On 9/7/25 I completed the 20.6 mile trail race hosted by Daybreak Racing. The course description is available at the race organizer's website but it's basically a large loop that starts and ends at the Science & Learning Center at Coldwater, descending via the Elk Bench Trail to Coldwater Lake, then circling Coldwater Lake, with an out & back towards Coldwater Peak along the way. From the South Coldwater trailhead, racers proceeded one mile along the closed road to the Hummocks Trail, did a short loop, then went up the road to the Coldwater Lake boat launch to pick up the Lakes Trail and do the short but steep climb back up to the Science & Learning Center.
Some scattered huckleberries are available for snacking out on the Coldwater Trail. I saw a few lupines and foxgloves blooming - probably the very last blooms! A few leaves are changing color for fall.
Trail conditions:
- Elk Bench Trail- watch out for stinging insects! I got stung by a wasp and other runners were stung by bees and wasps too! The trail itself is in good shape.
- Lakes Trail #211 - generally in good shape but watch out for mesh wire protruding from the tread surface (about 1.6-2 miles from the boat launch starting point). Some muddy spots and running water across the trail once.
- Coldwater Trail #230- the climb up from the foot bridge across Coldwater Creek is steep and somewhat brushy with occasional rough spots. The trail has some pretty significant exposure- so if you don't like heights this isn't for you. Also some badly eroded spots! Not great footing and much of it was tricky to run on. We didn't go all the way to Coldwater Peak.
- Ridge Camp campsite - seemed fine. Open, dusty, gravelly, no obvious trash or issues. I looked but did not see any water flowing.
- South Coldwater Trail #230A- Once you're on top of the ridge the trail is very pleasant and the tread overall tends to be good. It's very runnable! :)
- Road closure - the 1 mile stretch between the Hummocks Trail parking lot and the South Coldwater trailhead is flat and in good condition.
- Proceeding on foot from Hummocks Trail parking lot to Coldwater Lake boat launch: this is open to cars. There is a sidewalk along the road which ends and there's no opening in the guard rail so you have to hop the railing, then cross (no crosswalk) to the driveway for the boat launch. No sidewalk there so watch for vehicle traffic!
The race was great although there was dense fog and rain predicted. Ultimately the sun broke through the clouds around noon but Mt. St. Helens\Loowit remained shrouded in clouds and hidden all day. The previous day had severe thunderstorms and lightning, causing the cancellation of the other 2 trail races that Daybreak Racing had planned for the weekend.
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