Dog Mountain, Augspurger Trail — Saturday, Jun. 3, 2023

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!