Wildflowers are still in full bloom. The trail is in fine condition. Lots of dogs, all on leashes. Avoid the long route from Puppy Lookout to the Summit--the trail is overgrown with few flowers. You can't check for the Poison Oak either. On the lowest leg of the hike there was a rattlesnake--the rattle was unmistakeable. From the sound, it was a baby. No one got bitten while I was there, but be careful. The views are great. Overall, a fine day hike.

If you're looking for an extra challenge--and spectacular views--hike Dog Mountain before the sunrise! It is well worth the extra effort; the photos don't begin to do it justice. I started the hike at 2:30am, which left more than enough time to see the 5:15am sunrise from the top. It sounds absurd to hike that early, but give it one try and you'll be hooked! Make sure to dress VERY warmly (lots of layers and a windbreaker) and bring flashlights.

I would love to see this hike on a clear sunny day. The weather forecast had called for some sun at least, but I never saw it. Arriving late the trail was very populated. Poison oak lines the trail at lower elevations. Wildflowers were blooming and that was the highlight of this hike on a cloudy day. The clouds were condensing on the trees, so while it wasn't actually raining, the trees were. This made most of the areas under the trees slick mud. I took Dog Mountain up and the Auspurger Trail down and both had areas of extreme mud. Not only deep in places, but just very slippery especially in the steep places. The summit itself was shrouded in cold clouds and the wind was extremely strong. From the look of the trees, that is normal. It was quite a nice challenging hike, physically. If it had just been the climb and the distance I would have enjoyed it much more, but the (unsuccessful)effort of staying upright in the mud made it a bit much. I was wearing my barefoot shoes, which don't have a lot of traction, but I saw others in hiking boots that were also having difficulties.

Dog Mountain's stunning floral show is late this year. On May 25, 2009, the upper meadows were a solid yellow carpet of blooming balsamroot. On May 24, 2011, the balsamroot buds were just beginning to open, held back by the cold spring weather. The lupine had not even put up buds yet! From the trailhead on SR 14, 54 miles east of Vancouver (arrive early as this large parking lot fills up even on weekdays), we headed up the Augspurger Trail for 2.9 miles to the "Augie-Doggie" connector trail. This route is the least steep approach to the summit, wrapping around Dog Mountain on the west side. It traverses forest and scree slopes with many wildflower species in the understory. From the connector junction, it is about a mile across a ridge through forest and meadows to the Dog Mountain Trail. This trail segment held snowbanks until recently, so it is slick, soggy, muddy mess of bootprints. This trail also crosses the first meadows and gives the first big views down the Columbia Gorge and across at Mount Defiance in Oregon -- a taste of things to come. At the junction with the Dog Mountain Trail, we turned left for the short climb to the summit meadow, elevation 2,945 feet. This is the traditional lunch spot unless the wind is too strong to linger. On our hike, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing about 10 mph so we bundled up and stayed on the summit for lunch. On our return hike, we descended via the "scenic trail" (aka the new trail) for 3.4 miles back to the trailhead. This route is steeper -- and my knees felt it by the time I reached the car -- but it does have some scenic viewpoints. We did not see any rattlesnakes, but another hiker returning to the trailhead shortly after us said he had encountered a rattlesnake on the Augsperger Trail as he descended on that route. The other hazard on this hike is the poison oak: it grows profusely along all trails on the lower slopes. Have some Tecnu in your pack or car to clean your skin after the hike.

We hiked the new Dog Mt trail up and the Augspurger connector trail down gaining 2900 ft. Poison oak is out, but the balsamroot and lupine in the meadows are at least 2 weeks behind schedule! Ballhead waterleaf was one of the most prevalent flowers on the upper slopes. Plectritis, a few aging chocolate lilies, calypso orchids, red and orange paintbrush, yellow violets, a few dutchman's breeches, spotted coralroot, and wild ginger were some of the flowers seen. The day was extremely windy, but we found a lunch spot on top at the edge of the trees with a view of the cloudy day! Trillium and a few glacier lilies were on the top. The Augspurger connector trail had many slick muddy areas probably from recently melted snow. This was a good work out as usual!