I hiked to the cabin alongside emerald lake. The first half of the hike is best described in the previous review by TrailProfessor (https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2019-05-27.1057105592).  There is long fallen tree bridge leading to a scree field, this is when the hike becomes more difficult. It is snow free until just before jade lake in which I would reccomend microspikes. The trail becomes difficult to follow as you reach jade lake due to the snow path leading into what once was frozen water. I followed the rock wall on the left in places to get around this. After jade there's a tricky creek passing. According to someone on the trail there is a path to the left of the creek, but I made it across and went right. After a short while I found the cabin and stayed overnight. I would reccomend this hike to competent hikers with gear to handle snow and some route finding.

Time: 5 hours parking lot to cabin, 4 hours cabin to parking lot

This was a wonderful and much needed respite for the dogs and I this weekend, though my adventure quickly depreciated when I got back to my truck to find someone had broken into it :( they attempted first to pry open my door with a crowbar, severely damaging the column, before giving up and then breaking out the rear passenger window.  They rifled through every nook and cranny and took everything (mostly tools), including trash and old receipts.  Normally I leave my vehicle empty and unlocked, but I figured this trail was out-of-the-way enough for me to simply keep all items of value out of plain sight.  I filed a police report.

Anyway! Here is my report despite my misfortune:

Trail Conditions

The trail is in good condition with only three downed trees between the trailhead and Necklace Valley. 

Snow-free from the trailhead to the valley, though snow does still circle the lake, which is also partially frozen over.  Another hiker ahead of me attempted to get to the southern edge of the lake but fell in because the trail was nonexistent (he was fine).

Sections throughout were somewhat muddy with streams running along the trail, but nothing some decent boots couldn't handle.  Gaiters may be desired only due to the overgrown stretches about halfway to the river crossing. My pants did well enough with DWR.

Campsites

An observant backpacker will be able to find many campsites interspersed along the length of the trail, though space is often at a premium.  I begrudgingly carry a 3-person tent with a substantial footprint, limiting my options somewhat...  A 2-person or solo tent would fit most spots, and hammock users will find a multitude of available locations. 

Trail Traffic

It was a fairly quiet and peaceful day on the trail. There were only 6 vehicles at the trailhead when I arrived late in the day (2:00pm), and I think I was the last for the day. I was the only one who had dogs from what I saw. 

Hiked/snowshoed up to the top of Necklace Valley and back over two days in gorgeous weather. The first 6 or so miles is snow free and lovely. Gradual uphill climb with some nice looking camping spots along the river. After the two big log crossings the trail turns up towards the Necklace valley and starts to get very steep. It remained snow free until about a mile before Jade lake. We went a ways further without snowshoes as the terrain switched back and forth between snow and rock, but about a 1/4 mile before Jade is when the snowshoes went on for the rest of the climb. GAIA and some route finding kept us on track and the occasional moat of melted snow around hidden rocks kept us on our toes. There's a tricky log crossing above Jade lake that warranted taking the snowshoes off briefly. After that is was lovely tromping around in pristine snow fields. The only flat, non snow-covered ground we found (other than the cabin, which might've been fun to sleep in) was on top of the rock mound just south of Cloudy lake, and adjacent to Opal lake. Spectacular views up there. I'm sure when the snow clears there will be plenty more options. The original plan was to try for La Bohn Lakes or even summit Mt. Hinman. We knew that both of those possibilities were very ambitious but the climb from the valley to La Bohn lakes looked very sketchy when we looked at it on Sunday morning. 

The hike out we stayed west and headed up toward Al and a totally frozen Locket lake before a tough traverse back to the trail and out. 

The road to the trailhead is totally clear of snow (although lots of major potholes!). We did a 6 mile trail run, heading up towards the lakes after the bridge over the Foss. There was some snow on the trail starting a little after mile 6, as we gained more elevation. However up to that point, the trail was clear and beautiful. Bridges over water crossings were clear and also in good condition. We did not go past ~6 miles, so unsure just how much snow is present closer to the lakes and what gear would be needed to hike it. Great trail for running, and to take the dog on!! (Although, friendly PSA - please be mindful of other people/dogs on the trail and leash your dog when passing other parties, especially if your dog is aggressive)

I went in hope of maybe a little snowshoeing up the East Fork Foss but the fact it was snow free to the trail head told me that my snowshoes would be staying in the car. (I made just shy of the West Fork Foss River trail head in my 2-wheel drive for fun but the snow near the end was pretty rutted and sloppy so I turned back).

I was not disappointed, however, as my hike was a lovely quiet wander in the woods, making it to the 5 mile log bridge that crosses the East Fork Foss River before turning around.  The weather had promised some sun but the clouds pretty much just spit on me the whole day. Rain jacket on, rain jacket off.  Repeat.  All the forest greenery was rinsed clean and shiny for me, though.

After the first campsite, I reached the large constructed bridge at just under a mile into the trail.  Not surprisingly, Burn Creek was rushing underneath in hurry for the Foss River from all winter's melt.

For the most part, the first 3.5 miles of the trail were fairly bare and wet, plenty of streams running across and down the tread.  A few patches of snow were not much to step through and I stayed fairly dry with my gaiters/trailrunners on.  There were a couple of downed trees but nothing major that couldn't be stepped over.

However, about where I stopped and had a nice chat with Sir Hikes-A-Lot as he was heading back down the trail, the trail conditions changed for the next 1.5 miles to the river crossing.  Let's just say it was one part bare trail, one part lake on trail and two parts postholing through a snowcone.  My favorite kind of trail. 

The worst part was the snow on top of all the puncheons that run over this boggy trail where I could tell a few planks were missing or sunken. It's one thing to punch through snow and another to also go through a puncheon.  It slowed me down a bit!  I will say that although there was plenty of snow, it was not anything worth hauling snowshoes in for.  There was too much bare trail in between the snowy sections.

Sir Hikes-A-Lot of course had warned me but well, I had my mind set on reaching the 5 mile mark.  Anyone nursing a knee injury would be wise to turn around at 3.5 miles. A fantastic river stroll for the whole family.  The views are open here and you can see the snowy peaks rising above.  Another few weeks should see most of the snow on the trail melted off. But if you go now, you can use my postholes.  You are welcome.

Luckily, the slide alder and devils's club bent over the trail was not horrible and I put my spikes for the two log bridges at 4.5 and 5 miles.  I have this thing about slick logs. Ask my right shoulder.

Lunch was lovely at the East Fork Foss River crossing and the campsite just before sure clearly sees a lot of action.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure I would want to stay at any of the campsites along the first 5 miles (except the first one) because of all the evidence of avalanche activity off the ridge to the northeast.  It was obvious so much of that trail has been repaired from slide after slide.

The clouds did briefly part while I was enjoying my vittles and I could see the beginning of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness peaks rising above with a recent dusting of snow.  I gave a brief thought to continuing a bit further (oh, the call) but opted to save it for another day.  From here I imagine snowshoes might be worth it for any ascent into the lakes above as there will not be a (compacted) trail to follow.  

For more pics, see the link below.  :)