The parking lot was fairly empty this morning, as it was very cold and foggy with a strong east wind. We bundled up and hiked up the trail. On the lower trail, trees looked like a winter wonderland in the frozen fog. At 0.7 miles, the trail splits: to the right is the easier route and to the left, the more difficult ascent. Soon the trail was covered with frozen snow and ice and MicroSpike traction cleats on our boots assured solid footing. Other hikers without traction were slipping and sliding. Many of those hikers wisely turned around when the trail became icy. Otherwise, the trail was in great condition. As we continued up, we broke through the strong inversion into clear, sunny skies and tempertures in the mid to upper 40s! The views from the top were spectacular with the fog over the Columbia River below, Mt. St. Helens, and a peek-a-boo view of Mt. Adams. A welcome reprieve from the foggy lower elevation weather today!

There were only about 12 cars when we arrived at the TH about 10:30. We had intermittent light rain and sunshine the first part of our hike and very strong winds as we neared the top. When we reached the junction at 0.6 miles, we took the old trail as this is where we began to see phantom orchids. We must have seen hundreds along the way! However, most were past their prime. We wished we had been there a week ago! The thimbleberry as we neared the open area near the top "took over" the trail. Spotted coral root, paintbrush, penstemon, columbine, rabbit-foot clover, and wild ginger were some of the other flowers seen. The Augspurger Trail connector was very muddy and slippery in places.

About 15 cars at the trail head when I arrived at 10:30 am, three times that number by the time I returned just past 1:40 pm. Did a clockwise hike today up the Dog Mountain trail, opting for the shorter, steeper, but shadier hike up through the forest so Daphne would have some reprieve from the hot sun, and the longer, less-brutal-on-the-knees trail on the way down. This supposedly more scenic trail is a mess of blowdowns but thanks to WTA's work crew, the trail is entirely clear; it smells like a Christmas tree farm! Spectacular views at Puppy Dog Lookout and the summit today, the hillsides bursting with yellow balsam root, vivid purple lupine, bright red paintbrush. St. Helen's and Mt. Hood were starkly white contrasted against a radiant blue sky. No bugs until I stopped at the summit to eat lunch--then decided to stroll and eat instead of being eaten. Kept Daphne on a short leash at the bottom, as there is a TON of oily poison oak trail side. There was quite a bit of road construction on 14 East on my way to the trail head, adding 15 minutes to the drive, but it wasn't there on the way back so maybe you won't encounter it. R.T. Distance: 6.2 miles Elevation Gain: 2800 ft High Point: 2948 ft Time Up: 1 hr 50 min (leisurely to moderate pace) Time Down: 1 hr 10 min Northwest Forest Pass required Dog notes: dogs required to be on leash; shaded most of the way; no water source (my Black Lab drank through 2 liters of water on the hike; another hiker suggested I should dye Daphne's hair blonde for summer hiking...hmm, interesting idea)

It was a glorious day on the gorge. We got to the parking lot of Dog Mountain at 8:10Am, there were only 2 other cars on the parking lot. We started the hike at around 8:30AM. We headed towards dog mountain, we followed the trail on the right, this one is the exterior trail, so we got beautiful views of the gorge. We even sat for a quick bite on the bench and enjoyed the views. The trail was in great condition. Beautiful flowers blooming all around, absolutely gorgeous. After we submitted Dog, we went through the Augspurger trail to summit Augspurger Mountain. This part of the trail was heavely overgrown in some areas. We did pass an area where some blowdowns had been cut and moved away from the trail. Thank you so much!!!! We reached an old mining road?, and here things got a little dicey. This part of the trail was unmarked and little difficult to follow, we went the wrong way and had to backtrack. We enjoyed complete solitude, everyone else was left behind at Dog, and we didnt see anyone else until we were back at the intersection with Dog trail. Here are some directions so you know where to go.... Starting at the Dog Mountain Trailhead, take the dog mountain trail on the right,follow the trail till you come to an intersection to the summit of Dog, (if you want to summit dog continue, this will only add .4 miles to your trip). (if you do not want to summit then follow the trail on the left this is the Augspurger trail). From the summit of Dog, go back down and there will be a trail on your right about .2 of a mile down, this is the Augspurger trail follow it till you reach an interesection, one will take you back to the car, and the other says Augspurger trail. Keep to the right to stay on the Augspurger Trail and go downhill on a smaller, brushy path into a basin. After .6 miles, the trail intersects with an old road. Take a right and head uphill another .6 miles, continuing straight through a four-way junction. When the road takes a hairpin left turn, look for some pink ribbons and a faint trail to your right. Continue on the Augspurger Trail as it climbs and switchbacks through the woods for 1.1 miles until you pop out onto an open ridge. There are powerlines below the ridge and fantastic views down the Gorge. Continue along the ridge and follow the faint trail as it climbs through brush and forest another 1.1 miles to the forested summit of Augspurger Mountain. The views from Augspurger ridge were amazing. The total loop was about 17 miles with about 6000 feet of elevation gain. Needless to say we were very glad when we reached the parking lot. All in all it was an awesome hike!!!

Great intermediate level hike. Wildflowers are still in bloom - Yarrow, Queen Ann's ace, Self-Heal, various daisies, Lupine, Indian Paintbrush, Red and White Clover, Hawkweed, Broadleaf Plantain, Common Plantain, etc. Very windy on the last mile to the summit.