Hiked the Necklace Valley trail on July 8-11, 1998. Trail in very good condition up to 6 mile mark. Trail maintenance workers were clearing trail that week and doing a great job. From 6 mile mark to Jade Lake has numerous muddy spots though no real heavy water on trail. Need to skirt trail 10-20 times to avoid total muddy boot - slip result on that section. Hiked to and camped at both Jade and Al Lakes, (walked over to Locket Lake... beautiful!). Swam in both so no ice and only a few snow patches at that altitude. Mosquitos were plentiful at both lakes and along entire trail if you stopped for long. Need tent at night and Deet for protection. Tried to get to Tank Lakes but stopped by solid snow fields at about 5,700 level. Hiked through solid snow to Tahl Lake which was 90 ice still. Very pretty at all the Necklace lakes. Extremely rugged hike from mile 5 to Jade lake with backpacks. Mud in spots adds to the load but well worth it once you get to the valley.

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 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 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.