Necklace Valley #1062,Tank Lakes
Aug 16, 2007
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Tank Lakes
- Region: Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - West
- Avg Rating: 2.67
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley
- Region: Central Cascades -- Stevens Pass - West
- Agency: Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, Skykomish Ranger District
- Trails: Necklace Valley (#1062)
- Avg Rating: 3.12
- Be Aware Of
- Blowdowns
- Mudholes
- Water on trail
- Bugs
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.
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