I recognize this is a popular trail, but I encountered the worst of the worst today. Dog poop in the middle of the trail. Multiple dogs off leash. Music blasting on speakers. A child (maybe 8 years old?) left alone and unattended at the second viewpoint while her parents continued on to the summit without her, who nervously asked me to stay with her awhile.

Alright, I'll stop ranting. I arrived at the trailhead around 9 am and there were plenty of parking spots open. When I arrived back at my car around noon, the lot had filled up considerably. The trail was in good condition and there were a sprinkling of flowers blooming at the top. It was completely foggy at the summit this morning but the views from the lower viewpoints were still worth the climb.

Most of the wildflowers are dead now, but there were beautiful views at the top! I'm not totally out of shape but wanted something to kick my butt, and this definitely did it! A calf burner for sure. This was my first time hiking Dog Mountain, I left the trailhead around 6:30pm and made it 2.5 miles up the trail by 8:30pm. I told myself if I didn't reach the top by then I would head back down since the sun started setting. What a beautiful sunset though! You could even see the tippy top of Mt. Hood from the remnants of the old fire lookout. I'll definitely have to reattempt this one at a later time. 

Great time of year to hike this trail! The trail was in excellent condition. Some parts were more wet than others so I recommend trekking poles. 

This can be a pretty tough trail will all the elevation gain in the first few miles. During wildflower season, the views are totally worth it. 

We were getting to the end of the yellow balsamroot flowers which is a good majority of the fields of flowers up there. There were still some purple lupines holding on, and some indian paintbrush starting to bloom. But May is a better time to hit this trail.

Definitely start early to beat the heat. I really recommend taking the shuttle from Skamania. It is easy to park there, and your permit is included when you go during peak season. 

We tend to take the "More Difficult" trail up to the viewpoint. It is a little bit shorter, and is usually less populated. On the way back down, we like to take the Augspurger trail. This trail is about a mile longer, but is also less populated with hikers, and it gives you a different view on your way down. 

We got on the first shuttle out of Skamania, and started the trail at 8am. We were at the look out by 10am, and back to the shuttle by noon (since we took the longer Augspurger trail back down).

Great day to tackle this one.  This hike is definitely a work out. 

Lots of people but we expected it being a Friday. 

Saw 2 dog fight/ issues, people , please follow the rules. If your dog is supposed to be on a leash then keep it on one.  Especially if it has behavior issues, saw multiple potential problems  with dogs.