Had been wanting to hike Dog Mountain for a while and decided to climb a mountain on the super bowl. Made it from Seattle to the trail head in just under 4 hours, arriving around 10am to about 15 other cars in the parking lot (still plenty of parking). We opted for the more difficult trail vs the most difficult. Trail is in great condition, no blow downs but STEEP. Took a couple of breathers before making it to the first intersection. Again took the less difficult route to the first view point. This part of the trail is steep at first but levels out through the forest and opens up to a nice view point with a small bench. Good snack spot. The next part of the trail to the old fire lookout is steep and we came across some snow that had turned to slush with the sun being out. I was glad to have poles but plenty of people seemed to be fine without them. Top of the trail was beautiful with Mt. Hood and Mt. St Helen's poking out. Began our decent on the Augspurger Trail and stopped for a quick lunch. This trail had slush and ice for about the first mile. It's on an exposed cliff side so careful steps are a must. The rest of the trail had few views but did seem to be more knee friendly. It's not as well maintained and there were a few blow downs that were easy enough to get around. Made it back to the trail head by 3:45pm and grabbed pizza and beers at the Walking Man Brewery which was delicious and the service was great.
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