This trail makes Dog Mountain an 8 mile round-trip trail. It's less trafficked than the classic Dog Mountain Trail. Could have been the weather, but I only saw about 15 people on the lower section before the connection with the Dog Mountain Trail. The trail is very well maintained. The two minor issues I would note are a) a downed tree across the path about halfway up. I'm 5'5" and I barely managed to straddle over it without taking off my 10lb pack, and b) the connector trail is a bit overgrown in a few places. A machete would do wonders. The first mile of this trail is pretty rocky, not even including the 5ish talus slopes you cross. After that it becomes more of a dirt path through pleasant forest. Most of it is semi-sparse, so you can see for hundreds of feet in any direction and there's a nice breeze. Probably would have been dappled shade all along if I hadn't been hiking in overcast conditions. The final mile got pretty muddy, as it was raining off and on. Lots of wind and mist on the final half-mile stretch. The wildflowers are still out but they're definitely past their prime. Another week or two and I wouldn't expect to see much. Parts of the trail got pretty slippery on the way down, only due to the rain. I was slow and cautious but still had one instance of my feet slipping out from under me and landing on my rear with an 'oof!'. I averaged 1mph on the way up and 2mph on the way down for a total of 6 hours over 8 miles. Yes I'm a slow hiker but I made it to the top! I heard birds the whole way but didn't see any wildlife. Overall an enjoyable and challenging hike!

We arrived at the parking lot about 0815 this morning, with approximately 10-15 vehicles in the lot ahead of us. We hiked up Dog Mountain this morning, taking the less difficult route to Puppy Point, then up to the former location of the lookout. Because it was cold and blustery, the bugs were not bad, but we did find a tick and several fleas on the dog. The balsam root, Indian paintbrush, lupine, yellow monkey flowers, and others were in bloom. We proceeded to hike down Augsberger Mountain trail and pick up the trail to Augsberger Mountain. The trail initially appears a bit overgrown but further in has been cleared of blowdowns relatively recently. There are Solomon's seal, etc in bloom on the forest floor. We made it to the peak of Augsberger Mountain, and only ran into one other person at the top of Augsberger Mountain. The trail was faint between the top and where it starts to drop down to view the flowers, mountains, the gorge, etc. We stopped shy of dropping down to the view point, as it had already been a long day.

Finding myself with free time on a Saturday morning. I decided to do a little exploring in the Gorge area. I wanted to get a 15 mile run in with some serious elevation gain and with a little research, found this intriguing trail. Initially I had wanted to make a variation of it by looping back over Dog Mountain, but with some warning from a hiker on the return of large crowds, I kept it to a simple out and back. Started at about 0730 in the rain and blustery winds. The trail ascends fairly gently in my opinion, but does not let up for the first three miles. You then drop down for about half a mile before once again heading back up. Eventually you traverse a rolling ridgeline as you follow the trail to the turn around point. I would guess that in clear weather you would be treated to some fantastic views, but I was stuck with sideways rain and clouds blowing UP the ridgeline. It was nasty. Encountered a very large WTA crew headed up the trail on my way down. They were all polite and friendly and will have taken care of the various small obstacles on the trail. A big high five to them! Returned very quickly. Round trip was a little over 15 miles in three hours and thirty minutes. Sorry for the lame pictures. Wasn't much of a priority on this trip.

Did the loop starting from Augspurger Trail to Dog Mountain then down to Puppy Lookout. Trail is in great condition with a few muddy areas towards the top. The forest service was working the trail today clearing blowdowns. Flowers were just starting to bloom... 2 weeks from now it should be in full swing. Great views of Mount St. Helens! ^_^

sdf