Spending two days in Vancouver so decided to hike Dog Mountain today. Not the hike for solitude, arrived at the parking lot at 9:45am to a packed lot with so many cars I could not count them all, so I shared today's adventure with hundreds of hikers and dogs. A steep hike with great views and an awesome wildflower show. I took the counter-clockwise loop which is easier going up with views but a little hard on the knees coming down. I would recommend the clockwise loop. This was a great hike even with the crowds, and if you have time, the Asperger Mountain trail looks interesting which connects with the Dog Mountain Trail. Besides the Gorge, there were views of Mount Adams, St. Helens, and Hood, along with one of the most spectacular wildflower displays I have ever seen. Was back at the car by 1:30pm and the parking lot was still packed. I will have to return to the gorge for some more exploring.

The wildflowers must be near their peak right now. Lots of Balsamroot near the top with larkspur, phlox and fritillaries. The lupines are not quite out yet. I went up the steep and shortest trail which was fine but doesn't have many views of the Gorge until after it joins with the newer trail. I came down on the trail that goes to Augspurger mountain and it was definitely easier on my knees so the extra distance was well worth it. Lots of woodland flowers blooming including Ladies Slippers.

Hiked dog mountain today with kids 12 & 5, hike was little bit harder for my little one, specially tired when coming back, We did make summit though in 3.5 hrs, took us longer than what I thought it should take. I took the so called Less difficult trail, which was still pretty hard, very steep. Views are phenomenal from top though, Trail is not 6 miles as the hike summary says, it is more like 7 miles + round trip

Started at the trailhead around 9am, not too many people there considering the trail's popularity. The hike, going the "easy" way, was as grueling as I remember for an out of shape guy like me. The trail was in pretty good shape, nothing quite overgrowing yet. Made it up to the top to be greeted by a few groups of people and their dogs, all well behaved. Weather was in the 60's-70's all day; absolutely gorgeous with the flowers blooming. On the way back down, I did encounter a rattlesnake though. Didn't start rattling until I was about 2 feet away, but it got right up into the ready to strike position. Gave me quite a scare, but thankfully left me alone as I quickly left the area.

For anyone new to this trail, the signs ON THE TRAIL say 3.7 miles from the parking lot (which is the easier route), I think it needs to be clarified that the 3.0 mileage is if you take the steeper/more difficult trail to the summit. I know that's nitpicky, but since hikers of all abilities read these, I think that's an important detail. Today when I did it (early spring) there was a storm blowing through the Gorge which meant anything not under the tree cover was misty, windy, and cold. Past the second fork (1 mile from summit) trail was foggy and muddy. Got a really good video of the clouds moving through the Gorge (and they were moving FAST).