{summer of fun} Dog Mountain

Happy Monday friends! Did you all have a great weekend?! I surprised myself and finished a LOT of house projects. Look for details of those coming up soon.

Today I have my next installment of my summer of fun series. If you haven't heard, I'm placing an emphasis this summer on activities away from my house. For the last couple summers we've focused completely on the house. You can read a full explanation of this idea here. And for those of you wondering? This really has been an amazing summer :).

A couple weeks ago, I headed out into the depths of the Columbia River Gorge to hike Dog Mountain. This is a notoriously difficult hike, and I've been wanting to do it for a couple years. So I gathered up some friends and hit the trail this year.

The hike is a mere 6.9 miles, but it is STRAIGHT uphill. As in 2800 feet elevation gain in those 6.9 miles.  This picture illustrates this well. This was at the first *look out point*/resting stop. We still had to go to the very top of the hill, which is at those furthest up trees..

Besides being difficult, the trail is also known for its wildflowers. Sadly, we were a little too late for the most showy displays, but there were still some colorful flowers hanging on.

The views on this trail are remarkable. Above is Mt. St. Helens. You know, the volcano that exploded in the 80s. I'm happy to say that I'm too young to actively remember that. But, there was ash in the NW for YEARS after. I do remember that.

And this is looking east. It's actually looking at the trip I took earlier this summer. You can read about the gorgeous eastern gorge here.

I also tried out a new pair of shoes for the trip: the Merrell Pace Gloves. They're *barefoot*, of sorts. OMG, friends, so comfortable! And, no, I'm not getting paid to say that. After getting my feet torn up last summer with hiking shoes, I was really wary of buying new ones. After reading Born to Run, I wanted to try something different. I highly recommend these.

I hope you all have a fantastic Monday!

{For more on my summer of fun, check out my adventures to the Rogue River, the Oregon coast, Eastern Washington, and Hood River.}