I went for a single day trail run of the Loowit Trail starting/ending at the Climber's Bivouac TH and wanted to post some important trail conditions. The road is a bit rough but with patience I think any car can safely make it up. 

Snow: A handful of small patches scattered on the west side. They are all short and easy to cross in trail runners. No gear necessary. 

Trail Conditions: Generally good. There were some downed trees on the west side with a handful of small walk arounds. There is a washout on the south side of the Muddy River that I detoured around. It was a little harder than expected given that I'm pretty used to scrambling - but it's that icky sand/pebbles on rock where it's easy to slip. It's not that big but it gave me more pause than I thought it would and may cause a bit more stress if you're not used to any kind of scrambling or if you have a big pack on. 

Water: It's getting hot and a fair number of the seasonal streams have dried up. The largest section I think I noted without water was about 6mi from S Fork Toutle to Step Creek (or Loowit Creek?) in the blast zone. It was exposed and hot so plan accordingly. I was moving quickly on my run and had 2L from S Toutle and was out by the time I reached the next water. I would not pass up on a solid water spot if you pass one becuase they are getting more sparse. The two major water crossings at S Toutle and in the blast zone didn't have an easy route over from what I could tell. I didn't see anyone else cross. I just found the widest and shallowest nearby section and waded across rather than try to rock hop. 

This is a beautiful and exposed trail. It had been a number of years since I've been on the trail in the summer and I was happy to experience it again. A bit of a brute to tackle in one day, but worth the adventure! 

On July 5th we hiked from the Ape Canyon Trailhead to Loowit falls and back. We have not visited the falls since we did a backpacking trip to the Plains of Abraham back in August 2018 and it felt great to be back.  The hike to the falls is more complicated now, especially if you are coming from the south, due to a slide and road closure on road 25 near Elk Pass and mid-week work on the Spirit Lake Infrastructure project. If you plan on making this trip from the Windy Ridge Interpretive Site please check to see if everything is open to avoid a long drive and disappointment.

We arrived at the Ape Canyon trailhead about 5am after an easy drive in.  Our route via Cougar, WA is fully paved except for a short rocky “hump” ¾ mile after Marble Mountain Snow Park where a slide was cleared last year. Most vehicles should be able to make it if driven slowly. There is also a very deep and unavoidable ditch right at Marble Mountain that you need to go very slow through. There was one vehicle in the small Ape Canyon lot with about five others lining the roadway nearby. Presumably we were the first to arrive this morning as we did not see anyone on the trail.  The air was clear, calm and cool and we hit the trail at about 5:10am.  

Our out-and-back route to the falls used the Ape Canyon Trail #234, Loowit Trail #216 and Loowit Falls Trail #216.  The Ape Canyon trail is heavily used by mountain bikers so it is well maintained and never too steep.  There were some areas along the trail that need brushing but no trees down or hanging over the trail.  The only part in need of repair is at the top just before intersecting with the Loowit Trail. Here the trail crosses above and looks down into the slot of Ape Canyon.  It is badly eroded and soon will need to be rerouted to avoid fully collapsing. Take care while crossing this area.

Now on the Loowit trail, we arrived at the camping area at Pumice Butte around 7am.  This is a popular area to camp and with the holiday weekend we knew it would be busy. Also before we even reached the Loowit, there were 4 tents visible from the Ape Canyon trail which was a strong indication there would be a ton of tents. Before we arrived we made our guesses as to how many tents there would be. Backpackers were up and preparing for the day’s adventures. We saw a group of 7 backpackers hiking away as we approached.  We caught up with them before Windy Pass where they were breaking and confirmed they'd camped near Pumice Butte (with 6 tents).  We saw 9 tents  + their 6 = 15. There were a few other tents scattered about along the Loowit, the last two were just before the climb up Windy Pass.

There was no snow along the entire route, NO BUGS!!!!,  and the wildflowers were spectacular.  Prairie Lupine, Indian Paintbrush and other species are really popping right now. We headed up Windy Pass where we could see a herd of just over 50 mountain goats above the pass.  The pass on both sides is rocky, steep, eroded and requires careful navigation to ensure you are on the correct (upper) trail. A clear stream just before the south side of the pass is flowing if water is needed.   

The rest of the route along the Loowit to Loowit Falls was the familiar Mt. St. Helens blast-zone kind of walking.  Open dusty pumice track with the occasional eroded stream bed to cross.  The large spring feeding into Spirit Lake is brushy and  flowing hard as always and is decorated with Monkey Flower.  Its a nice cool oasis for a break to filter water, (there is a stream just before the spring that was running fine as well,  so you have options).

Soon we arrived at Loowit Falls to share the stellar view with a few other hikers and a couple of goats.  One goat even descended down into the creek below the falls, to lick minerals from the rocks. The other just sat higher up giving us a disapproving side-eye.  

After a long, second lunch break we returned the way we came, taking plenty of breaks, taking pictures and just enjoying the beautiful day. We topped off our water at the stream on the South side of Windy Pass, and soaked our feet.

We had just commented about not seeing any mountain bikers yet when we saw our first pair on the plains around 2pm. After that we ran into a few more, then a larger group then a trickle of a couple on the Ape Canyon trail before we had to ourselves the rest of the way back to the TH.

We returned to the overflowing parking lot at 4:10pm, footsore, tired and feeling blessed to have Loowitlatkla in our backyard. 

Mileage:  19.85

EG: 4,160

We hiked this over 3 days, 2 nights starting at June lake. Parked at marble mountain which added 2 miles total and went clockwise, spending the first night at toutle river and second night in the plains of Abraham.

This trail had everything from sun exposure, trail finding through lava rock sections, steep, sketchy climbs, and more.

The first day from marble mountain to south fork of toutle river was extremely difficult. Took Pine Marten trail to june lake trailhead from marble mountain. The route finding on the lava boulder fields was challenging at times. We carried 3L of spare water due to reports of streams drying up, which is accurate. The first reliable water we saw after leaving june was at the south fork of toutle river. There was one ravine that had been washed out and was a bit sketch on this stretch. Being cautious slowed us down a lot. We saw WTA on July 4th chopping a tree that had fallen on the trail.

The second day we hiked up and out of the river to the plains of abraham. Windy pass was an absolute killer, do not recommend this hike if you are scared of heights and a lot of exposure. The sediment filled stream we camped next this night dried up by the next morning, be sure to fill up if / when you see water and do not wait til the next morning.

The last stretch on the southeast side back to june lake had a few washed out ravines that required some sliding down loose scree and sand. Otherwise, this part of the trail was fairly easy going and a nice way to end the loop with tired legs. We walked the road back to Marble Mountain, which was easier and faster than hiking pine marten back. The worst part of this day was seeing other backpackers who ignored the no overnight parking restrictions at june lake and hopped into their cars at the trailhead after completing loowit.

A group of three, we started from Climbers Bivouac on July 4 at 7 am, going clockwise.  There were only minor snow patches, some bear grass super blooms, one ravine with ropes to descend and ascend, and no water sources until we reached the Toutle River around 1.30 pm.  We got a camp site up on top of the ravine but lots of people camped right down by the river too.  There are a couple ropes to make it easy to get down to the river from the south side, which we used to go get water.  The next morning around 6.30 am we went up the rope on the north side.  My friends took off their boots to cross the Toutle, but I was feeling lazy and just ran through fast and only got damp ankles.  The rope is looking kind of frayed on its exterior but it worked.  The rest of the ascent out of the Toutle area involves a narrow trail along a bare slope where it's a looong way down, so I did not look down and just kept walking!  The blast zone was beautiful, with flowers and birdsong and views of Mt. Margaret backcountry and Spirit Lake. There were lots of streams but only the Loowit was deep enough that my friends again took off their boots and I, again, was lazy and just waded through in my boots (soaked them completely).  The blast zone ends with Windy Pass.  I did the Windy Pass in the opposite direction in 2021 and didn't like it then.  I still don't like it now (not a fan of heights combined with walking on loose rock or sand) but it is doable for me.  We camped for night two at Pumice Butte, arriving there around 2 pm.  Lots of sun to dry my wet socks and boots!  I've camped at Pumice Butte twice before, both times in July.  Advice: when you arrive, if the stream is clear but running low, filter your water then!  By 3 pm the stream can quickly double in volume but then be full of silt (says I who had to filter silty water in 2021 because I didn't do it immediately upon arrival).  We left Pumice Butte on day 3 at 6 am.  There are sure a lot of ravines after Pumice Butte...  We were aware of the washed out section of the trail on the north side of the Muddy River from earlier trip reports.  I and one of my friends elected to just slide down it on our butts, "sand-glissading," but my other friend went closer to the mountain where there is an area of boulders one can also use to cross.  After that, it's some nice shady forest alternating with a lot of walking on rocks and boulders, and some more bear grass super blooms, and then (unfortunately) an uphill finish to get back to the junction of the trail down to Climbers Bivouac, where we arrived a little after 1 pm  All in all, I loved this trip and was glad to get pushed a little out of my comfort zone with its ruggedness and distance.

I went CW from the climber's bivouac over 3 days. Beautiful flowers, more water than expected (for now!), and it seemed the worst of the early season hazards were gone. I camped south of the Toutle and near June Lake. It is hard to overstate how much the canyons slow you down!

There were plenty of minor snow fields, but only one or two crossings gave me much pause. I don't think traction devices are necessary at this point.

Blast zone was smooth sailing other than a few short overgrown sections that were a pain with a large pack. So many flowers!

The muddy river had a slide on the trail on the north side of the canyon, creating a ~10 foot steep slope. I made it around by detouring down a sketchy slope closer towards the mountain.

I only saw bugs on the last day near the trailhead, but it was relatively cold weather on my trip. No bites.