with large potholes so take care with your vehicle. There are locked vaulted toilets 100 yards up the dog mountain trail. They were pretty smelly when I got there downward in the am. There is a picnic table. You need a Northwest forrest pass, america the beautiful pass or there is a self service pay station here for $5.00. I hiked 11.95 miles 4387ft elevation gain in 8hrs 9 minutes total time, 6hrs 44 mins moving time. Augspurger trail to Augspurger Ridge to Dog Mountain and down more difficult trail on dog, started at 3:59:30 AM. Augspurger is a beautiful trail (way more easy going and gradual than the more difficult trail on Dog Mountain) mostly forrested and well maintained till you get to the dog mountain trail junction. There was a trail junction on Augspurger at .73 miles in for an Old Loggers Trail that looked overgrown. When you hike down to the valley before the powerlines, expect bushwacking and there are lots of obstacles on the trail. A section of the hike is on powerline roads and can be confusing to navigate, if you do not have a map. There are trail markers on the actual augspurger trails and great signs to point you in the right direction minus the powerline roads junction. I stopped on Augspurger Ridge, great views of the gorge here (I liked it better than Dog, because no one else was up there). This was at 5.13 miles in. I continued on for a bit, but the trail was really overgrown beyond the ridge to the summit, so I decided to save that for another day. On the way back headed up Dog Mountain trail via Augsburger. (very nice trail in the forrest till you are at the ridge on the side of Dog mountain.) Small trails on the ridge. The true lookout didn't have much of a view, but the first lookout has beautiful safe seating and spacious. Take care on your steps down from here. The dirt on the trail is slick. If you prefer a gradual descent and are using a map take the long way down dog (the difficult trail). Unbeknowst to me I took the more difficult trail down (there are no signs on top that tell you, which trail is more hard.) The more difficult trail is 2.98 brutally steep miles. The dirt is slippery until you get to the forrest. From the time I started to 10am (10am I was on dog mountain trail via augspurger) I saw nor heard no one on the trail for the first 6hrs of my hike. An almost full parking lot on a Tuesday early afternoon I think most cars were carrying a car load, because I saw and stopped for a ton of people and dogs on the way down. A couple of trail junctions on the more difficult dog trail. Saw very little trash on trail and about half of the dogs I saw were leashed. Very small sporadic wild flower sightings. Lots of trillium in the forrests. If you are coming to dog at this time of year for wildflowers, I think it is still too early. Come here for a great thigh burning workout. A couple of areas on highway 14 for road work one right in front of dog mountain trailhead takes highway down to one lane so expect some waiting. Another at beacon rock area, all on my way out. Saw two police cruisers speed checking highway 14, one at North Bonnevile on the straight part. One closer to Washougal, WA. Also saw no rattlers and had no Ticks on myself at the end of the day. Didn't see any children on the trail and wouldn't recommend this hike for children unless they are experienced. Lots of bugs in the more lush areas where you can tell there is underground water running.

A friend and I hiked the Auspurger Mountain trail yesterday.  We started at the Dog Mountain trailhead at 8:30am, and continued up to Dog Mountain first.  We took the Hard route (straight at the first sign junction, as opposed to Very Hard if you stay right).  

The trek to Dog Mountain had minor snow after reaching the exposed meadow area.  Microspikes would have been convenient, but were not mandatory to continue to the top.  

From Dog mountain, we proceeded to the Augspurger trail.  The trail had moderate snow(~3-6") after reaching the logging road, 0.8 miles from the Dog Mountain | Augsperger junction.  The snow was soft and melting, and snow shoes were not needed.  

The snow increased after reaching the single track trail again.  It was passable without snowshoes, but the depth was up to mid shin height-- tall gaiters would be recommended if you do not want snow in your shoes.  The snow was very slushy, and easy to walk through.  It was easier than the stretch before Dog Mountain peak since there was no icy or slick areas.

We stopped about 1 mile from the true top, since we lost the trail after reaching the main ridge from the "2.5 mile sign."  Visibility was limited due to fog and snow.  We could barely see powerlines from the ridge due to clouds.  

We hiked in trail runner shoes and shorts (with extra gear in our packs as backup) and everything was passible.  We made first tracks in the snow on the augspurger trail section (after the dog mountain junction), although we encountered 2 additional couples heading up on our way down.  Total distance hiked was ~12 miles (recorded based on steps, so accuracy is not perfect) and our trek duration was 4.5 hours including minor stops to layer / delayer / snack.  

Excellent early evening hike in the Columbia River Gorge!

The parking lot was about 2/3 full when I arrived at 3pm. I encountered many other hikers making their descent as I was sweating up the hill, but the trail never felt 'crowded'. I must have just missed the rush, because by the time I reached the meadows near the top I barely saw any more people and I had the summit to myself. I took the Augspurger trail back down, and only passed two parties of two the entire way back to the parking lot. What a great day for it!

There are still some wildflowers near the top, but most of them are wilted and drying up. Other than the brush growing in close over the trail in several spots, there weren't any obstacles. Bugs didn't seem to be a problem except for in the parking lot. There were only a handful of cars in the lot when I returned a little before 7pm, which I found a little surprising considering there were still two full hours of daylight left on this beautiful Spring day.