Hiked this trail at 2pm on Wednesday on a gorgeous fall day. The gradient is pretty intense for the entire hike (around 18% average) and you definitely feel it on the way down. The trail is well maintained with plenty of wide bends to stop off and catch your breath. I'd estimate that about 1/2 of the trail is shaded in the forest and the other half is open and exposed. For such a beautiful afternoon, we only passed around 20 other folks, with a roughly equal split between masks/no masks. My dog is a trail warrior and she was ready for dinner, bed, and a massage as soon as we got back to the car. I was too but she wasn't offering! ;-)
From the top of Dog Mountain on this clear, sunny day, we could see Mt. Hood, Mt. St Helens, and after a quick amble through trees to the other side, Mt. Rainier. Would do it again!
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