Dog Mountain

Yesterday we went on another hike on Dog Mountain, located on the Washington side of Columbia Gorge. This is one of the recommended conditioning hikes for our South Sister climb. The hike is 6.9 miles long (it's a loop) with a 2800 foot elevation gain. Parts of this hike are steep... my legs are still jello today.

We headed out with Eric and Kelly Fischer, and a couple friends of theirs. Luckily, we headed out there early in the morning... the temperature was bearable, and we beat the rush. There were about 100 more cars at the trailhead when we finished than when we arrived!

Anna, Brett, Eric, Kelly & Paul near the start of the hike

At about 2 miles in, we stopped for a water break. Not a bad view. :)

Columbia Gorge

That's the summit up there, where we're headed

Getting ready to move forward

In May and June, Dog Mountain is covered in sweeping meadows of wildflowers. That alone made the hike worth it! They were just breathtaking.

Do you not want to run through this and sing your heart out?

Getting closer to the summit, the views kept getting better and better.

The gorge looking East toward Hood River

Almost there! We took the shorter, steeper route.

More pretty wildflowers

Mt. St. Helens

The gorge looking West

After only about two hours, we made it to the summit! We made pretty good time. It really helps to be with a group of people, it definitely goes by quickly.

Snack break at the summit

The tip of Mt. Hood peeking over

Mt. Hood

We made better time than we thought we would, so we even had time for lunch at Big River Grill in Stevenson, WA (only because Walking Man Brewery was closed though). I had to go to work as soon as we got home and spent another 8 hours on my feet! I spent the majority of today on the couch, thank you very much. But it was so worth it.

The hike back down

Love,
Jenny