Hit the trailhead at 0530. First car. NW Forest Pass required. Yeah, Goldman Sachs can blow up the economy and they get taxpayer money. I gotta pay twice to take a walk. Took the very steepest route up. 50 deg., clear, and somewhat windy at the flower fields. Balsamroot past its prime (but still some nice specimens), larkspur the same, paintbrush lovely, lupine just coming on. Took Augspurger down. Still some muddy stretches in that first .2 mile or so, which seems weird to me because the trail is on a little knife-edge ridge and I woulda thought it'd drain off better. Dog trails were clear of trees. Aug had a few trees down that didn't block the trail completely but impeded traffic a little bit. Roughly 30 cars at the trailhead when we came out about 11:30.

Dog Mountain is a steep one; but so worth it with the flowers at the peak. There is plenty of poison oak on the lower slopes, but no rattlesnakes were seen. The trail was a bit slick due to recent rains, and low cloud cover made for a cold and windy summit. No matter, I pulled on a jacket and hugged the dog for warmth while enjoying the view. Go early to get a parking place at the trail-head, and expect a crowd. I came down the Augspurger trail and still had plenty of company. Earned myself a well-deserved fishwich at the East Wind Drive-In at Cascade Locks.

Thanks to trail crews, the trail is looking great! In fact it's clear, both ways!!! WTA was out this Saturday and Sunday clearing downed limbs, taking care of dangerous leaners and widow-makers waiting to pounce on the unwary hiker, maintaining drainage, brushing, and generally making a much improved trail. I was thrilled to join the crew Sunday, and we had a BLAST!!!!! Come play with us sometime and have the time of your life! Saturday I couldn’t get to the trailhead until noon, headed up the “more strenuous” path (clockwise) hoping to run into the WTA crew (and save my knees) on the way down. The trail was in great shape the whole way, but with lots of evidence that it was a mess in the very recent past. Past treeline the wind was gusting 40 mph+ and blowing me all over the trail – SO AWESOME!!! Great views up & down the Gorge, Hood peeking, Mt. Defiance, & Adams (had to go around to the left at top for this). Got to top @ 1:20, found the last of the snow to play in, then headed down. If you take the 1st “Dog Mt.” signed trail to the right (I learned by doing), you return to the trailhead via Augsburger trail, 2.7 mi. from that sign. The link has pics of that trail, which has several downed trees but all limbed by a trail crew so easy to get over/under. There is one dangerous broken leaner the Forest Service will need to take out. Got back to the parking lot at 3:15. Trillium, Oregon grape, wild strawberry & others blooming, lupine leafed out, BEWARE OF POISON OAK ALL OVER (all these trails) AND VERY OILY as it's just leafing!!! Sunday with WTA crew worked the easier side of the loop and got it cleared, safe, & beautiful (if we do say so ourselves) up to the first good viewpoint. This trail was getting lots of use (but saw only one group of 3 on Augsburger). I really appreciated how hikers were happy to stop while we were bucking trees near the trail. I think every single hiker thanked us & several asked how to sign up. This is serious volunteer fuel – so thanks right back!!!! Now nudge on over to that “volunteer” tab and sign up for a crew near you! You’ll be glad you did (we have cookies)! Pics at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51278183@N05/sets/72157629835094223/

I ran every trail on Dog Mountain today. Here's my report. DOG MOUNTAIN REPORT Ausenberger Trail has one fallen tree (fairly large) and debree that's blocking the trail about 1.5-2 miles up from the parking lot. It's very easy and non-treacherous to get around by walking off the trail and around the mess. It is a little muddy/snowy within a mile of the Peak, but it's a very doable hike and/or run. The Counter Clockwise MOST DIFFICULT route is the most cleared route to take. There's a couple sections blocked by fallen trees (not too big) and debree not too far from the more difficult/less difficult junction, but there are clear easy paths around them off the trail. No worries. The Counter Clockwise LESS DIFFICULT route: DON'T TAKE IT! Even if you've hiked the trail before, there's so much blown-down trees, branches, and 6" of snow that completely hides the trail starting maybe less than a mile up from the less difficult/more difficult junction. I came down this way to scout it out, and it was near impossible to follow the trail. Even halfway down the mountain, I lost the trail for 20 minutes before I found it again. It's nothing but a bush-wacking and tree branches/logs war zone. I was nearly castrated a few times trying to pick my way through the mess. See the photo below for an example. Cheers! Happy Trails, and be safe with all these blow downs!

This trail was just as hard as we remembered from 10 years ago. Relentlessly steep, but in good shape until near the top, where a few sections badly need to be brushed out. The views of the Gorge are worth the struggle. Balsamroot flowers are past their prime, but still some lupine and paintbrush. For excitement, a rattlesnake refused to yield the trail on the way down, scaring some hikers into backtracking to take an alternate trail down. For many, their first encounter with a "buzzworm." Treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at the Lyle Hotel afterwards(a great base for hiking/birding the eastern Gorge).