Beautiful hike today.  Very cold on the summit with strong wind but well worth it!

Winter seems to have come early this year to the higher elevations - including places in the Gorge. I hiked Dog Mountain and found myself in a winter wonderland at the top (though the actual trail was nearly snow free until the I popped out of the woods and onto the ridge leading up to Puppy Dog Point). Luckily the wind was from the east, so I didn’t experience many gusts. I was grateful to have microspikes, which made the snow very manageable. Took the Augspurger Trail back down - but wouldn't recommend it this time of year, as it's overgrown enough that the snow makes footing difficult.

Arrived at TH 9:00 Friday June 28th. There is a nice restroom at the head of the trail. Plenty of parking at that time on a weekday. My America the Beautiful pass worked for me. I think if you don't have that one, another pass is needed, not sure which.

Trail climbs immediately at a strong rate. Lots of switchbacks with maybe 4 or 5 fairly level traverses, but mostly up, up, up. Wildflowers have peaked but there were still some blooming. Great views along the way at intervals. Super clear day yielded fantastic views both upriver and down. Also across the river looking straight into Mt. Defiance. (you can barely see the antennas, cell tower(?) at the top. That's a tough one! But back to Dog Mt. The trail didn't seem as difficult as in other times I went. (I even packed my Exos 58 with lots of extra stuff for weight for the conditioning aspects) Moderate traffic on path, only met one person with unleashed dog. Everyone in super nice mood and conversant. Lunch at the top, followed by descent via Augsberger trail which is less steep but adds maybe a mile distance. All in all, great hike. (btw, there is no water on this trail) Trail is in good shape, no obstacles. Did not encounter ticks or poison Ivy. There are some great cooling updrafts on certain exposures (mostly from the West) which were very welcome on the day I went. Temps about 75 degrees.

Approx. length, 7.5 miles (using Auggie  down) and nearly 3000 feet gain. (2975) Kid and animal friendly. 

The trail is in great condition. Flowers are still everywhere. And there are wild strawberry patches that are ripe near the outlook to Grand Lake.

Started at 7:30. 1/3 of the parking was taken.
Although today was to reach above 80F, I was glad to have two extra layers at the top. There was a lot of wind and thus no bug problem at all.

The outer loop seems the least crowded. We only crossed 5 other groups over the whole loop - whereas there were a few more at the summit.

The descent of the outer loop was narrower, but we didn't have to cross anyone going up until we reached close to the parking.

Great hike!

The weather on Wednesday was everything that spring has to offer - sun, wind, and rain - depending on the minute. The trail was in great shape! Because of the rain, there were a few puddles on the north side of Dog Mountain at the very top. Other than that, the trail was not muddy. I have never seen so many blooming wildflowers in a single location. It's not possible to capture them all in a single photo, but they continue as far as the eye can see.