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Trip Report

Dog Mountain — Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA
The peak was covered in freezing fog and rain, but made for a spectacular view. Photo by heaths.
We started out early in the morning when it was about 40 degrees, clear skies, and barely windy. The temperature made for a good hike up the "samurai" path - the left path at the first fork. The trails were mostly clear. There was a few spots up the left path where we had to cross over some fallen trees that were, unfortunately, too heavy to move. But they aren't so big you can't easily climb over them. The skies clouded over and we could see frost forming on the trees and other flora. When we broke through the tree line, high winds added to the freezing fog and stung a bit on bare skin. We continued up to the peak and hit a little bit of water on the trail, but not so slippery or muddy that it made the hike difficult. We did attempt to take the right fork from the lookout point but there were a lot of fallen trees and branches that made it difficult. Eventually the snow got deeper and combined with the debris made the pass difficult. We didn't plan on snowshoeing so we turned back and took the left trail on the exposed face of the mountain. After a short break at the peak, we continued down and the weather had improved a bit. There were a lot more hikers by then but the trails weren't congested. All in all, the main trails were in good condition but there were a few choke points where the bushes may need to be trimmed back at some point (once they start blooming).
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