Between Dog's east ridge and Dog Spine is a prominent buttress which I've had my eye on for a while. Picked a nice pullout on the highway and headed up. Took just a few minutes to hit some fun open rocky stuff, but then right back into the forest for a long boring slog. Hit the base of the east ridge cliffs, too far east. Climbed up to the east ridge crest and followed it up to the end, then curved around southwest towards Dog Spine, and dropped to the top of the buttress. Not as hard as I thought it would be. Popping out of the trees onto the grassy landing at the top of the buttress was remarkably similar to the corresponding spot on the top of Dog Spine. This was a neat place, and the sense of solitude was amazing. (How many people visit here in the average year? Maybe 5? Perhaps fewer?) I wish I had ended up on a more direct route, starting at the bottom of the buttress, but I did enjoy revisiting the upper part of the east ridge too, so not a total loss.
Next I found the standard Dog Mountain trail and took the Augspurger loop down. When it enters the forest (very abruptly, you can't miss it) I dropped down a slightly spiny meadow. This disappointed (soon became brushy) but it revealed a nice prow to the west that was hidden from the trail. I cut over and scrambled up to the top, which was broad enough to fully relax and enjoy the scenery.
While working my way up the prow, I spotted a beautiful ridge one over from the prow, featuring grassy ramps/ledges, steep dropoffs, and a jagged crest. Looked like fun, but getting to it would involve crossing a steep deep brushy ravine, so I settled for looping up above the prow and over to the ridge, then dropping down the ridge a little ways. Then back up to the trail and down via Augspurger. It's possible I'll return someday to explore the lower part of that ridge, but it's a lot of work for little reward. I'll park it at the bottom of my list.
Names in my topic title are just for fun, not intended as serious recommendations.
misc Dog Mt: Boxer Buttress, Pup Prow, Afghan Arete
- acorn woodpecker
- Posts: 240
- Joined: January 4th, 2013, 8:35 pm
Re: misc Dog Mt: Boxer Buttress, Pup Prow, Afghan Arete
Nice to see up close photos of these points again. I went up that way some years ago, but my camera battery died shortly into the hike. I, too, visited all these points as one can't help but be drawn to them during the east ridge ascent. I distinctly recall lunching on "Boxer Buttress" with its striking tree.