I visited the WTA trail crew staying at 5-Mile Camp on Friday.  They are wrapping up their week on the trail up to Jade Lake and beyond.  The good news is that the saw teams have removed most of the larger trees crossing the trail from 4 miles from the trailhead up beyond Jade Lake.  Since this is in a wilderness area, it was all sweat and hard work with crosscut saws, wedges, and axes.   Consider joining a WTA work party in the future.   No experience necessary.   

The roads are in good condition on the way into the trailhead.  You start with paved road the first couple miles.  The second section is a county gravel road with minor washboard bumps along the way.  At about 35mph, the vibration is like a good massage chair.  The last few miles are on much narrower forest roads (after going under train trestle).   Watch out for potholes.   There are a few larger ones along the way.    All vehicles should be ok.    About 10 cars in the lot at 10:00am and completely full when I returned at 3:00 pm.   

The trail is in great shape up to 5-mile camp.   There are a couple of easy step over trees on the ground, but the saw crews may remove more on their way out on Saturday.    I actually found some early huckleberries off the trail on my way back.   Keep looking as more should be in soon.  A real treat if you are camping.  

TL;DR - WARNING! Reports of this being a high-theft trailhead are accurate. Came back to a smashed window - even though I had left the glove box open and center armrest to prove there was nothing to take. They got nothing - I got a pain in the neck.

3-day, 2-night loop from Necklace Valley TH to West Fork Foss TH. Trail portions magnificently well maintained with hard labor from WTA trail crews!

Route finding skills, tools, and experience highly recommended for anyone wanting to explore the area between Tank Lakes and Chetwoot Lake. Minimal snow patches remain, but still some snow to negotiate. Ice ax and/or traction not needed, but best to try and avoid the higher angle snow slopes.

Camped one night at Tank, the second night at Chetwoot. Took the low route traverse by Iron Cap Lake; with an afternoon jaunt from camp up to Iron Cap Mtn ridgeline for extra views.

Bugs are horrendous. Aside from one 2-hr reprieve midday for a swim and lounge at Chetwoot, it was a constant battle. Would I do it again? Yeah - clearly I have brain damage from all the mosquito bites .

Big thanks to kind Nick who gave us a ride from West to East TH, saving us an extra 2 mile hike! You’re an angel.

Went up for a one-nighter to Tank Lakes via Necklace Valley.  Left the trailhead at noon.  Passed the WTA Backcountry crew, and thanked them for being there on the trail, putting in the hard work.  Reached East Fork crossing, roughly 4.5 miles, at 1:45.  The trail was easy, except for a few very brushy areas with stinging nettles.  The climb up to Jade Lake has 3 trees blown over the trail, two of them are along the trail itself, and so you just walk along the downed log.  But, I hope the WTA Crew will have it all cleared up by tomorrow.  

Quick swim at Jade Lake, but the few mosquitos didn't let me linger.  Little did I know how many of them awaited me up top.  The trail up to Tank Lake is not too hard to find, just look for the cairns marking the way.   I think the trail heads uphill before hitting Opal Lake, since I don't recall seeing it.  Reached Tank Lake at 5:30, covering roughly 10.5 miles?  

Other than the trail crew which camped at the East Fork crossing, and the lone hiker coming out from Tank, there were only two other parties heading up that I saw.  Both were couples with a dog, and I saw one of them arrive at Tank shortly after me.  Plenty of space to spread out, and lots of good campsites.  The only serious issue were the mosquitos.  They were relentless.  After setting up camp, I walked up to a higher point in search of a breeze to give me some relief.  That helped a little.  After dinner and sunset, I happily dove into my tent around 9:30.

I was hoping the next morning, that the slight chill would give me some time before the bugs reappeared, but no, when I woke at 5, they were already on my tent.  So, despite the perfect views, I packed up and was on trail by 6.  Hiking out was smooth, and I reached the trailhead at 10:35.

Just want to mention once again how grateful I am to WTA for their trail crews.  Watching 7 of them hiking up the Jade Lake trail this morning carrying all the saws, axes, and pulaskis to take care of those blowdowns reminded me of the hard work that volunteers give for all of our benefit.  

A WTA work party on the first two miles of the trail, mostly "brushing" - which is removing plants from alongside the trail to open the corridor. We also cleared one downed tree. We heard reports of many others further up towards the campground at five miles, as well as past the campground to the lake. A backcountry response team is planned there later this week! There's also more brushing needed further up, and there's work planned for that as well.

The parking lot was mostly full at 0800 when our crew arrived; by the time we left half a dozen cars were parked along the road (on both sides, unfortunately). Most folks we saw on trail were heading up, but we did see some coming out.

Hiked the first two miles of this trail as part of a WTA trail crew.  We spent the day clearing brush to appropriately widen the trail, cleaning drainage, and moving a large log off of the trail.  Two more WTA trail crews are scheduled for July 1 and July 5-8 to continue the trail maintenance further up the trail.  Be sure to say "Hi" as you pass them on your hike.

The road to the trailhead is in good condition and suitable for all vehicles.  There are a few large potholes, but the road is wide enough to easily maneuver around them.

The pit toilet was clean and stocked.

Mosquitos were annoying when standing still in parking lot and along the trail, but not too bad when you were moving.