This was a three day, clockwise loop starting from Climber's Bivouac.
Day 1: Climber's Bivouac to South Fork Toutle River
- There is no water until South Fork Toutle.
- It was fairly easy to get confused in the bolder field. Take your time.
- Be careful on the roped descents. Always check your footing before moving further. Make sure only one person at a time is on the ropes, you don't want anyone falling on top of you or vice versa.
- The descent into South Fork Toutle is a little grueling on the knees. There is only one campsite at the top of that descent, the next place to camp is at the river.
- There are spots to camp on both ledges above the river and down by the river itself. Be sure to follow Leave No Trace principles in selecting a campsite.
- Look above you before setting up camp by the river. There are lots of lose rocks and trees that could come down on you.
- It will be hard to find a spot to go to the bathroom. It's all pretty exposed in this area. Please don't use the river as a bathroom.
- It didn't get particularly cold overnight. Though I had a decent amount of condensation on my tent, being camped by a water source.
Day 2: South Fork Toutle River to Pumice Butte
- Be careful crossing the river. It is swift and hard to tell how deep it is. Some of the rocks are quite slippery. The best place to cross may not be right at the trail. Take your time to find a safe crossing.
- There is no water until partway through the blast zone and it is super silty. Next water is at Pumice Butte. Plan accordingly.
- The forecast said cloudless and sunny. It was! Except for in the crater. Volcanoes make their own weather systems.
- Be careful at stream crossings. Again, the safest place to cross is not always right at the trail. Take your time.
- It's very exposed and very windy. You won't feel yourself getting sunburned. I never got hot because of the wind, but my poor legs were absolutely roasted. I didn't realize until it was too late.
- The ascent to Windy Pass is pretty cool. The descent into the Plains of Abraham is SUPER creepy. Again, take your time. If you're not feeling great about tackling Windy Pass, you can take Windy Trail to Truman Trail to Abraham Trail and meet back up with Loowit Trail on the other side. This is what a couple of my friends did.
- The campsites at Pumice Butte were pretty amazing! The temperature really plummets at night once the sun goes down, so I was in my tent pretty shortly thereafter.
- This was a particularly busy weekend for the trail. A "tent census" after dinner revealed 26 tents set up in the area! Some hikers who had done the trail several times said they'd never seen anything like this, even on a holiday weekend. I'm curious to see if Loowit will become a permitted thru hike in future years.
- The water source was a swift trickle at this time. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it dried up in the following weeks.
Day 3: Pumice Butte to Climber's Bivouac
- Starting early in this section is a great idea. The morning sun makes everything beautiful. The creek crossings are lower. There are fewer trail runners out. And you'll want to get an early start so you can tackle that last bolder field.
- The first water source that isn't silty is Chocolate Falls, which was not at all chocolate-y this time of year.
- I made the side trip to June Lake. It was SO STEEP.
- It was again easy to get mixed up in the bolder field, so take your time.
If I did this one again, I would still go clockwise. I would start at June Lake instead of Climber's Bivouac. It was unpleasant finishing my last day with those bolder fields. I would rather have a long first day. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing!
I did this with a trekking pole tent and was able to find ways to stake out my tent, even in the bolder-y banks of the Toutle River. There was another solo female hiker who was managing with a hammock. She had to get creative at Pumice Butte, but she proved that it was doable!
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