Today Emily, Leo and I joined Amy Jo, Loomis and Addy for a very cold hike up Dog Mountain in the Columbia Gorge. It was a steep, quick hike with lots of snow at the top and some good views of Mt. Hood, Adams and Mt. St. Helens. On the way home we all were hungry so we stopped at a delicious brewery in Stevenson, Wa. It was great to hang out with Amy Jo and Loomis and to get out with the best dog ever one more time before we had to leave him to go on our honeymoon. Click the title to read all about our hike....
Today Emily, Leo and I joined Addie, Amy Jo and Loomis for a quick hike up Dog Mountain in the Columbia Gorge on the Washington side of the river across from Hood River, OR. It was a 2600 foot climb which wasn’t too bad but it had snowed recently and the temperature was about 20 degrees for our hike. Thankfully, the sun was out and furry dogs seemed warm the entire hike. 
The hike is a figure 8 trail and we decided to go up the scenic easier way first which provided many views out over the river below us and down the gorge. We had views west over Wind mountain all the way to a hazy Beacon Rock in the distance and the Hood River Valley to the East. It wasn’t until we neared the top that we got a glimpse of Mt. Hood over Mt. Defiance in the Gorge, Mt. Adams to the North through the trees and Mt. St. Helens in the distance to the northwest. The top of Dog Mountain had several inches of snow and we decided to again take the right loop which seemed less traveled and took us on a broad loop and up the backside of the mountain. 
Once on top I took some time to change lenses and take a bunch of photos of the surrounding volcanoes and of our group and very happy dogs. The actual summit of the mountain was in the woods with no views but walked over to it for good measure anyway. The open meadows of the summit are known for wildflowers in the spring but I thought they looked equally as beautiful with a fresh coat of snow on them in the winter. 
The hike down was fast and steep and hard on all our knees but overall the hike didn’t seem that tiring (my thighs would later feel sore). On the way home we stopped in Stevenson at the Walking Man Brewery for some food and great beer. We got garlic fries and I had a yummy salmon burger while the others got personal pizzas. I loved my sandwich but I’m not sure if the others were too happy with their pizza’s. Thankfully the great service and beer made up for the bland salmon-topped pizza that Emily got. Although it was cold, it turned out to be a beautiful day of amazing views, happy dogs, and yummy craft brews for us all. 
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