Dog Mountain - January 17, 2015

Dog Mountain (7 miles, 2800' elevation gain) is the most popular challenging hike in the Columbia Gorge. There are more difficult routes on both sides of the river, and some that draw larger crowds, but arguably none that bring more people to such steep and challenging terrain. And it's easy to see why. During peak wildflower season in the spring, the upper reaches are blanketed in an alpine canola field of yellow balsamroots.

For the solitude alone, January is my favorite time of year to hit the Dog. On a clear day when the trail is caught in the icy maw of winter, there is a beauty that rivals the floral display of spring. Unfortunately we decided to hike in the middle of a deluge.

Our group of six met at the trail east of Stevenson on the Washington side of the river around 9:30 a.m. The first ominous sign was the dearth of cars in the parking lot. On a nice day, finding a spot can be similar to parking at Ikea on a Sunday. We were able to pull up next to the only other three cars in the lot.

The weather remained calm on the early switchbacks as the trail rocketed up from near sea level to 700 feet and the first junction. We rested, adjusted layers, and continued up the "less difficult" of the two routes. By the time we reached the viewpoint with the bench, it was apparent we wouldn't be seeing much for the rest of the day. As the rain ratcheted up its intensity, we followed the trail back into the woods before reaching the next junction. 

The final mile to the top was wet. We emerged again from the forest and slogged in the rain across the treeless upper reaches of the Dog. Wind Mountain was visible at times to the west, and we could see the lower part of the Oregon side of the river to the south, but little else. At the summit, rather than bask in victory, we spent perhaps 180 seconds before rapidly descending in search of a sheltered place to eat. We chose to take the route toward the Augspurger loop, adding length to the hike, but offering a more gradual descent back to the trailhead.

At this point the wind picked up a bit on the exposed western flank of mountain and icy pellets whipped us in the face. And the rain started falling even harder. Once back in the woods, we found a semi-sheltered area to refuel. But we were soon chased away by more rain after a snack and ceremonial toast of Fireball.

It took awhile to dry out and warm up back at the car. The shivering continued even at the Cascade Locks Ale House. I've been on many rainy hikes in the Gorge, but perhaps none as intense as this one. It was still a great day with a fun group, but it was also a memorable one because of the rain.

Click here for photos of the hike.

Dog Mountain - May 20, 2011

I'll keep this one short since I recently posted on the same hike. On Friday, May 20, my friend Jared and I hiked up Dog Mountain on the Washington side of the Columbia River in the Gorge. Despite spectacularly missing the exit for the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks (my bad), we arrived at the trailhead via Hood River (NOTE: to the Oregon Department of Transportation employee in charge of directional signage in Hood River - you suck! The bridge exit in Hood River was blocked and we had to go east to Mosier before turning around). Jared kept his cool during the driving blunders.

When I went up in March, the upper half of the Dog was completely covered in snow (click here for the March trip report and here for a report from April 2010). What a difference two months make! The hike was nearly unrecognizable. We didn't encounter any patches of snow. After loading up our packs, we launched up the switchbacks, took the "more difficult" variation of the route and reached the top at a good clip. Usually the upper reaches above the treeline are covered in wildflowers. But the stubborn refusal of winter to move on seemed to delay the fields from blossoming.

Here's a video from the summit...



The trail was surprisingly crowded for a Friday, in part because the weather was beautiful. We scarfed down some quick carbs and hurried down the trail. We took the slightly longer Augspurger loop from the summit to avoid some of the masses. About 3 hours, 15 minutes after leaving the car, we were back in the parking lot.

On the way home we stopped by the new official Pentaquest post-hike venue: the Pacific Crest Pub in Cascade Locks. The food is great - they have a house-made salmon burger - and carry Walking Man brews from Stevenson, WA. And their extra-hot horseradish sauce (since 1965) will kill you in a good way.

Dog Mountain - March 19, 2011

The training for Pentaquest 2011 is underway! On Saturday (3/19) I headed into the Columbia River Gorge with my friend Tim to hike Dog Mountain. The Dog is one of the most popular hikes in the Gorge, frequently drawing crowds of people willing to punish themselves with its 2,800 feet of elevation gain. But on this day, we largely had the trail to ourselves. The time of year (still technically winter), inclement weather in Portland and, perhaps, the opening weekend of NCAA March Madness proved a compelling trifecta to keep people at home.

We rendezvoused in Portland around 7:30 a.m. and jetted down I-84 to Cascade Locks. After crossing the Bridge of the Gods, another 15 minutes on the Washington side of the river brought us to the trailhead. Much to my surprise, only two other cars waited for us in the parking lot. A low-lying cloud hovered above the forest near the trailhead, but blue sky was clearly visible not far beyond. We had high confidence of reaching bluebird conditions above the timberline on the trail.

The Dog is notorious for starting off with steep switchbacks as the trail rapidly gains elevation and enters the forest on the mountain's southern flank. Since Tim and I are training for bigger climbs in the months ahead, we both brought heavy packs to improve our alpine climbing strength (I learned later that Tim brought 35 pounds of gear to my 15-20). As a result, the switchbacks proved a challenge. But we played through and launched up the trail and into the forest.

As we neared the end of the forest, we reached the beginning of the snow. At least several inches covered the trail with the depth increasing the higher we climbed. Fortunately we could follow the bootsteps of previous hikers, but we had to exercise caution since the right side of the trail precipitously drops off down the mountain above the timberline.

As you can see in the pictures, the conditions were spectacular. The blue sky dominated the scene with small clouds below us rapidly moving westward down the Gorge towards Portland. Snow-covered Mt. Defiance, the highest point in the Gorge, was visible directly across the river from us with Wind, Table, Greenleaf and Hamilton Mountains off to the west. We paused frequently to take in the view and continued onward to the summit.

Upon reaching the top, we enjoyed the standard hiker faire of trailmix, energy bars and (in my case) mango-flavored licorice from Australia. Unfortunately I left the ceremonial single-malt scotch at home. Unlike my previous hikes up the Dog, the wind was only a breeze at the summit. Frequently it feels like a gale or worse at the top, even on a clear day.

After fifteen minutes, we packed up and headed back down. About a tenth of a mile below the summit is a spur on the trail that leads to slightly longer, yet more gradual, route back to the parking lot. Although the spur was snow-covered and hadn't been broken in, we decided to take the more adventurous path. More than once we paused to ensure we hadn't gone off the trail, but soon found ourselves back in the woods on the clearly established trail.

The rest of the descent was uneventful; the monotony of the forest broken up by occasional glimpses of the Gorge, good conversation and bouts of trail-running. By 12:45 p.m. we were back at the car and ready for the drive back to Portland.

Dog Mountain - April 3

Dog Mountain is one of the most popular hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. The elevation gain (2650') is just enough to keep things interesting for the serious hikers, and the scenic vistas and spring wildflowers tend to draw crowds of all skill levels.

Jared and I headed out on Saturday, April 3 to overcast, rainy conditions. Despite the weather, I was still expecting a decent showing of hikers on the trail. Usually by early April the parking lot at the trailhead is overflowing with cars, but on this Saturday, we were one of only a half-dozen vehicles.

For the first mile, we experienced a light drizzle and muddy conditions. Soon thereafter, the rain turned to snow and the trail became whiter with each step. When we emerged from the "more difficult" spur of the trail, the snow became increasingly deep.

By the time the trail left the forest and reached the exposed part of the mountain, the wind and howling snow made for blizzard-like conditions. We both had to gear up and increase the number of layers we were wearing. For the first time outside of one of the glaciated Cascade peaks, I had to put on my balaclava mask. About this time, we met two guys preparing for an expedition to the Everest base camp in Nepal. I didn't catch their names, but we all commiserated about the craptastic weather.

We kept powering through as the wind became more intense and the snow depth on the trail increased. When we finally reached the top, the trees on the summit provided welcome shelter from the inclement conditions.

Here's a video I shot of Jared on the summit.

The snowy conditions persisted on the way down. We opted to take the Augspurger Mountain loop from the summit to avoid hitting the same part of the trail twice. After two miles of slogging, the mud returned to the trail as the snow dissipated.

After such a difficult hike, we decided at the car that our only option before going home was to hit up the Full Sail Brewery in Hood River and watch one of the NCAA tournament games. The beer sampler with halibut fish and chips was a welcome meal after spending a day in the hills.

Key lesson learned for the day: trekking poles are your friend. When in doubt, bring them anyway. I'm not sure either one of us could have kept going without them.