Dog Mountain is on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge where it is dryer than the west end of the Gorge. Went here to see the Balsamroot (sunflower) display, but it was probably a couple weeks premature. There were spectacular clumps of Balsamroot however.

This 7.3 mile hike completely wore me out. It climbs almost 3,000 feet in 3.3 miles. This is the steepest and longest sustained climbing I've done since resuming hiking in earnest about 18 months ago. However, I didn't run out of gas on the way up. It was on the descent where I "hit the wall." I took the longer route back so it wouldn't be as steep and easier on my aging body. This return route was on the Augspurger Mountain Trail, 4.0 miles, and still steep enough, and very rocky, which made it even more strenuous and stressful. At least I took two extensive breaks on the way down, and that "saved" me. But I did "run out of gas" by the time I got back to the car. However I didn't experience any pain in my feet or legs, thanks to my rest breaks. They are very important. I'll have to remember that.

Timetable for hike: Total hiking time was 7 hours, 39 minutes, and 9 seconds. Started hiking at 7:20 AM PDT, or 0:00:00 hike o'clock. At 0:40:21.88 o'clock (40 minutes, 21.88 seconds into the hike) reached the junction of the "more difficult" (2.2 miles) /"less difficult" (2.6 miles) choice; took the "less difficult" route. At 2:16:11 o'clock (after 1 hour, 35 minutes, 49 seconds) reached the 2,000 foot elevation. At 3:52:30 o'clock (1 hour 36 minutes, 19 seconds) reached Dog Mountain summit. At 4:29:54 o'clock (37 minutes, 24.00 seconds rest period, lunch, and sight seeing) started return trip. At 5:48:05 o'clock (1 hour, 18 minutes, 10 seconds) hit the wall and took my first rest stop. Resumed hike at 6:05:23 o'clock (after resting 17 minutes, 18.19 seconds). At 7:01:37 o'clock (56 minutes, 13.99 seconds) I hit the wall for the second time on my descent. Rested until 7:12:58 o'clock (11 minute, 20.45 seconds). At 7:39:09 o'clock (26 minutes, 11.00 seconds) arrived back to car, completely spent, but not in any pain, thanks to my two rest stops on the way back down.

Took 196 photos, of which 88 made the cut. Due to the difficulty of the climb, I did not take my tripod (all photos were taken hand-held) and aided the hike with my trekking poles.