Journey Return

Thursday, September 12
Start: June Lake Trailhead
Stop: June Lake Trailhead
9.41 miles
2,343′ ascent
2,374′ descent

I awake early and check the weather. The weather window is shortening so I decide to head out earlier rather than later. I’m hoping to make it 12 trail miles to the South Fork of the Toutle River today. And then finish it all up tomorrow. I fill up on hotel breakfast of potatoes and eggs and pack a to-go lunch container of the same. I load up and check out by 9 am. I head South a short distance and get gas before turning East towards Loowit.

Rain sputters from the clouds as I arrive at the June Lake Trailhead. It’s 11 am and I’m the only one here. The rain is supposed to clear by early afternoon so fingers crossed. I have to dig into my gear bag to double check that I have my waterproof pack cover. If I had been clever, I would have microwaved my to-go breakunch before leaving the hotel.

It’s pretty chilly so I zip on my pant legs and don my patagonia wind breaker. Every time I think it has stopped raining, it spits a bit more. Just before I hike out at 11:40 am, a couple cars pull into the parking lot. I go a ways down the trail before I doubt that I locked my truck. I trace back only to find that yes, I locked it.

It’s a gradual climb to June Lake which has a short bridge over its spillway and a pretty little waterfall. I search around for the trail that leaves June Lake and connects to the Loowit Trail. It takes several tries but I find a faint tread through the brush. This trail is far less maintained with trees and big steps to climb. It’s just after 12:30 pm when I finally reach the junction with the Loowit Trail. I meander through the forest and climb over more trees. I climb out of the forest straight into an endless field of lava boulders.

The “trail” is fairly obscure and yet visible at times. It’s relentless lava boulders as far as the eye can see. There are marker posts which at least help keep me pointed in the right direction. My InReach gives a little beep and I check my new message. My dear friends are a tad worried about this sketchy trail and ask me to be cautious. As I hop from boulder to boulder, I’m hopeful when the sun peeks out. Yahoo! Blue sky! And then just as quickly, the clouds suck themselves in around me again.

I descend slightly off the boulder field and I hike through a big dry wash. I connect to some easy dirt trail which is littered with cones. The squirrels are busy prepping for winter!

I start to climb steeply up through the forest and I can feel my left quad starting to ache. The overgrown trail is drenched in rainwater. As I push through the brush, it sheds a river of water onto my pants and shoes. Instantly, my socks and shoes are as soaked as if I’d forded a stream. I’m in the gray clouds and it starts to really rain on me. I stop and put on my rain skirt and jacket. The rain skirt keeps my pants from getting any wetter but there’s no hope for my feet. I push on, climbing for over an hour as the weight of the weather and my aching quad bear down on me.

I’m still not done with the climb when I stop to get out my umbrella. My quad is extremely painful but not seizing. I look out across the continuous lava fields and contemplate my fate. Will there be more basalt boulders on the other side of this forest? How long before my quad starts to seize? Can I step from boulder to boulder if my quad is seizing? Can I even make it to the South Fork of the Toutle River before it’s dark?

It’s 3 pm and I haven’t even made it the 3+ miles to the intersection with the Ptarmigan Trail yet. I think of my friends’ words of caution. I stand there thinking it all through even though I already know the answer. Above all, I don’t want to push myself into a situation where I need to be rescued. I need to be smart and hike myself out while I still can.

And so with great reluctance, I turn around and tread back down through the wet forest. Once back on the flat trail, I suck down a snack and some water as the sky still spits on me. Down I go, out of the clouds and into patches of sun and blue sky. I follow a trail down until I come to some animal scat. I don’t remember seeing that before. I stop and look around, trying to recognize my surroundings. The basalt boulder field climbs up steeply to my left and I can see one of the large markers way way up there. Dang, I’ve descended down too far. I tread back and forth trying to figure out where I went wrong. I even contemplate trying to climb up the basalt to the marker. I finally decide to retrace my steps as far as possible and get back to where I know I was for sure on the Loowit Trail. I get back to a spot where I was 10 minutes ago which even has flag markers. I try different ways through the trees and eventually find the path that takes me back to the boulder field.

It takes me about an hour to cross back across the lava field. And then another 15 minutes to get back to June Lake. Just as I’m dropping into June Lake from the brushy trail, I see a couple hikers departing towards the trailhead. I take my time and snap a few pictures of the little waterfall. I now look a tad over dressed that I’m down and out of the clouds.

After about 20 minutes I round a corner and there’s a woman who has dropped trou with her bum hanging out. I shuffle my feet and clack my poles and then stop with my head down. I hear her gasp as she sling shots her pants back up to her waist. She beelines down the trail to join her hiking partner. I try to hang back but they are just hiking too slowly. I eventually greet them and pass, arriving at the trailhead just a few minutes before them.

I open up the back of my truck and start stripping off my wet gear. I change my bra and put on the cotton shirt I was wearing earlier. On top of that I don my new favorite piece of gear, a 100% Peruvian alpaca wool hoodie. I zip off the bottoms of my pants since they are still wet. Luckily I have a backup pair of shoes. I wring all the water out of my socks and put on the backup pair of socks from my backpack. I drape my wet clothes over the big box in the back of my truck before leaving the trailhead about 6 pm.

As I get farther away from Loowit, the weather is nice and a beautiful sunset is taking shape. I keep peeking in my rear view mirror and suddenly I see her. I pull over to the side of the road and jump out. For half a second Loowit stands tall before being enveloped in the moody clouds that were spitting on me earlier. I almost get a picture.

I drive back roads while pointing myself in the direction of Portland. I stop at the Chelatchie Prairie General Store for a cranberry juice and the cashier gives me a big peanut butter cookie for free. There’s trail angels everywhere! I head roughly Southwest with a spectacular sunset blasting in my eyes. I decide I want to get through the Portland area tonight so I drive until Eugene before calling it a day.