A steep climb no matter which route you take. The views of the river and surrounding mountains are always worth it though!

There is a log down along the 'difficult' route to the right, but it's easy enough to step over.

The poison oak has almost completely died back by now, maybe trimmed back? Either way, you could get away with running shorts, weather pending.

There's another log blocking the path along the forest-y alternate route you can take at Puppy Dog Point. It's a bit bigger but you can still climb over it. The brush is encroaching on the path on this route too but when is it not?

Fun trail, steep ascent with few switchbacks. Rattlesnake on trail, watch out. At the summit there are two spots people clearly camp at & a fire pit (do not make a fire, its too dry, dangerous)

Excellent views, plentiful oregon grapes.

I arrived at the trailhead around 7am on a Saturday, no issues finding parking at that time. I did the new trail, labeling "difficult" at the split, on the way up and Augspurger Trail on the way down. Recorded 6.8 miles with this route. 

I chose a weekday (Monday) to do this one. It's a long commute from my home in Longview, WA. Arrived at the TH about 8:45am. Weather great for hiking, about 10 cars in the lot. There is a vault toilet with two stalls there. (pretty deplorable condition at the time I was there) I decided beforehand to hike up the Dog Mtn. trail and once reaching the summit, return via Augsburger trail. That is a "loop" slangily known as the Doggie/Oggie loop. The trail starts out right away with a healthy lung and heartbeat climb and never really lets up (except for a few traverses) till you reach the summit. At about .6 miles in, on #147 you come upon a fork in the trail. There's a sign there with a "comforting message" and two arrows, one straight ahead and one right. Arrow right (trail #147c) says "difficult". The straight ahead arrow (trail #147) says "more difficult". Hmmm....I chose the trail to the right #147c and hiked to the summit. More climbing will get you to Puppy Dog View Point which is about .9 miles from the summit. Good place to catch your breath and view the Columbia River for miles. The summit is a good spot for a sandwich or whatever. As you start down you will notice a sign that shows the takeoff for Augsburger Trail.(you will have passed it on the way up also) Going down the Augie way saves the knees. It's a bit longer, about 3/4 mile or so, but very nice trail on duff (pine needles over dirt) and easy on the legs. Cooler too. It will come out at the same TH where your car is. I try and do this hike every year about late April or early May to see what kind of shape my legs and lungs are in. The pass you need is a NW Forest Service pass or if you're old like me, the America the Beautiful pass also works. On the way back you can cross the Bridge of the Gods (for 3 bucks) and tool on down to Thunder Island Brewery for a great snack and craft beers. Just a thought.

Enjoy!

This is a report for the Cook Hill loop trail, which is closest to dog mountain but not available on WTA.

We were the first car at 7am. Greeted with 7 additional cars at noon on our return.

There was enough wind that the bugs didn't cause any problems.
It's a great loop with a lot of tree cover to be protected from the sun. This was great given the heat advisory.

It is quite steep and poles were very welcome on the way down. Taking the loop counterclockwise is the way to go if you want a steep accent with a more reasonable descent.

On our way back, the local goats eye our enjoying some sun.

It's definitely a great other option besides Dog Mountain, and while it has fewer flowers, it's higher up so the view of Mount Hood is nicer in my opinion.