Beautiful Jade Lake in the Necklace Valley, Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Photo by Shahid Durrani.
A demanding hike, to be sure. Necklace Valley makes a wonderful 2-3 night backpack trip for hearty hikers, and rewards with a string of cool alpine lakes named for precious gems that you can swim or fish in, or just camp beside.
The trail begins gently along the East Fork Foss River, traversing through a beautiful, naturally-regenerated forest that had been railroad logged in the 1930s. The first five miles gain only 600 feet. Lowland forest wildflowers will keep your senses busy - look for Canadian dogwood, wild ginger, and trillium. This pleasant stroll abruptly ends when you come to the crossing of the East Fork Foss River. There is an established campsite here, and this is a good turn-around for a day hike of the East Fork Foss.
Depending on the condition of the footlog and the amount of snowmelt in the river below, the crossing can be a little scary. Hold on to the handwire [all handrails in good condition 9/2008 and the log appears flood-resistant]. After the crossing, the hike changes considerably as it becomes a steep, grueling climb, gaining 2400 feet in just 3 miles until you reach the first of the gems, Jade Lake. It's nice and peaceful, and there are established campsites here, but you will be amply rewarded if you push on to Emerald or Locket Lake. Be prepared for insects.
Enjoy a few days exploring up here, scrambling over granite, breathing in the fragrant mountain heather, and relaxing in the shade of forest. No campfires are allowed, so be sure and pack your backcountry stove.
From the cabin, a trail climbs, then drops west to Al Lake. There is a maze of social trails in this area.
The upper end of this hanging valley accesses La Bohn Lakes and the standard route on Mt. Hinman. This is most pleasant as a snow ascent in early season, but the snow chute to the gap requires an ice axe. Once the snow is gone, Hinman is very rocky. In late season, follow the left edge of the talus as high as possible, then work left on a discernible scramble track that generally follows the right side of the La Bohn Lakes' outfall.
Necklace Valley also accesses the Tank/Foehn Lakes areas. Ascend the very rocky, cairned medial moraine up this huge, recently glaciated cirque. Might be easiest in early season on snow. Please treat the fragile high country very carefully.
For an adventurous hike one may continue from Tank Lakes in a generally south-westerly direction towards Iron Cap Mountain. Fred Beckey shows this route as the Alpine Lakes High Route (see Cascade Alpine Guide, #1, second edition, page 188). One may circumvent ICM to the north or go over it (both routes have their pros and cons and neither are simple). At ones discretion, descend to either Otter Lake or Big Heart Lake on fisherman's trails. From either one may gain the West Fork of the Foss River. This trail will join Road #68 just one mile south of where your car is parked at the east fork trailhead! Note that your mileage will increase to 22-26 miles with ~6500 in elevation gain.
Trail was in very good
shape up to around the 4 1/2 miles in. A huge muddy area and...
Trail was in very good shape up to around the 4 1/2 miles in. A huge muddy area and then water a foot deep running through the trail. Other than that, it was a very pleasent hike and a pleasure to see no debris or junk along the trail. The birds were singing and there were waterfalls to see. We went 5 miles in and out. There is a pit toliet just inside the trailhead off to the right. This is the hike to take for enjoyment. We crossed only a couple of blowdoens, but not large enough to be a bother. Our dog had no trouble going under them and over them. There are many old huge trees that were spared during logging, and they are the real giants of the forest.
I was looking
for a little adventure and flat terrain for my wife's first hike since her foot surgery. I...
I was looking for a little adventure and flat terrain for my wife's first hike since her foot surgery. I called the Skykomish Ranger Station to get a report on Foss River Rd #68. The last reports were snow free to the trestle but the snow was melting fast. We decided to see how far we could get up the road and then decide if Trout Lake was possible. Road #68 is clear to Road #6830 Tonga Ridge. There is a two hundred yard patch of snow that is 6"" to 12"" deep then the road is clear until just after the parking lot to Necklace Valley. Two trees are down between the turn off to Tonga Ridge and the parking lot to Necklace Valley. My wife and I took care of one, the other needs a good 12"" folding saw but lies flat on the road and could be driven over by a Jeep. We decided to take trail #1062 to Necklace Valley and our goal was to make it to the crossing. We made it to the the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Boundry before her foot started to get sore and decided discretion was the better part of valor. The trail is in good condition and we didn't see any real snow until crossing the boundry. I looked up the valley from the wilderness sign to get an idea of snow depth. The trail is probably covered in places but the snow is melting fast. One other hiker had gone father then we had the previous day.
The 3 day backpacking
trip to Necklace Valley was planned for Friday 10/10/97 to Sunday 10/12/97. The snow forced our...
The 3 day backpacking trip to Necklace Valley was planned for Friday 10/10/97 to Sunday 10/12/97. The snow forced our party of three out a day earlier. On the hike in we first encountered snow about 300 feet before reaching the beginning of the Valley at about 4600 feet. Next to Jade Lake was about 3 or 4 inches of snow. The trail was recognizable and we had little difficulty. After crossing the inlet stream at the far end of Jade Lake and heading up hill toward Emerald Lake, our destination, the snow deepened and obscured the traile. We found a nice level spot on the left and made that our camp. Snow fell most of the night. We woke up to about 6 - 8 inches of new snow. Although I had planned a lay over day for exploring, I decided we should get off the mountain to a lower elevation and avoid the possibility of getting snow bound. Everyone heartily agreed. The trek down was slow and slippery. It was still snowing. Just before the snowline the trail had recent bear tracks. We look around but saw no sign of the bear. The mountain has a lot of blueberry bushes which are a favorite for bears. We finally reached the snowline at about 2500 feet where the snow turned into rain. During the descent we decided to bag it and just hike out today. About half way out the sky got dark and the clouds opened up with heavy rain and thunder. Well, we made it out safe and sound, but I suggest Necklace Valley is closed to hiking for the season.
Take Highway 2 about 1.8 miles east of the town of Snohomish. Turn south onto the Foss River Road 68. The clearly marked parking lot and trailhead will be on your left at 4.2 miles.
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