Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later" "Dog Mountain, Washington"

Includes ... Dog Mountain ... Campsite of April 13, 1806 ... Dog Creek ... Dog Creek Falls ... "Western Star" Excursion Train, July 6, 2005 ... Dog Mountain Lookout ...

Click image to enlarge Dog Mountain, Washington. Dog Mountain, Washington, as seen from Starvation Creek State Park, Oregon. Image taken September 24, 2004. Dog Mountain ... Dog Mountain contains the thickest (over 4,000 feet) section of Grande Ronde Basalt in western Washington. It lies on the Washington side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 160, thirteen miles upstream of Stevenson, Washington. Just downstream from Dog Mountain is Wind River and Wind Mountain. Upstream lies Cook Hill and the Little White Salmon River. The Collins Point Landslide is between Wind Mountain and Dog Mountain, with Grant Lake nestled inbetween. Oregon's Starvation Creek State Park is across the Columbia, and a good view of Dog Mountain can be had from the parking lot. Use Washington State Highway 14 to reach Dog Mountain. Hikers can take a steep day hike with views of Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount St. Helens. Dog Mountain elevation rises from 60 to 2,860 feet. Lewis and Clark and Dog Mountain ... On April 13, 1806, while Captain Lewis was on the Oregon side of the Columbia trying to purchase a canoe to replace one of their damaged canoes, Captain Clark proceeded up the Washington shore to the mouth of the Wind River, a river Lewis and Clark called "Cruzats River". Here he expected to find a party of hunters they had sent out two days earlier. Not finding them at Wind River, Clark and his men proceeded on upstream and set up camp at a spot at the base of Dog Mountain, between Collins Creek and Dog Creek, two creeks marked on the route map but not named [Moulton, vol.1, map#78]. Clark's campsite flag shows the camp to be very near the right bank (western) mouth of Dog Creek. [More] Views ... Click image to enlarge West side of Dog Mountain, Washington. View from Washington State Highway 14. Image taken November 4, 2004. Click image to enlarge Grant Lake and the west side of Dog Mountain, Washington. Grant Lake is at the base of Dog Mountain on the west. View from Washington State Highway 14. Image taken November 4, 2004. Dog Mountain, etc. Dog Creek and Dog Creek Falls ... Dog Mountain Lookout ... "Western Star" Excursion Train, July 6, 2005 ... Dog Creek and Dog Creek Falls ... Dog Creek is located on the Washington side of the Columbia at River Mile (RM) 161, just upstream of Collins Creek, and follows the east side of Dog Mountain. Dog Creek Falls is 30 feet high and 10 feet wide, and can be seen from Washington State Highway 14. Dog Creek Falls is one of many falls in the Columbia River Gorge. [More] Click image to enlarge Dog Creek Falls, Washington. Dog Creek is on the east side of Dog Mountain. Image taken June 15. 2012. Dog Mountain Lookout ... A lookout on Dog Mountain existed between 1931 and 1967, at the 2,480-foot elevation. Two buildings occupied the spot, one between 1931 to 1953, and the second between 1953 and 1967. According to "Firelookout.com" website (2006, 2019) in later years it was staffed by personel from the Mount Hood National Forest for its excellent viewpoint across the Columbia River. RIP. 1931-1953; 1954-1967. Developed with a gable-roofed L-4 cab with windows on only three sides in 1931, an L-4 cab replaced it in 1953. Both were located 1/4 mile south of the summit. In later years it was staffed by the Mt. Hood National Forest for its excellent vantagepoint across the Columbia River, but was destroyed in 1967. Elevation 2,480. USGS Benchmark RC2317 USGS Benchmark RC2328 "L-4 = standard 14x14 foot frame pre-cut lookout house built from 1929 through 1953, also known as an "Aladdin". It has a peaked roof, and wooden panels that are mounted horizontally over the windows in the summer to provide shade, and lowered over the windows in winter. Early models have a gabled roof; later models have a hip roof." "Western Star" Excursion Train, July 6, 2005 ... On July 6, 2005, two steam engines, the Spokane, Portland & Seattle's #700 and the Southern Pacific's #4449, pulled 17 vintage cars on an excursion up the Columbia River Gorge, from Portland, Oregon, to Wishram, Washington. Known as the "Western Star", the SP&S 700 pulled the outbound journey on the Washington side of the Columbia River, while the SP 4449 took the journey home. Since the journey operated as an Amtrak special, an Amtrak P42 was in the lineup as well. The excursion was chartered for the National Railway Historical Society's 2005 convention being held in Portland. A SPECTACULAR vantage point to view the event was from the pullout at Dog Creek, just east of Dog Mountain. [More] Click image to enlarge "Western Star" Excursion Train with Dog Mountain, Washington. Dog Mountain rises above a special excursion train, the "Western Star", July 6, 2005. View from Washington State Highway 14, at the Dog Creek Pullout. Image taken July 6, 2005. Click image to enlarge "Western Star" Excursion Train, rounding bend, Dog Mountain, Washington. Dog Mountain rises above a special excursion train, the "Western Star", July 6, 2005. View from Washington State Highway 14, at the Dog Creek Pullout. Image taken July 6, 2005. "The Golden Age of Postcards" ... The early 1900s was the "Golden Age of Postcards", with the "Penny Postcard" being a popular way to send greetings to family and friends. Today the Penny Postcard has become a snapshot of history. From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ... Clark, October 30, 1805 ... Clark, April 13, 1806 ... Return to Menu

*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, 2003 Sources: "Firelookout.com" website, 2006, 2019; Tolan, T.L., Beeson, M.H., and Vogt, B.F., 1984, "Exploring the Neogene History of the Columbia River: Discussion and Geologic Field Trip Guide to the Columbia River Gorge", Oregon Geology, Vol.46, No.8, August 1984, and Vol.46, No.9, September 1984, Published by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries; U.S. Forest Service website, 2004, Pacific Northwest Region; Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest website, 2004; All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.

/Regions/Places/dog_mountain.html June 2012