Calling all Oregon Hikers!
 

It is spring and a great time to hike! Yippeee! :-)

Has anyone climbed Dog Mountain or Hamilton Mountain this spring? If so, have the wild flowers popped up yet? It seems to me that they might come a little later. April showers...

We might give it a shot this weekend since the weather will be GRAND but it may also be a bit muddy which is tough coming down on a hill as steep as Dog Mountain. I don't really want to slip and slide all the way back to highway 14!

Thanks!

Tamara

I dont know where Dog Mountain or Hamilton Mountain is - fill me in. I love wild flower hikes. My favorite is Iron Mountain/Cone Peak.

I am going hiking tomorrow though- Fall Creek- close to Eugene- havent done the hike before but supposed to be beautiful

Oops! I should have said Oregon and SW Washington hikers since the above mentioned are both in Washington but often hiked by us Oregonians since it is just across the river!

They are both in the Gorge on the Washington side. Hamilton Mountain is right across the street from Beacon Rock State Park. Very nice hike of about 8 miles with incredible views. You can do it as a loop or come back down the same way you went up.

Dog Mountain is east of Bridge of the Gods at about mile post 53. This hike is much more strenuous than Hamilton with an elevation gain of about 2,800 ft in less than 3 1/2 miles. I think it is too early for the wild flowers.

Where is Iron Mountain? I will have to give that a go!

Another great one is Cascade Head at the Oregon Coast between Pacific City and Lincoln City. Absolutely gorgeous views and and down the coast! We just did this hike this past weekend.

Angels Rest on the Oregon side of the Gorge is another great hike with incredible views of the Gorge from the top.

Anyone have any other favorites!

Dog Mountain sounds like a killer - dont get up that way much.

Iron Mountain is off of 20 HWY east of SweetHome - its 1900 ft elevation gain.
There are 300 varieties of wild flowers that grow there - peak time is 1st or 2nd week of Jul - still lots of snow up there now I suspect.
If you have Bill Sullivans book of 100 hikes in the Cascades- there is a description of hike in his book - great book

This is out our front door and up the road a ways.http://www.oregontrails.com/Page.aspx?ID=22

Meant to add this...http://www.dailytidings.com/2005/0908/090805n1.shtml

Well, it looks like I haven't had any replies regarding Dog Mountain. I have rounded up the troops and we are going to conquer it tomorrow anyway!

We are going to hike until are pigs are screaming and our calves are mooing so I will report back on this same thread about the trail and whether or not the wild flowers are blooming yet. I do think it is still to early for the flowers, though.

Cheers!

Tamara

Well, we hiked Dog Mountain yesterday and it is as brutal as I remembered! Not necessarily the best choice for the first major hike of the year but after Dog everything else will seem like a walk in the park, so to speak!

The trail was not muddy at this point but that could change if we get a few days of rain in a row. There are a few wild flowers but not as many as there are in late May and early June.

The view from the top is spectacular on a clear day. You can see Mt. Hood peaking up over the hills on the Oregon side and you also get a very nice view of Mt. St. Helens.

Going up is definitely a great work out but coming down is painful on the knees! It is very steep!

We rewarded ourselves by drinking cold beer on the patio of The Edgefield on the way back home. Nice treat!

Cheers!

Hi there --

We just got back from a trip to Hood River and did one of the longer hikes The trailhead was at Multnomah Falls -- it started with a "W", sorry, can't remember the whole thing, but I can look it up when I get home.

It was a fantastic loop hike, first part a moderate uphill climb and then some flat areas through gorgeous forests (moss-covered trees, many shades of green, though I didn't see tons of flowers yet)and we must have seen about 10 waterfalls. Fabulous.

We followed that with a shorter hike of the Oneonta Gorge Trail.

These two made for a nice day.

Have fun!

Wahkeena Loop...beautiful hike!

yep, that was it...thanks mms

The Timberline Trail has some beautiful wildflowers, but those are not ready yet. I am looking forward to that again!

TerriGoLightly---when you say Oneonta Gorge Trail, do you mean the one where you walk up (and in) the creek? If so, how far did you go? We were there on Sunday and got almost to the waterfall, but the water got too deep (above mid-thigh) for such cold water, and my feet were frozen! We decided to save it for a hot day. . .

enzian, that water can be very cold but it is a great hike to do on a hot day! I have hiked all the way to the falls and been up to my chest in water!

That Wahkeena loop is a gorgeous hike, too!

I think we might do Hamilton Mountain or Angels Rest this weekend.

My legs are still sore from Dog Mt. on Sunday!

Wow---I didn't know it got THAT deep. My son scouted ahead and thought it might be up to my waist, and we weren't ready for that. Next time I'll wear a swimsuit. It was a lot of fun.

Where is the Dog Mountain trailhead, and are dogs allowed on the trail? What is the elevation gain (and loss)?

Dog Mountain is at mile post 53 off of hwy 14 on the WA side of The Gorge.

You gain almost 3000 of elevation in 3.2 miles! It is a butt buster but the views are spectacular and the flowers in May and June are abundant.

And, yes, there are LOTS of dogs on dog mountain! It is not a good hike for someone who is afraid of dogs although almost everyone has their dog on a leash.

Enzian -- hmmm..no, we didn't go in a creek, over one, maybe.

We drove to the Horsetail Falls area, parked the car, and then walked about a quarter of a mile along the road to a trailhead located at Oneonta Gorge.

The hike was only about 3 miles or so and ended up at Horsetail Falls.

We did walk across a bridge at the end of the hike and got a interesting view of the small gorge from the bridge. I'm not sure what the body of water was that the bridge was crossing, though.

It sounds like you did the same hike we did---after we got wet going up the creek and back. You would have crossed that creek on a bridge above the falls, not able to see the falls themselves until later when you crossed the big stout bridge at the mouth of Oneonta Gorge at the very end of your hike.

We liked the part where you go behind Ponytail Falls.

Eurotraveller---since you have done the "up the creek" hike---what is that waterfall named? Is it Oneonta Falls?

I think it is called Oneonta Falls.