Today was classic November PNW hiking.  Rain, mud, fresh blowdowns, water on trail, more water on trail, some snow, and about 60 seconds of blue ski.

The road to the trailhead is passable for all vehicles, some potholes but not too bad. Restroom is locked, presumably for winter, so plan accordingly. I arrived at 9:30 and was the 3rd vehicle. 

I ended up doing a little over 9 miles RT. I got stopped at the river crossing in the 1st picture as did another group. I can't imagine crossing it anytime soon with the current forecast. I walked upstream a bit looking for another crossing but didn't see one. I was soaked and cold anyway so it was time to turn around. There is one blowdown that is difficult to get around but it's doable. Did I mention water on the trail? Regardless of your footwear you will have wet feet in the current conditions. There is some snow but it didn't pose any real problems. No traction needed. I look forward to going back in better conditions. 

Blog version (disclaimers)

Quick-and-dirty version

Access: West Fork Foss Lakes Trailhead
Round Trip: 43.4 miles
Elevation Range: 1600′-7492′
Gear: helmet
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: no

My Route

1. Hike the trail for 3.5 miles and leave the path before the bridge over the creek off Malachite Lake.
2. Climb Malachite Peak and continue south along the ridgeline west of the Foss River lakes.
3. From Wild Goat Peak, continue east on the ridge through Iron Cap Gap, Tank Lakes, La Bohn Gap, and end on Mount Hinman.
4. Return to Iron Cap Gap and cross-country through Saint Agnes Ridge to Big Heart Lake.
5. Exit.

Climb individual peaks in the same order (see blog post) or customize the route depending on terrain, time, and weather.

Highlights

• Expansive views of West Fork Foss River Valley lakes and peaks
• Expansive views of Necklace Valley (East Fork Foss River) lakes and peaks
• Views to surrounding Alpine Lakes Wilderness peaks
• Sunshine and solitude

Lowlights

• Long, rolling ridge traverses
• Rain and clouds on the morning of day three

Maybe because of a long weekend, or because these hikes are so popular, but when we arrived to the parking lot (around 10:10AM on Sunday of September 5th), it was completely full, and we had to park along the road far away from the trailhead.

    Necklace Valley Trail was one of the most challenging trails I’ve ever been on with a fully loaded 30+ pound backpack. The first 5 miles were relatively easy until you crossed the Foss River and started the climb to Jade Lake, first of the Necklace Valley lake chain. The trail is relentless with stretches of granite Boulder fields, interspersed with treed sections filled with roots, large step ups, overgrown vine maple and 14 downed trees you you have to climb over, crawl under or go around.
     The trailhead signage and guidebook mileage don’t jive with All Trails and Fitness Apps. If you are relatively new to backpacking don’t consider hiking here. I would compare this hike to hiking up to Robin & Tucks from the PCT or going up Asgard Pass from Colchuck Lake. We also experienced the first rain and low clouds filling the valley in quite some time which diminished the whole sub Alpine and above tree line experience. No views beyond a couple hundred feet and snow fell overnight at Tank Lake when rain started falling down lower in the valley. The powder dry and dusty trail on our ascent turned into a slippery, muddy and potholed trail on the descent. Fall colored foliage was starting to appear, blueberries and blue huckleberry are ripe for the picking and giant mushrooms / fungi are sprouting up everywhere. We felt lucky to have our vehicle untouched when we returned to the TH filled with glass shards from recent break ins.  We passed several groups descending who were completing the entire loop, on 5 - 7 day treks starting on the West Fork Foss River road and hiking up from the last lake up around Iron Cap. They ALL mentioned the difficult route finding and strenuous hiking!  Another great, although soggy, experience out in nature with friends!

Just here to check in and say that as of 8/16 the mosquitoes are still awful at Jade Lake. Climb + water availability are as described by others. Seems like the only fallen trees that are left are pretty easy for humans / dogs to deal with (our big dog was having a great time sneaking under) and we didn't encounter any ground wasps.