Loowit Trail — Friday, Jul. 26, 2024

3-day, 2 night backpack starting from June Lake trailhead going clockwise. As other trip reports note, the road to the June Lake trailhead has a washout that is not recommended for low-clearance vehicles, but you can park at a small turn-out before the washout. We arrived Friday mid-morning and there was still plenty of space. There is no overnight parking permitted at the June Lake trailhead. 

Water: Bring at least 3L per person, 4L if you tend to need more water or the weather is warm. Going clockwise, your best sources of water are at June Lake (if you camp overnight there before starting your trip), Toutle River, and the spring between the turn-off for Loowit Falls and the ascent to Windy Pass. The small stream that is currently flowing at the first campsite area on the Plains of Abraham may be dry later in the season. There is also water flowing in Shoestring Creek (after Pumice Butte), which crosses the trail. That didn't seem too silty when we crossed, but we had enough leftover from the spring to get us to the end. 

Campsites: There were several campsites in the trees before the descent to the Toutle River, and multiple areas on both sides of the river. There are also sites shortly after the descent from Windy Pass, but these were very exposed and the conditions were windy when we arrived, so we pressed on to Pumice Butte, where there were several great campsites (including smaller sites for 1 tent), with views of Adams / St. Helens. 

Difficulty/route: This trail was more difficult that I expected. I go on 1-2 backpacking trips and multiple hikes a year and am in good physical condition, but this was challenging due to the terrain (there were several gullies on the stretch between Pumice Butte and June Lake that were difficult to cross because of a very narrow trail that was washed out in places), multiple boulder fields, and some route-finding in the northern part of the trail in the blast zone. I would recommend a paper map (I used Green Trails 364S), as well as having an app open (I like Gaia) so you can see where you are on the trail. There was also one spot where we mistakenly went off the Loowit trail onto trail 216G towards Castle Ridge after coming up from the Toutle River. Be careful when you are at the intersection of these two trails and make sure you go right (if headed clockwise) instead of continuing straight into the forest. Expect to travel at a slower pace than you would for other hikes. With multiple short breaks and a steady pace, it took us: 10.5 hours (June Lake - Toutle River); 10 hours (Toutle River - Pumice Butte); 6 hours (Pumice Butte - June Lake), so just slightly faster than 1 mile / hour. 

Why it's worth it!: Loop hikes are a very special way to explore a mountain.  It was awe-inspiring to be on the north side of the mountain and look up towards the crater. This time of year, the wildflowers were in bloom, and the blueberries and strawberries were ripening. We were fortunate to go during a weekend with cooler temperatures, but still clear skies with views of Rainier and Adams. Please encourage your hiking companions to look around for trash at your campsites before you leave so we can preserve this unique environment. We picked up a few left-behind pieces of trash on our way out.