Jul 24
Began hike clockwise at 3:30pm Th. Jul 24 from Climbers Bivouac. 25 lb pack 3L water + filter. Recommend at least 3L daily water; trail usage 1.75 L + 2 cups to cook with per person. Recommend hiking poles or walking stick (saved me from slipping off a sketchy gully.)
Ascended via Ptmarmigan; crossed boulder field. Stunning! Hiked thru alpine forest to the camp right at the end of the trail before the descent to Toutle River. Spotted 3X columbian white tailed deer before ascent to camp. Campsite at top is nice - please respect the sites! Previous campers left dirty TP all over the bathroom area unburied. Constant rockfalls in the gorge woke me up at night. Felt a little spooky.
Day 2 Began hike 6:30am Jul 25 from the top of gorge camp. Descent 1.2 K feet thru meadows - delicious blueberries abundant. Toutle river camp 1x camper, many open sites. Recommend pushing thru the downhill to camp by the river rather than stopping atop the gorge at that site. Rope descent into river, filtered & cooked with river water, crossable with rockhopping, rope ascent out of river. 1.5K foot ascent to plateau and into blastzone. Very dry up there. Wild strawberries abound, taste like Dicks strawberry milkshake. Crossed blastzone - some trail runners left a whole bag of trash behind them. Dont be that guy! Respect the wilderness! Amazing views of the breach & of spirit lake and distant mountains. You can see trail extend for miles. Gully crossing aplenty. 1 glacier stream was clear - fed by waterfalls. ate lunch ar about 1pm there. 1 delicious spring @ Willow Springs - another good place to rest & refill water, very cool vs open blast zone. Next is uphill & more volcanic rocks. You will reach Windy Pass. Windy Pass is NOT safe - scree & super narrow path. One of two places I felt in danger - scree slipped under at 1 point & my stick saved my life. Do NOT rush Windy Pass. Descent via plains of abraham to pumice camp & the stream there was pleasant. Slept 7pm
Day 3 Awoke at 5:03am to howling of wolves below in the valley. NOT coyotes! Very lucky to hear this! Cooked, filtered, 1.75 mi to ape canyon trail. Many gullies on the way out of the plains towards June Lake. One notable rocky descent is sketchy - do not rush. Passed successfully, there is one stream with clear water in this segment also. Saw 11 mtn goats above in the hills. Passed June Lake trail, it gets woodsy and nice. Huckleberries & salmonberries abound. Very breathtaking waterfall as well. another 1kish uphill then you are home free back down ptarmigan and out. Returned to car at 1:30 pm.
If no poles recommend hiking boots with ankle support for rock/scree areas, critical IMO. Wide brim hat recommended if sun averse. Amazing loop and breathtaking views (and breathtaking heights if you are like me and acrophobic.) Treat the land well - seems people are NOT respecting the trail! Picked up several articles of trash in addition to the above egregious offenses.
Total elevation is over 8k from Climbers Biv, total distance with Ptarmigan trail incl. appears to be roughly 36 miles. 10/10 would hike again
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