I initially planned on staying at La Bohn Lakes area but the gully up looked veye steep and snowy and I didn’t have my ice axe with me. So I veered towards Tank Lakes and Foehn Lakes instead. It’s still pretty snowy in that area but i was able to find a nice campsite near Foehn Lakes that would allow me to stake my tent in dirt. Everything is still fairly covered in snow but there are plenty of great rocks to camp on top of. Had great views of Mount Baker and Glacier Peak.

Bugs were awful as to be expected. I saw a friendly ranger patrolling as I was on my way out. She asked about seeing any wildlife as others had but I had not. I’m starting to wonder if the bell I hang on my dog actually works?!

Anyways, stifling hot weekend but gorgeous skies and nighttime stars!

The trail starts of really gradually so there is plenty of time to warm up.  Someone has been in there trimming back some of the overgrowth so the trail is pretty clear.

The big news for us on this trip is that we had a close encounter with a very large and healthy looking cougar at about 4 miles in.  It ran the other way when it saw us - we all felt lucky to have seen such a beautiful creature without any repercussions.

Heavy spring snowmelt has transformed this lovely if somewhat stiff hike in to a bit of a test.

For the first 5.2 miles along the east fork of the Foss the trail is in great shape. Only very slightly overgrown in places, I was able to run most of it. It is very much alive through here - it was wonderful to see so many frogs - yet very few bugs still.

Upon reaching the crossing, I found the bridge awash and partially washed out. I dragged some logs just downstream to build a simple bridge, enough to cross to the main one on, but it probably won't last long.

Beyond that and the second crossing, the cairn trail is in great shape. Views across the valley towards Terrace mountain are stunning. The snow starts at around 3200', initially thin, hard and icy enough to simply walk over. As you ascend, the area covered by snow extends to maybe a quarter mile at a stretch, so you will have to do some non-trivial routefinding.

In addition to the usual spring blowdowns over the trail, there are two avalanche areas to cross. The lower one is simple, just a matter of finding the trail on the far side. The second carried a lot more debris, so will involve a bit of scrambling, but nothing you can't handle.

By the time you reach 4400', most of the ground is snow covered. Depth up to maybe 5' at the highest, most of it less. It's softer here, and easy to punch through, especially when it has been undermined by snowmelt. The trail proper is basically a small brook through here, so you'll want to avoid it and travel just to one side, otherwise you'll just be post-holing.

Past Jade Lake, the snow was soft, slowing travel considerably; beyond Emerald I couldn't proceed without snowshoes. Camping in this area was lovely, with overnight lows in the low 40s and no bugs, and fairly small patches of dry earth, so cowboy camping works well here.

First car in the parking lot at 7:30am this morning - awesome weather the whole way up! Ran into some snow around Mile 6 - obscured where the trail was in places and had snow melt flowing under the snow in others. Broke through a few times and got my shoes wet. Down tree covering the trail and making it difficult to pass. Tried to keep on to Jade Lake but was having a hard time keeping stable footing so called it a day and turned around to head back. Hiking time a little over 5 hours and ended up doing a little over 13 miles round trip. Nice trail for sure!