Dog Mountain — Thursday, May. 25, 2023

We arrived just before 8am this morning to find the lot about half full. By the time it took us to finish a cup of coffee in the car, the trailhead was at full capacity and dozens of people were circling the lot hoping for a spot to open up. We took the Augspurger trail up which ended up being a great decision since it was shaded the entire way and nicely graded. We hardly saw anyone until we topped out near the summit, but once at the top where the flowers are prolific there were 20 or so people scattered across the hillside sitting among the patches of flowers. It was sad to see so much wear and tear on the vegetation here due to human impact. Also an absurd amount of toilet paper in various locations, mostly behind and around bigger trees. Please, come prepared to pack out all trash and human waste. No one wants to see your gross toilet paper piles!
On to the flowers... The yellow Balsamroot is pretty much toasted everywhere except for at the very top, but there are still lots of other flower types to enjoy. Maybe another week until the wildflower show is complete over, so get it while you can!