Dog Mountain Hike

This weekend was GO GO GO GO but in all the best ways — potluck with friends (and pooches!), out with more friends, high school reunion (old lady status right here), bachelorette party (NOT mine), buying more plant babies (a philodendron!), and going on a VERY steep VERY early hike. HOT DAMN!

Dog Mountain is a super popular hike around here — it's about an hour East of Portland, just across the river on the Washington side of the gorge. Despite it's insane incline, if the weather is nice the parking lot is full by 8am! So, despite a late Saturday night, when Naked Juice encouraged me to PRESS PLAY on summer, we packed up at 6:45 Sunday morning and headed out to Dog Mountain. Hallelujah for perfect weather and friends to hike with!

We took it pretty easy, and enjoyed the shade of the green trees between stunning views of the Columbia River Gorge. Hike like these remind me how grateful I am to be back in Portland!

Marc and I were dog sitting Coda (LOVE OF MY LIFE, REMEMBER?!), so this hike was also our attempt to get some of his energy out and show him a good time! Nothing like a steep hike to wear out a dog, right? He was BEAT when we got back, which made for excellent snuggling later in the day.

We also brought along plenty of Naked Cold Pressed Juice — a pretty awesome refreshment when it's early and you're tired and thirsty and in need of fruits and veggies. I think some of the other hikers were jealous 😉

A few tips for this hike, if you so choose to explore it:

• Bring lots of liquids! It's steep, and some of it is exposed, so you'll want to be hydrated!
• Wear pants! There is a lot of poison oak along the trail, and dogs who brush up in it (and then against you). Be prepared!
• Get there early! Like I mentioned above, the lot fills up QUICK, and there really isn't overflow parking. If the weather is nice, plan on being there before 8!
• Know your limits. This is a steep hike, no matter how you do it. Make sure you're prepared to go up AND DOWN very steep terrain.

That's all I've got for you guys! Cheers to a wonderful summer of exploring!

This post was sponsored by Naked Juice. Thanks for supporting the brands that keep The Kitchen Paper up and running!