Three of us started at 7 am at the June Lake trailhead (2800 ft.) and did the trail clockwise. There were about 6 cars at the trailhead. The trail to June Lake is a gradual ascent. At the lake there was only one tent. I have seen as many more tents there in the past. The initial part of the Loowit Trail was very rocky and we climbed a long the boulders although it wasn't difficult to follow. We continued to gain elevation up to the 4800 ft mark around mile 7. There is some drop and gain through a couple canyons before we reached the beginning of the descent to the south fork of Toutle River around mile 11. We dropped down from 4700 ft to about 3100 ft over 2 miles when we reached the river. There is a steep area at the end where there is a rope to assist you in the last few feet. We topped off our water (with a filter).
The river was flowing just enough to make crossing a little sketchy. One of us was able to jump across using a wet log that was in the middle. Myself and the other were able to get across in two quick steps getting our feet wet. We didn't care because it had been very cloudy up to this point and now it began to rain.
We began the steep ascent back up to over 4000 ft. in about 1 1/2 miles. At the top near a junction with another trail we began looking for a camping spot. We had hiked about 15 miles. That is when it really started to pour. It was just after 3 pm so we made a quick overhang from a tree with a small tarp to decide what to do. We were at the edge of the restricted area and knew we were not going to be able to make it through. When there was a break in the rain we quickly set up our tents.
The temperature dropped to the 30's and the rain continued pretty heavy. I was warm in my sleeping bag by 6 pm and sleeping by 7 pm. The rain stopped from about 10 pm until around 4 am when it started up again pretty heavy and the wind was whipping pretty good. We were going to wait it out but it didn't appear that was going to happen soon so we ate breakfast and packed up. We hit the trail again around 8:15 am.
The rain let up after awhile and the sun broke through the clouds for just a few minutes over the plains. We went up to windy pass before going down and back up several canyons. There was water in 3-4 of these but was mostly very muddy. If it wasn't raining there may not have been water running. We made it back to June Lake Trailhead at 3 pm. We hiked 16-17 miles that day.
The trail was not hard to follow although in some of the Canyons the footing is a little sketchy. (Not recommended for kids). In the rocky areas just make sure to follow the rock Cairns and Trail posts and you will have no problems.
It was a great hike but due to the weather we never saw the summit once. We had no regrets.
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