Sunday, 11-June-2017

 

I hiked Dog Mountain with a dog!

This was a pretty brutal hike, I won’t lie.  In retrospect, probably a little too brutal for my poor healing knee.  But there was no permanent damage, and it gave me an excuse to chill and relax for a few days afterwards, to recover, so I won’t complain.

What were the vital statistics, you might ask?  Well.  I’ve got you covered:

Length: ~8 miles.  Websites say anywhere from 6 to 7.5… but let me tell you.  I’ve got the GPS track to prove it.  They lie.

Elevation: 2800 ft.  This one… pretty accurate.  It was rough.

Beauty: tons-a-pretty

The hike was awesome, even with the toughness in mind.

Sarah had been watching Instagram, keeping tabs on the status of the meadows at the top of the mountain.  Because, if you haven’t heard, the meadows at the top of Dog Mountain are why you hike it, and why June is the ideal time to hike.  Why?  Well, in June the wildflowers bloom.

 

We started up the trailhead at 6:30 in the morning, just after sunrise.  It was cold, and bleak, and we were a little sleepy from the drive from Portland.  I was cranky, because one of my breakfast protein bars had vanished.  Seriously.  I still haven’t found it.  Ollie says she didn’t eat it… but I know the truth.

The walk up was pretty solid – Sarah and I chatted, Ollie ran, and we made it to the summit meadows by 11:00 or so.  Just in time for the sun to finish burning off most of the clouds, and for the flowers to come into full bloom.

 

A bit of lunch refreshed us – doubly so, since Sarah had packed a surprise block of cheese and log of summer sausage.

 

Then down the mountain we went, passing by the massive throngs of Portlanders who were making the pilgrimage to the Instagram capital of the area.  Seriously… we saw so many people posing, re-taking, and battering their photo buttons.  I mean, that’s kind of awesome, since it means people are going outside and getting into nature.  But still – it’s fun to watch people repeatedly posing, trying for the perfect shot.

The hike down was the hardest part… arguably one of the toughest trips since my accident.  The first few miles were fine, but once we got to the last mile and a half, the elevation really started getting to me.  Sarah and Ollie held true, and stopped with me every few hundred yards.  My trekking poles took the brunt of the battle, and slowly but surely we made our way back to the car.