Dog Mountain — Monday, May. 20, 2024

Doing this hike during wild flower peak has been on my bucket list, and with the great weather forecast, I knew I had to go today!

I made the 3.5 hr drive from Seattle and arrived at 10:30am to a completely full parking lot (even on a Monday) and the overflow lot was full as well. I ended up finding a spot along the highway east of the main lot.

Taking the "more difficult" trail provided me with a significantly quieter trail, though it can at quite a price (that elevation gain is no joke! There was only 1 switch back?)

It was SUPER windy once you break the tree line and see the flowers, so much so that I was getting really cold, even with a couple layers added on. Because of this, I decided to go right when the trail forks again partway past the first stretch of flowers (at Puppy Dog viewpoint), and go into the trees. It was wind-free there, and allowed me to warm up. It's about 0.6 miles, then joins back with the main trail, opening up to a beautiful clearing full of flowers (and dare I saw, less people?).