Dog Mountain — Monday, May. 13, 2013

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

It was a miserable spring day - rainy and windy with temperatures in the 50s. So I did what other crazy outdoorsy people do and went hiking. Our group climbed the steep section of the Dog Mountain loop and came back on the less steep, but longer,section. This turned out to be the perfect way to do the hike. The wild flowers in the forested area on the way up were the best I've ever seen at Dog Mountain. I lost count after about ten varieties when my body shifted oxygen from my brain to my legs. Because the trail was so steep, the flowers were virtually at eye level. The balsamroot at the top was Dog Mountain perfect. The trail down offered some views, but other than that was the basic downhill trek. The advantage of this route is that it is more knee friendly that the steeper trail. There was mud in some places, making it easy to slip. In other places, there was loose rock, making it easy to skitter. I was glad for my hiking poles. Sure, the weather was stinky, but the view from the top was surprisingly good and the wildflowers were post-card perfect.