Dog Mountain — Thursday, May. 12, 2016

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

Started the hike about 10:45 a.m. Trailhead parking lot was full (probably about 40-50 cars) - got one of the last marked spots. Took my mini poodle Ella (she loves to hike). Did a 7 mile loop, starting at the Augsberger trailhead (the trail that is the furthest west at the trailhead parking lot). First 4.1 miles is uphill and mostly through the forest on the east side of the mountain. Shady, no wind, and good trail. A fairly large downed tree blocks the trail, which requires one to climb over the top (had to pick up the pooch). A short section of the trail is a bit overgrown, but no issues. Nearing mile 4 you break out into the open, toward the south side of the mountain. There the sunlight (and wind) hit you in the face and you begin to see the beautiful yellow wildflowers that cover the south facing portion of the mountain. At the upper most portion of the trail there is a nice place to sit (probably about 20 people there when I had lunch, but doesn't feel crowded) and look out over the CRG in all its beauty. On the descent I stayed on the outer loop (longest and least steep descent). After a little loop off the main trail, you rejoin the trail and soon are back in the forest/shady areas. Got back to the car at about 3:00 and headed back to Portland. All in all a very nice hike. I've done most of my CRG hiking on the Oregon side, but this was worth it.