For this beautiful Mother's Day weekend I wanted a hike with mountain views, no people, and lots of fresh air and scenery and this was perfect! We hiked to the major crossing over the Foss River right at 5 miles, 10 miles roundtrip. The trail was in pretty good condition, there were signs of maintenance until around 2 miles and after that there were a few blowdowns that posed minor inconvenience to go over, around, and through but nothing we couldn't handle. The creek crossings were full but we were able to do them without wet feet and just a little rock hopping. The bridge over Burn Creek is great and the creek was really roaring, it was beautiful and so nice and cool on the hot May day. The pond crossing around 4 miles has seen better days and will likely need to be replaced soon, the larger log is broken and the smaller feels like it may not last a lot longer, but we made it over! I didn't check the pit toilet at the river but I saw the sign for it, looks like it would be a great place to camp. The log bridge at the major crossing is looking like it's had better days, there is no hand rail and currently the river is so wide it does not completely cross it. I wouldn't attempt it now. I've included a picture. There are so many nice spots to take a break by the river and the peekaboo mountain views were so pretty. I really enjoyed this lesser traveled hike, we only saw 1 group of people on our way out. Lots of pretty wildflowers, big areas of trillium, bleeding hearts, calypso orchids. We heard lots of frogs and birds and saw a couple of small garter snakes but no other wildlife.

The road to the trailhead was in great shape, only a few areas with potholes. The pit toilet at the trailhead seemed like it had seen better days so honestly I didn't even try it. Coming and going on a Saturday morning was perfect, by the time we were heading out Hwy 2 was turning into a zoo but we avoided most traffic and the Sultan slowdown was minimal. 

Road in has a few potholes but is still one of the better ones. A couple of early water crossings were high but manageable, did not have a problem with them. Trail is snow free until around 1.5 miles from the river. Dry patches were sporadic and snow was a little annoying. I did use snowshoes on the way back as it was less frustrating and no post holing. Wouldn't say they're required but definitely made it easier in those sections. Log bridge across the river was in great shape. Did not continue past, I was content with making the river. Awesome spots to relax close to the river along the way. Some bugs but more butterflies than anything today. River crossing pics won't submit with report. Flow was fast but a good bit under the log and was safe to cross. 

The road to the TH is in great shape. 

Shout out to the cheerful forest service crew that passed us on the way up carrying lots of heavy tools. They took out a dozen logs crossing the trail and made the way down easier.  Having said that, we still found this trail very challenging.   Once you cross the river (on two seperate log crossings-the first one the handrail is gone, the second one is plenty wide) you immediately scramble up a boulder field (see photo) before reaching the trail which is very steep all the way to Jade Lake, with lots of rocks and roots.  Jade lake has one very nice campsite at the far end.  The lake itself was muddy around the shoreline which made for less than desirable swimming.   There's one toilet in the area; near the cabin.  As someone else mentioned, there are tons of ripe blueberries.  On a weekday, we had Jade Lake to ourselves.

Lovely 2 night trip with our dog! Day 1 we hiked up to Emerald lake. Got to the trailhead around 11am which was moderately busy. Privy at TH was stocked and open. 

The hike up to the Necklace Valley is in great shape. Slightly overgrown in areas and a few blowdowns, but I’ve seen far worse. Lots of boulders on the 3 mile climb out of the Foss River and to the Valley. Trekking poles encouraged. I would not recommend this for a small dog as it’s lots of rock hopping and scree which is harsh on their paws.

Day 2 we camped at the same spot at Emerald and explored the valley. Absolutely beautiful area. SO MANY ripe berries, I was snacking on them all day. Got moderately cold at night, my guess would be upper 40s. I can definitely feel fall in the air. 

Just an FYI: my party of three women were up near Jade Lake sept 1 and had what we expect was an unwelcome guest at our camp. Two party members sharing a tent woke up to a fully unzipped tent fly in the morning. Both recall hearing someone unzip the tent but being sometime in the wee hours of the night and half asleep thought the other person responsible so thought nothing of it until we discussed it in the morning. We do not suspect it was an animal or a lost hiker. No one in that tent saw any lights on during the zipper incident and no other unusual sounds during that time. As far as we can tell, nothing stolen even though multiple backpacking/camping items left outside. The hike was otherwise lovely but tough, we had toyed with the idea of day hiking to tank lake from jade but after the incident, we thought might be safer to head down. Heads up to anyone solo hiking or sees any unusual activity up there this weekend. Someone without a sense of personal boundaries may be afoot…