Dog Mountain -- June 21, 2012
Who: Me
Where: Dog Mountain, Columbia River Gorge (Washington side)
When: June 21, 2012
Dog Mountain Expedition
7.6 miles roundtrip and nearly 3000’ elevation gain?
Thursday was supposed to be the last sunny day for a while, and hot at around 80 degrees. I was supposed to work from 4:30am - 1:00pm, but was hoping maybe I could get off early if it was slow. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. In fact, I got called into a meeting at 12:55pm, and ended up leaving work about half an hour late.
It was about a 60-70 mile drive or so from work. I was about halfway there when I realized that I must have somehow left my cell phone at home that day. Not a smart idea to go hiking alone without a phone, and I thought briefly about postponing the entire trip, and maybe going on another nice day when I DID get off early and had my cell phone. But I pressed on.
I had jotted myself a few notes about how to get to the trailhead. These notes, I assume, made sense at the time. But when I was reading them then, it was along the lines of “Drive East, cross a bridge at some point… it’s a big rock, you can’t miss it.” As a consequence, I ended up driving too far east and having to double back. I drove out to Hood River, when I could/should have crossed over at Cascade Locks.
End result, I got to the trailhead about an hour later than I had mentally calculated. But no matter! I started up the trail at 3:28 pm.
So, yeah, the first mile of the trail is pretty steep (well, OK, the entire freaking trail is steep) and switchy. But I naively thought this would be the steepest part of the hike. I’m not sure where precisely I got this idea. I probably shouldn’t skim hiking guides.
In any case, after .7 miles we come to the fork in the road. If you’re asking yourself which way I would go, you don’t know me very well. Actually, if the “More difficult” option had provided better views, I would have gone that way. But, wanting to take in as much Gorge scenery as possible, I went the “Less difficult” route. Note that it says “Less difficult”, not “easy.”
I had said repeatedly that I had hoped to see a rattlesnake on the trail, as long as I didn’t see it attached to my ankle. Unfortunately I didn’t see any rattlesnakes-or any snakes for that moment. But I did have one heart-stopping moment. I had paused for a moment to gasp for breath admire the scenery, when I heard something slither into the leaves beside my foot. I had a moment of terror, and then exultation, certain it was a snake! I snapped a few photos really quickly, then actually took a closer look. When I saw the feet, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a snake. In fact, it was merely this Northern Alligator Lizard.
I was surprised that the trail was almost entirely forest, until you broke out finally about a mile from the summit, and also briefly at the lower lookout point.
There were a few peek-a-boo glimpses of the river and the Gorge on the way up, and I found I was already at a height to be looking down on drifting Turkey Vultures.
For the most part, after the first mile, the trail stopped its shenanigans and it was a lovely soft, forested walk. I passed maybe a dozen people and groups descending the trail. They all smiled cheerily and said hello. I’m sure they smiles were because they were going DOWNHILL.
I didn’t see or hear a whole heck of a lot of notable birds. Here’s a Western Tanager and a Spotted Towhee. I saw or heard Red-Tailed Hawk and Red Breasted Nuthatch, juncos, Black-Capped Chickadee, Steller’s Jay, Black Headed Grosbeak, Bald Eagle…
After 1.2 miles, I arrived suddenly at the lower lookout (“Puppy Dog Lookout” I believe it is termed). It literally took my breath away. What breath I had left, that is. The views are really sensational, and it’s also quite windy and snatches your breath away. I think you really have to go to some place like this in the Gorge to really feel the history of this region. You hear so much about Lewis and Clark and the importance of the Gorge area, blah blah. But when you stand up on these ridges and mountains and look down on the Columbia, it is just like stepping back in time. Even with I-84 rushing by below. It’s a very special feeling. (Or: maybe it was just lack of oxygen to my brain.)
Unfortunately, there was scattered cloud cover, getting cloudier by the hour, and the Gorge was fairly hazy, unlike the prior day, which was crystal clear. But here are some photos from that lookout point.
After I had soaked up the scenery for a while, I foolishly turned and looked up towards the top of the mountain. I think I actually said out loud “Are you f*****g kidding me?” I was afraid I was somehow justify to myself not going all the way to the summit. But, I am proud to say, I did push on to the top.
The trail, you will be interested to know, gets even steeper! Yay!
The next while is just me continuing on in what can only be described as a trudge through forested paths. The way I accomplished dragging my butt up to the top is by telling myself “OK, you will walk up to that tree up there, then you can stop and breathe. Alright, now go up to the switchback and then catch your breath.” The overall experience was pretty humbling. I would manage to find a stretch of the trail that wasn’t as steep as the rest and think “Hey, this isn’t so hard. I can do this all day!” And then before long, I would reach another stretch that I would want to crawl up on my hands and knees.
But regardless of that, I eventually broke out of the forest into the summit meadows, which was the best part of the hike. It was still uphill, though didn’t feel as steep, but maybe because I was distracted by the views.
I will now barrage you with photos of the trail to the summit and the summit itself.
A nice family that had passed me going up (only one of two groups that passed me coming up, it was pretty quiet) offered to take a picture of me with St. Helens in the background. You can barely see the mountain, but no matter. :)
I had the summit to myself, which was pretty amazing. I sat around for a while and soaked it all up. Ate a banana, had my last few drinks of water. The sun was pretty much behind the clouds now, probably for the best so I didn’t get roasted, and I had to put my jacket on.
I didn’t have a watch or my cell phone, so not sure when I reached the summit or when I started back down. I tell you, that trail going back down was a little on the treacherous side! I had no problems going up, but going down, my feet slipped on loose rocks five times, and one time I went completely down with no warning whatsoever. Bruised my hand and scraped up one shin. Cripes. *shaking my head* This is about where I fell:
The hike down, needless to say, was much easier. The sun broke through the clouds at times, and made the forest quite lovely, but otherwise it was a very quiet walk.
I reached my car at 8:28pm, 5 hours exactly from when I started! Considering all the dawdling I did to look at flowers and gasp for breath, not bad. I was pleased that my car windows hadn’t been busted out by low-life scum thieves. Now for a two-hour drive home! Well, actually I made it home at 10:15 pm. And then got up at 3am for work the next day. At least after a long and strenuous hike like this you can eat fast food with absolutely no guilt whatsoever.
Last but not least, a bunch of wildflower photos in no particular order. Forgive me if I have any of the IDs incorrect.
Farewell to Spring
Common Vetch
Common Vetch
Upland Larkspur
Woolly Sunflower
White Spiraea
Rock Penstemon
Phlox
Phantom Orchid
Phantom Orchid
Orange Honeysuckle
Ookow
Ookow
Indian Paintbrush
Some kind of Desert Parsley
Columbine
Columbia (Tiger) Lily
Candyflower
Balsamroot
Balsamroot
---
Where: Dog Mountain, Columbia River Gorge (Washington side)
When: June 21, 2012
Dog Mountain Expedition
7.6 miles roundtrip and nearly 3000’ elevation gain?
Thursday was supposed to be the last sunny day for a while, and hot at around 80 degrees. I was supposed to work from 4:30am - 1:00pm, but was hoping maybe I could get off early if it was slow. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. In fact, I got called into a meeting at 12:55pm, and ended up leaving work about half an hour late.
It was about a 60-70 mile drive or so from work. I was about halfway there when I realized that I must have somehow left my cell phone at home that day. Not a smart idea to go hiking alone without a phone, and I thought briefly about postponing the entire trip, and maybe going on another nice day when I DID get off early and had my cell phone. But I pressed on.
I had jotted myself a few notes about how to get to the trailhead. These notes, I assume, made sense at the time. But when I was reading them then, it was along the lines of “Drive East, cross a bridge at some point… it’s a big rock, you can’t miss it.” As a consequence, I ended up driving too far east and having to double back. I drove out to Hood River, when I could/should have crossed over at Cascade Locks.
End result, I got to the trailhead about an hour later than I had mentally calculated. But no matter! I started up the trail at 3:28 pm.
So, yeah, the first mile of the trail is pretty steep (well, OK, the entire freaking trail is steep) and switchy. But I naively thought this would be the steepest part of the hike. I’m not sure where precisely I got this idea. I probably shouldn’t skim hiking guides.
In any case, after .7 miles we come to the fork in the road. If you’re asking yourself which way I would go, you don’t know me very well. Actually, if the “More difficult” option had provided better views, I would have gone that way. But, wanting to take in as much Gorge scenery as possible, I went the “Less difficult” route. Note that it says “Less difficult”, not “easy.”
I had said repeatedly that I had hoped to see a rattlesnake on the trail, as long as I didn’t see it attached to my ankle. Unfortunately I didn’t see any rattlesnakes-or any snakes for that moment. But I did have one heart-stopping moment. I had paused for a moment to gasp for breath admire the scenery, when I heard something slither into the leaves beside my foot. I had a moment of terror, and then exultation, certain it was a snake! I snapped a few photos really quickly, then actually took a closer look. When I saw the feet, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a snake. In fact, it was merely this Northern Alligator Lizard.
I was surprised that the trail was almost entirely forest, until you broke out finally about a mile from the summit, and also briefly at the lower lookout point.
There were a few peek-a-boo glimpses of the river and the Gorge on the way up, and I found I was already at a height to be looking down on drifting Turkey Vultures.
For the most part, after the first mile, the trail stopped its shenanigans and it was a lovely soft, forested walk. I passed maybe a dozen people and groups descending the trail. They all smiled cheerily and said hello. I’m sure they smiles were because they were going DOWNHILL.
I didn’t see or hear a whole heck of a lot of notable birds. Here’s a Western Tanager and a Spotted Towhee. I saw or heard Red-Tailed Hawk and Red Breasted Nuthatch, juncos, Black-Capped Chickadee, Steller’s Jay, Black Headed Grosbeak, Bald Eagle…
After 1.2 miles, I arrived suddenly at the lower lookout (“Puppy Dog Lookout” I believe it is termed). It literally took my breath away. What breath I had left, that is. The views are really sensational, and it’s also quite windy and snatches your breath away. I think you really have to go to some place like this in the Gorge to really feel the history of this region. You hear so much about Lewis and Clark and the importance of the Gorge area, blah blah. But when you stand up on these ridges and mountains and look down on the Columbia, it is just like stepping back in time. Even with I-84 rushing by below. It’s a very special feeling. (Or: maybe it was just lack of oxygen to my brain.)
Unfortunately, there was scattered cloud cover, getting cloudier by the hour, and the Gorge was fairly hazy, unlike the prior day, which was crystal clear. But here are some photos from that lookout point.
After I had soaked up the scenery for a while, I foolishly turned and looked up towards the top of the mountain. I think I actually said out loud “Are you f*****g kidding me?” I was afraid I was somehow justify to myself not going all the way to the summit. But, I am proud to say, I did push on to the top.
The trail, you will be interested to know, gets even steeper! Yay!
The next while is just me continuing on in what can only be described as a trudge through forested paths. The way I accomplished dragging my butt up to the top is by telling myself “OK, you will walk up to that tree up there, then you can stop and breathe. Alright, now go up to the switchback and then catch your breath.” The overall experience was pretty humbling. I would manage to find a stretch of the trail that wasn’t as steep as the rest and think “Hey, this isn’t so hard. I can do this all day!” And then before long, I would reach another stretch that I would want to crawl up on my hands and knees.
But regardless of that, I eventually broke out of the forest into the summit meadows, which was the best part of the hike. It was still uphill, though didn’t feel as steep, but maybe because I was distracted by the views.
I will now barrage you with photos of the trail to the summit and the summit itself.
A nice family that had passed me going up (only one of two groups that passed me coming up, it was pretty quiet) offered to take a picture of me with St. Helens in the background. You can barely see the mountain, but no matter. :)
I had the summit to myself, which was pretty amazing. I sat around for a while and soaked it all up. Ate a banana, had my last few drinks of water. The sun was pretty much behind the clouds now, probably for the best so I didn’t get roasted, and I had to put my jacket on.
I didn’t have a watch or my cell phone, so not sure when I reached the summit or when I started back down. I tell you, that trail going back down was a little on the treacherous side! I had no problems going up, but going down, my feet slipped on loose rocks five times, and one time I went completely down with no warning whatsoever. Bruised my hand and scraped up one shin. Cripes. *shaking my head* This is about where I fell:
The hike down, needless to say, was much easier. The sun broke through the clouds at times, and made the forest quite lovely, but otherwise it was a very quiet walk.
I reached my car at 8:28pm, 5 hours exactly from when I started! Considering all the dawdling I did to look at flowers and gasp for breath, not bad. I was pleased that my car windows hadn’t been busted out by low-life scum thieves. Now for a two-hour drive home! Well, actually I made it home at 10:15 pm. And then got up at 3am for work the next day. At least after a long and strenuous hike like this you can eat fast food with absolutely no guilt whatsoever.
Last but not least, a bunch of wildflower photos in no particular order. Forgive me if I have any of the IDs incorrect.
Farewell to Spring
Common Vetch
Common Vetch
Upland Larkspur
Woolly Sunflower
White Spiraea
Rock Penstemon
Phlox
Phantom Orchid
Phantom Orchid
Orange Honeysuckle
Ookow
Ookow
Indian Paintbrush
Some kind of Desert Parsley
Columbine
Columbia (Tiger) Lily
Candyflower
Balsamroot
Balsamroot
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