Snow pretty much gone on Dog Mountain. There were some blowdowns this winter but these have been taken care of. Trail is in good shape.

No wildflowers out yet, trail mostly clear until meadows on top. No major problems. Ausburger trail on descent, a bit of snow, but again, trail was already carved by previous hikers.

After working like dogs all winter the Victoria Day long weekend finally gave us a chance to flea the city and go hiking again. Finding a little sunshine wasn’t easy though as it rained like cats and dogs all the way to Bend Oregon. The trip didn’t start out so good, as I had done little of the packing and was already in the doghouse. Then I discovered that I had forgot our Northwest Forest Pass (again!) Now we had to contend with the Forest Service hounding us for money at every step. Five bones later we had our day pass and headed for the Newberry Lava River Tube, a big nondescript ‘Scooby Doo’ like cave. However we just missed the 4pm cut-off and were turned away. And then we drove around in circles looking for a place to camp. We tried an RV park in SunRiver only to discover it was member only – we were definitely barking up the wrong tree. Finally we reached La Pine Sate Park and paid $17 for the right to plunk our pup tent down for one night. Needless to say we had hot dogs for dinner. The next day was bright & sunny and we spent the morning exploring the lava tube. We then drove to Timberline at Mt. Hood where we had planned on doing some exploring. Even though we had brought snowshoes, crampons & hel-mutts I had eaten my homework and had no idea where to go. We then switched gears and headed to Lost Lake where true to its name we lost all views of Mt. Hood to a low-lying cloud. With another day in the bag we set down for the night in the gorge hoping that Monday would be our day. And so it was that we finally went on a hike. The trail was very steep and we had to paws often to catch our breath. When at last we reached the summit we were panting but the views were worth it. All up & down the gorge framed by the tips of Hood, Adams and Mt. St. Helens and a carpet of flowers. Balsalmroot was peaking but was far from the only flora present. Dog tired, we headed back to Canada stopping briefly to check out Falls Creek Falls and to get a closer look at Mt. St. Helens. We didn’t get home until midnight, happy to have a woof over our heads again we dreamed of the dog days of summer where the only limit is gravity. Happy Hiking!

Beautiful day on the gorge, campgrounds that the parks websites say should be open are CLOSED!!! ARG. So a motel it was. Beautiful, snow free, (warm) hiking with a so-so (but suprising) view of mt. hood and an excellent view of st. helens, not to mention the columbia. Drive via courgar/carson (FS 90 I think) to get a great viewpoint of st. helens (and maybe hit the lewis river trail on the way).

On a visit with the grandmonther-in-law's in Portland, decided to head out to the gorge while my wife headed to the zoo. I was headed to the Beacon Rock trailhead on the north side of the Columbia River (SR 14) but decided to keep going when I noted the 5 dollar parking fee for what looked like a pretty exposed parking lot. So to Dog Mountain just beyond the Wind River. When I set out the clouds were on again, off again. But to a NW hiker that makes no different. About a 0.5 miles, the trail cleared out into a field with a grand view of the columbia river. This was to be the open view of the trip. From there I noted a single solitary wild flower.(Purple and Blue bell). This lone survivor was battling the wind and the howling crows that kept circiling from above. Up the trail more there is an unmarked junction. The trail seems to split many times. Taking the Right is always the best method! This side shows some grand views of clouds and openinging in the layers to the sky. Accending up till the old trail meets again is a grand deep forest. Not large old growth, but definatly a sence of magisty to the mist between the trunks. The forest also has a dark feel, with the sun out of sight, made me think of the Lord of the Rings, personnally. Upon reaching the junction with the trail, again the accent up the mountain continued. Here the trees were a bit bigger, and had a constant creaking noise, as gusts of wind blasted the summit. Once out, another clear area of the summit where the old lookout tower once was. Would have been a grand view and continued to the top, but gust felt about 60+ mph so decided to head back down. Got caught talking to my self by three women hikers... Oh well! From what I saw, the Mountains of the South Gorge had a snowline about 3500-4000 feet, but the north peaks looked clear. Looking towards going up Table Mountain. Spotted the cliffs and it looks like a great hike (on a clear day). --- Ridgewalker