Was cool and high clouds when we started at about 8:20am. The first half mile gave my daughter and I a good workout in our first climb here. Was calm and quiet in the woods. This trail is a good thigh burner. Once we got out of the woods, the winds were up and cooled down a lot. The flowers were amazing (see photos) and made the hike worth it just for the blooms. Made the summit in about 1 1/2 hours. Clouds obscured view other peaks. On the way down were a lot of groups on the way up. Parking lot was totally full when we got there at about 11. Will do this again on a clear day.

It was fairly sunny and breezy as we started up the Augsperger trail for Dog Mountain at about 10am. Had nice views of the Columbia River as we ascended through the interesting lichen covered oak trees. As we kept climbing, it changed from cool to cold and breezy to windy until it was so cold and windy we had to put on our fleece jackets and then our rain jackets. Once we broke through the forest, the wildflowers were spectaclar. Even though the mist hung low, the bright yellow blanket of balsamroot was spectacular. Lots and lots of various wildflowers are blooming. It's time to go visit Dog Mountain now. Cloud cover prevented us from seeing views of the Columbia and the mountain peaks for most of the hike. But as we descended the Dog Mountain trail, the clouds parted briefly allowing us glimpses of the river right before we entered into the forest again.

Chocolate (Checker) Lilies are blooming now, and we saw lots of them! Also Striped Coralroot, Spotted Coralroot, Fairy Slipper, Fringecup, Larkspur, Wood Violets (yellow) and blue violets, as well as many other flowers. Balsamroot is blooming but in the early stages. Also saw a colorful kingsnake with white, red and black stripes. We hiked up the Dog Mountain trail, taking the newer, easier trail to the right at the first junction. It's a nice trail, but steep. Lots of work to get to the top, but worth it for the great views and variety of wildflowers! We came down via the longer Augspurger trail to be easier on the knees - a long day of hiking at a slow pace. Amazing flowers and views are the payoff!

I've read about this trail for years, finally knocked it off the list. Met some friends at Beacon Rock State park where we camped. Lovely little campground. First come first serve park, showers and lots of trails. I highly recommend. It's also located before the construction mess. We started hiking at 2 it was a little warm. Trail gets right to business of up it was a butt burner for sure. We heard a couple of snakes so be aware of that. There is also alot of poison oak in this area. Trail is very popular and busy but we didn't encounter too many going up that late in the day. Flowers were spectacular! I can't say enough about the variety of flowers..it was my first time hiking around the Gorge and I will be back for sure!

Trail is in very good condition, just a little mud at the summit. Some trace snow but not on the trail itself. No balsamroot yet. A few lupine, otherwise just a lot of greens and browns. This trail was very hard for me!