Vive Fitness Trail Report (Volume 1)

Dog Mountain -  4/19/2015

 

 

Attire (Evan):

  1. Vive Fitness Nike Dry Fit 
  2. Shorts 
  3. Sunglasses 
  4. Cross trainer shoes 
  5. Light Fleece North Face Jacket

Attire (Kaitlyn):

  1. Tank top + Vive Fitness Nike Dry Fit
  2. Mid-shin yoga tights 
  3. Sunglasses 
  4. Cross trainer shoes 
  5. Light hood sweat shirt 

Notes: Good choice of clothing - we were very comfortable the whole way up.  We ended up removing our jackets about 5 minutes into the hike, However it does get windy toward the top and also once reaching the destination, jackets can be excellent make-shift seating! 

 

Equipment + Supplies 

  1. Back pack 
  2. 2 liters of water
  3. Trail snacks (1 pack Gummy Bears, Share size Skittles, 2 Cliff Bars)
  4. Iphones (For Photos)
  5. Sun Screen (Sweat and high altitude make you more susceptible to sun burn)

Notes: We regret not having brought extra hydration (either more water or sports drink etc) and leaving it our vehicle for the end of the hike, as we did run out and were quite thirsty. 

 

Transit + Conditions 

  • About 1 hour transit time (55 Miles from Portland)
  • Arrived at Dog Mountain parking lot around 11:30am - Parking lot nearly full. 
  • Trail mostly dry, with lots of foot traffic.  Also, quite a few dogs. 
  • Trail did get quite narrow at points, but overall conditions were pretty good. 
  • The hike is about 3.5 miles to the top.  Although there are two ways to get up.  One is less intense, but longer.  One is shorter, but much more difficult. 
  • The top of the hill had lots of available seating.

Notes: April-May are when the wild flowers bloom on Dog Mountain making it a big attraction to hikers!  They are beautiful and definitely worth the time and effort to see!  That being said, Dog Mountain is a pretty tough hike.  We recommend trying out other, less intense hikes before tackling this beast!