Necklace Valley #1062

My goal was the Tank Lakes above the Necklace Valley, but I only made it to the end of the valley due to poor planning (took longer than I thought), exhaustion, and MOSQUITOES !

The first 4+ miles of the trail is an up and down wooded trail that crosses several streams and begins to give you a taste of the bugs to come. The next 3 miles take you up one of the worst ‘trails’ I’ve been on. Roots, rocks, wet, overgrown, bugs, and straight up with no switchbacks. When the trail sort of levels out at the entrance to the Necklace Valley, the major bug attack starts. The trail then goes by 3 lakes and then ends with up options for La Bohn lakes or Tank Lakes. The lakes and the valley are beautiful, but the boggy areas and the wetness of the valley are a great breeding ground for mosquitoes. I met a man and his son who were on the way out after spending the previous day and night ‘hiding in our tent’. At the end of the valley, I could see the 1000 feet I needed to travel to the tank lakes and decided to just camp in the valley. The next morning I awoke to a howling wind that made breakfast a wonderful experience without inhaling bugs. The sunrise was spectacular and the weather warm. On the trail out, I passed 5 groups headed up – all saying they were going to the tank lakes. I didn’t say anything. I will return later in the fall when the weather turns colder and perhaps the bugs will have had their fill for the year.