Dog Mountain, Augspurger Trail — Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

I ran every trail on Dog Mountain today. Here's my report. DOG MOUNTAIN REPORT Ausenberger Trail has one fallen tree (fairly large) and debree that's blocking the trail about 1.5-2 miles up from the parking lot. It's very easy and non-treacherous to get around by walking off the trail and around the mess. It is a little muddy/snowy within a mile of the Peak, but it's a very doable hike and/or run. The Counter Clockwise MOST DIFFICULT route is the most cleared route to take. There's a couple sections blocked by fallen trees (not too big) and debree not too far from the more difficult/less difficult junction, but there are clear easy paths around them off the trail. No worries. The Counter Clockwise LESS DIFFICULT route: DON'T TAKE IT! Even if you've hiked the trail before, there's so much blown-down trees, branches, and 6" of snow that completely hides the trail starting maybe less than a mile up from the less difficult/more difficult junction. I came down this way to scout it out, and it was near impossible to follow the trail. Even halfway down the mountain, I lost the trail for 20 minutes before I found it again. It's nothing but a bush-wacking and tree branches/logs war zone. I was nearly castrated a few times trying to pick my way through the mess. See the photo below for an example. Cheers! Happy Trails, and be safe with all these blow downs!