I chose a weekday (Monday) to do this one. It's a long commute from my home in Longview, WA. Arrived at the TH about 8:45am. Weather great for hiking, about 10 cars in the lot. There is a vault toilet with two stalls there. (pretty deplorable condition at the time I was there) I decided beforehand to hike up the Dog Mtn. trail and once reaching the summit, return via Augsburger trail. That is a "loop" slangily known as the Doggie/Oggie loop. The trail starts out right away with a healthy lung and heartbeat climb and never really lets up (except for a few traverses) till you reach the summit. At about .6 miles in, on #147 you come upon a fork in the trail. There's a sign there with a "comforting message" and two arrows, one straight ahead and one right. Arrow right (trail #147c) says "difficult". The straight ahead arrow (trail #147) says "more difficult". Hmmm....I chose the trail to the right #147c and hiked to the summit. More climbing will get you to Puppy Dog View Point which is about .9 miles from the summit. Good place to catch your breath and view the Columbia River for miles. The summit is a good spot for a sandwich or whatever. As you start down you will notice a sign that shows the takeoff for Augsburger Trail.(you will have passed it on the way up also) Going down the Augie way saves the knees. It's a bit longer, about 3/4 mile or so, but very nice trail on duff (pine needles over dirt) and easy on the legs. Cooler too. It will come out at the same TH where your car is. I try and do this hike every year about late April or early May to see what kind of shape my legs and lungs are in. The pass you need is a NW Forest Service pass or if you're old like me, the America the Beautiful pass also works. On the way back you can cross the Bridge of the Gods (for 3 bucks) and tool on down to Thunder Island Brewery for a great snack and craft beers. Just a thought.
Enjoy!
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