After doing Hamilton Mt. last weekend, continued on with the 100 Classic Washington Hikes and finally saw the famous spring bloom on Dog Mountain.  It was incredible!  Wildflowers are still at their peak. 

I patiently waited to get a permit at 7AM sharp days prior and within approx 20 seconds all 40 permits were gone - guess I was too slow.  Anyways I'm glad I looked into the shuttle.  Parked at the fairground lot in Stevenson and took the free bus shuttle to Dog Mountain - NO PERMIT IS EVEN REQUIRED IF YOU TAKE THE SHUTTLE!!!  Crowds were surprisingly minimal given the fact that this is peak season for this hike and it was a Saturday.  Hiked with a dog that made it to the top which was impressive because this hike was hard - especially the section after the Difficult / More Difficult trails merge.  That could only be described as insanely brutal.  Not much to add to the description that hasn't already been said many times by others - it was simply sublime.

After reaching the summit, took the Augsperger Trail back to the parking lot which provided even more incredible wildflower views and a far more pleasant descent on the knees than the Dog Mt trail.  It was an excellent loop and I would strongly recommend to do this instead of doing the out-and-back.  Only encountered one solo backpacker and 2 couples with dogs on the Augsperger trail on the way down.  There was also plenty of shade.  Took the free shuttle back to the parking lot and went to bed completely exhausted and very early that night.

In summary - the permit system is clearly working to keep the crowds at bay - do yourself a favor and take the free shuttle to/from Stevenson and enjoy this amazing hike during peak wildflower season for free.  Just be prepared for a killer workout and take plenty of water.  Toilets at the trailhead were also well stocked and in good order.  Two folks were checking permits at the trailhead - if you take the bus you get a hand stamp that serves as your permit.  Enjoy!

A spectacular day on Dog Mountain! We arrived at the parking lot about 8:30 and found it about 2/3 full. It was surprising how busy this trail was for a weekday; not obnoxiously so, but we definitely shared the trail with lots of other friendly hikers. The trail is in excellent shape and was nicely shaded, for the most part, until you reach the meadow area. The wildflowers in the meadow are starting to fade, but others are popping up. There was a tremendous variety! We were so fortunate to hike on a day that was not too warm, and we enjoyed a lovely cool breeze almost the entire way. This would be a very warm hike if it were a hotter day and no breeze. Even if you go after the flowers are done, the views are worth the effort!

Flowers were in full bloom, perfect weather these days. No bathroom at trailhead? Yes there is a bathroom at the trailhead.

UPDATE 5/29 (original 5/27): Tried to double-dip on this beautiful hike this morning, but it turns out that the Memorial Day holiday is a permit day so we were (rightly) turned away. Turns out there are some holiday exceptions to the "weekend" permit requirement. Did not try the shuttle from Stevenson (which includes permits) - but will find another hike for today :)

Bottom Line:

Pretty much a "go now" situation (although parking reservations are required on weekends); the balsamroot and larkspur are at peak, while the lupine and paintbrush are out but less mature; probably the optimal mix right now? The lupine and paintbrush will get better, but the balsamroot will have faded by then (my last trip, both were spectacular, but the balsamroot was shabby and altogether missing on some slopes); the meadow area is not as expansive as say, Sage Hills but the setting and mountain climb are so spectacular with Mt St Helens and Columbia River views (even some waterfalls across the way); Stunning morning! Go before the day heats up and thunderstorms settle in.

Stats:

• Distance: 7 miles
• Duration: 3-1/4 hours
• Vertical: 2880 ft
• Road/Parking: The main parking lot has limited parking (~70 cars) with a National Forest Pass required, and a reservation/permit through Recreation.gov on the weekends though June; the reservation does not guarantee parking; the reservations changed this year to be tied to cars instead of people, which is good for carpooling, and makes it easier for the (present) rangers to check reservations; there is a small number of additional highway parking spots on the north side of the road heading east up the gorge; the small pullouts are surrounded by MANY "no parking" signs that are strictly enforced; you can walk ~1.5 miles east and find unlimited parking but the highway is not really pedestrian friendly; the main challenge with this trail in the spring is definitely the parking; on days requiring reservations, there are shuttles from Stevenson to the West (which include a permit); this trailhead is very popular, but for good reason; heading out early there was not a crowd problem; we arrived before 7am and the parking lot was 1/2 full and filling quickly; by the time we returned, all the overflow parking on the highway was full which folks walking somewhat long distances on the road for access (be careful!)
• Weather: Clear, calm, glassy Columbia River, early morning sunshine, 60s... on other words, perfect :)
• Trail: The trail is generally in good condition, except for a few down trees and some overgrown areas on the return loop via Augspurgers; we hiked counterclockwise, and took the "more difficult" (left) trail at the junction on the way up (see video); this trail is definitely more challenging and there were a couple hikers in distress on the trail, but this route to the summit is shorter and I had not done it before!; the whole trail is well-signed - very difficult to miss the junction with Augspurgers on the return, to make sure you are heading back down to the trailhead (you will have traversed so far you will be concerned you missed the junction - GPS is your fiend; lots of runners, some doing the loop for 6K of trail running (well done!); the bugs were mainly present at the top, where they were pretty bad (lots of bites - typically for my first unprepared encounter of the season! :) ); even though there is a significant chunk of this trail in the forest, that part of the trail is glorious - lots of flowers, different trees as you pass through climatic zones, starting with twisted oak trees from the trailhead, and lush green carpeted slopes with huge douglas firs mid mountain, to even some ponderosa pines on the return; this trail is similar to Mt Si (for Puget Sound folks) in terms of distance and vertical, but IMHO infinitely more beautiful with a diverse forest, tons of flowers, views of the Columbia River and Mt St Helens, etc. Stunning! All the WA gorge trail are great! Saw only a handful of folks on the loop return via Augspurger... definitely an option for solitude even on a busy day ;)
• Flowers: Almost easier to list what I did not see :) A wide variety of flowers that varied by terrain (forest vs. meadow), climatic zone and elevation; this is just a partial list: balsamroot, lupine, larkspur, paintbrush, trillium, Columbia wildflower, vanilla leaf, baneberry, oregon grape, dogwood (trees), cow parsnip, yarrow, woodland strawberry, baldhip rose, ookow, phlox, blue bells, biscuitroot, and beardtongue, ... 
• Takeaway: This is a must-do hike for me most springs, but it is really about weather and bloom timing - right now it is about optimal! This hike has a little bit of everything that makes WA hiking so good - from flowers, to views to enchanting forests. A winner!

The attached 4K video of this hike will take time to convert to high definitions.

Hiked Dog Mt and flowers are at their peak. I was nervous about the shuttle system, since it didn't seem clear to me. I tried to get a permit from recreation.gov, but they were gone in seconds. The site says you need a permit per person, which is not correct. You need one per car. It is technically just a parking permit. If you didn't obtain a permit on line you can take the shuttle from Stevenson. It is easy, free, parking for your car and very frequent.