Alternate route: The promise of an early mountain hiking season lured Spokane hiker Bob Drzymkowski to attempt the 30-mile Loowit Trail around Mount St. Helens two weeks ago. “Got skunked with still a little too much snow on the west side,” he said. “People had been hiking it since early February, but another storm dumped new snow just before we arrived.” Drzymkowski and a buddy scaled down their plan. “No snow on the east side and the Plains of Abraham are awesome,” he said. “The trail in general is moderate difficulty, but boulder hopping on the west side and a couple of deep gnarly canyons on the east side make it a difficult rating. With 30-pound packs and reasonable conditioning, it’s not too bad.”