Dog Mountain — Wednesday, Jun. 27, 2012

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

About 15 cars at the trail head when I arrived at 10:30 am, three times that number by the time I returned just past 1:40 pm. Did a clockwise hike today up the Dog Mountain trail, opting for the shorter, steeper, but shadier hike up through the forest so Daphne would have some reprieve from the hot sun, and the longer, less-brutal-on-the-knees trail on the way down. This supposedly more scenic trail is a mess of blowdowns but thanks to WTA's work crew, the trail is entirely clear; it smells like a Christmas tree farm! Spectacular views at Puppy Dog Lookout and the summit today, the hillsides bursting with yellow balsam root, vivid purple lupine, bright red paintbrush. St. Helen's and Mt. Hood were starkly white contrasted against a radiant blue sky. No bugs until I stopped at the summit to eat lunch--then decided to stroll and eat instead of being eaten. Kept Daphne on a short leash at the bottom, as there is a TON of oily poison oak trail side. There was quite a bit of road construction on 14 East on my way to the trail head, adding 15 minutes to the drive, but it wasn't there on the way back so maybe you won't encounter it. R.T. Distance: 6.2 miles Elevation Gain: 2800 ft High Point: 2948 ft Time Up: 1 hr 50 min (leisurely to moderate pace) Time Down: 1 hr 10 min Northwest Forest Pass required Dog notes: dogs required to be on leash; shaded most of the way; no water source (my Black Lab drank through 2 liters of water on the hike; another hiker suggested I should dye Daphne's hair blonde for summer hiking...hmm, interesting idea)