I left the Necklace Valley TH at 9:00 under mostly sunny skies, and arrived at Jade Lake at 1:15 pm. I found a flat rock along the lake to eat lunch and watch the fish swimming their rounds in search of food. I was surprised at the lack of bugs at the lakes. I think the fish were too.

I proceeded up the valley towards the base of La Bohn Gap before turning right and climbing out of the valley to lower Tank Lake. The bugs became noticeable immediately upon approaching the ascent route. I arrived at the lower lake to find Lola and her masters set up in a tent near the lake. Further away, Alex, a very friendly 74 year-old man was set up near a tarn. Alex was originally from Hungary, and fun to visit with. We shared climbing stories and high country experiences for a considerable amount of time before I even got camp set up! As for Lola, she only required the occasional belly rub.

Saturday evening provided an excellent sunset with red blazing clouds to the west. Night brought a star-filled sky. I found it impossible to close my eyes as I lay in my open bivy sack. Alas, early morning saw the clouds begin to roll in. I awoke for sunrise, but there wasn’t a sunrise to be seen. A breeze was roughing up the water in Tank Lake. A short while after sunrise, the sun did succeed in finding a hole in the clouds somewhere and lit up Overcoat Peak and Chimney Rock. But this only lasted about 10 minutes before returning to gray skies again. Around 8:00 the sun began burning off the clouds and blue sky began to appear.

I packed up camp and began my descent down at 9:30, arriving at the TH at 2:00.

We got a late start on Thursday after spending the morning retrieving an errant cat from an unauthorized jaunt. Left Trailhead at 1:30 for the long hike up into Necklace Valley with 2 adults and kids aged 13,13 and 9. The first 5 miles are easy and boring--mature second growth with a varied understory. A little after the 5 mile campsite the character of the trail changes abruptly. Old growth in entered. The stream is crossed on a large log, then the trail head up 2500' in about 3 miles, alternating between rock scrambling, roots, mud and water. A Youth Conservation Corp group is working on the trail. We met a nice father and son hiking down who gave us an excellent recommendation on where to camp--Ilswoot Lake. After about 100 assurances to my 9 year old that we were almost there we finally found Necklace Valley. I was very relieved to get there and very happy to have the recommendation for Ilswoot, as it is larger and prettier than Jade, Emerald, Opal and Cloudy. When we got there the lake was glowing turquoise and we were treated to a chorus of owls. G. tried fishing and got a couple of strikes but no fish and a lot of tangles. We were, howeer, delighted to find a lot of King Boletes.

That night we were all quite exhausted but 3 of us woke up when there was a very noisy rockslide across the Lake.

In the morning we were sore but got going for what I assured the kids would be an easy, relaxing day hike to Tank Lakes. We wandered up the braid of trails to swampy Opal Lake, then climbed the rockslide to the west. On the way up we kept thinking we were almost there but kept seeing another ridge to climb. We had a near disaster when a boulder wobbled towards D's foot, but he lept out of the way and luckily landed safely. Finally the kids insisted we stop for lunch on top of a big boulder, and I realized that somehow my little camera had gotten lost.

I pushed us on over the next hill and we were treated to a stunning view of the biggest Tank Lake, and across the Snoqualmie River Valley, the glaciated jagged peaks of Summit Chief, Overcoat and Chimney Rock. Tank Lake is actually a small, deep tarn but we saw several fish jumping. G. set out to fish, while So swam and Si and D. went off on a wander that led to the top of ""Soupy Peak"" 6263. I wandered above the lake for blueberries and views of Bonnie, Otter, Tahl and Azurite Lakes, and even more Peaks. I then returned and we all had a refreshing swim. Tank is cold, but not as cold as Ilswoot and nice when you get used to it.

On the return disaster did strike as So slipped on a wobbly boulder and cut her knees on a sharp granite rock. One cut was very deep and scary. I ran to call for D. to bring the first aid kit and we used up most of my supply of gauze, butterfly closures and large bandaids. Patched up and calmed down, So hobbled back to camp. We feasted on soup with fresh Boletes, and macaroni and cheese.

By the next morning the nasty cut was still bleeding every time So moved it and we decided it was best to get back. The hike seemed just as long and hard on the way down as it had on the way up. Our packs were no lighter--being filled with Boletes.

Berries--not abundant, but good: high and low bush blueberries, red and blue huckleberries, salal, salmon berry, thimble berry, blackberry, raspberry, black currants (well the currants, salmon berry and salal aren't very good, imho).

Mushrooms--excellent. Chanterelle in the lower part, Boletes all over.

Bugs: horrendously bad mosquitos, a few flies.

Fishing: there are definitely fish; we didn't catch any.

Swimming: only if you like cold lakes.

Fires: not allowed

Campsites: many excellent, private sites

Recommendation: If you are looking for a day hike with high view to effort ratio, this is not it. For a multi day trip for experienced and fit hikers it is pretty good. Ilswoot is very pretty and Tank Lakes are spectacular. Be careful on the rock slide and keep an eye out for a small black camera case with a Canon Digital Elph inside.

I never know if you are supposed to put trip date as the first day you start a trip, or the day you return. Oh well.

I got on the trail late, at about 12:20pm on Friday. This is one of the best trails I have been on lately. It starts in flat, deep forest. The trail bobs up and down 500 feet or so, but stays flat for about 5 miles. During this time you are in lush forest, cross small creeks, some thickly overgrown areas and some arid forest floor. A wonderful site along this trail are some of the old growth trees you can find, one that toppeled over was hollow inside and so large I could stand inside with room to spare! The trail along here is mainly in great shape, with some age starting to show in the rotting boardwalks in the marshy areas.

At about 5 miles you come to a river crossing over a long and stable log bridge. It is flattened on top and easy to cross. Follow the trail to another log bridge, much older, which leads to an old slide slope. Look for the cairns, but if none are found, head up to your right and you will run into the existing trail. Here you start to climb, and steep. I believe the books say about 2k feet in about 2 miles. It feels like it, but again, the beauty makes it bareable. Also, some of the scrub oak are changing color already, so you get a few short patches of beautiful color. By hitting this trail in the afternoon you also miss some of the sun, which helps to keep it cool.

Upon reaching the top, you will happen upon Jade Lake first. The trail is nice and skirts the narrow edge to another short climb into the Emerald Lake area. here you find quite a few campsites and blueberries. Continue on for Opal Lake. When the trail comes to a largeish junction, continue on for the trail towards Tank Lakes. If you are not up to the last climb, there are plenty of good spots here.

The trip up to Tank Lakes can be frustrating if the sun is setting and you are tired. Follow the water up into the canyon, staying to the right. Scramble through some boulders until you come to the top of the washout where it has cut through the sediment. To your right is a large boulder ridge. There are large cairns on top, get to the top and follow it up to a saddle that leads to the Tank Lakes, about 1000 feet above Opal Lake I believe.

Once over that saddle, I was AMAZED at the views. Fabulous peaks, smoothed and creviced granite on a massive scale. Beautiful and empty! Seems not nearly as many people come up there. It has a different feel to it and there are endless opportunties for day hikes, scrambles, peaks or just exploring. It can get windy up there though, so bring the fly or a decent sleeping bag.

On hte whole, the trails have a few muddy spots, but not enough for me to flag it. Also, very few bugs on the entire trip. When there are (morn & even) they are mainly mosquitos that are repelled easily with DEET. If there is a breeze they stay away. There are some snow patches up top, but nothing posing an issue on any trails. Enjoyable and perfect for a 3 day, 2 night trip with a whole day in the middle for exploring.

More photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/noel.hastings