My dog Liesl and I did a nice trip up the Necklace Valley. The goal was to try to go to Hinman and perhaps loop via Chain Lakes south of La Bohn Peak to Tank Lakes and Otter Point as a backup or extension.

I had previously visited La Bohn and Chain Lakes without any snow and Tank Lakes in winter. The idea was to see La Bohn and Chain with some snow, and Tank Lakes with a bit less ;).

Trailhead to La Bohn Lakes

I've had difficulties with hiking boots for very long day trips, and this was going to be a long one. I have a few pairs of hiking boots, but only a very old pair of Meindl boots fits me well enough for 20-30 mile hikes. They can't have crampons though, and I wanted those for Hinman. I've tried approach shoes, but the pair I got turned out to be a blister factory. I decided recently to get a pair of trailrunners and use those for long approaches, carry my boots, and switch when necessary. This trip was my first like this, and it worked out pretty well. It was much less of a torture for my feet than usual (although my 20 years old Meindl boots still are more comfortable!)

We started at 4am at the Necklace Valley trailhead to make sure that we continued our tradition of hiking the East Fork Foss with a headlamp ;). This ensured I had more than enough daylight to hike whatever we could do. I hate rushing with pressure of the sunset.

The hike was uneventful until the bridge across the East Fork Foss, with no blowdowns and pretty much perfect trail conditions. The state of the bridge is deteriorating further every time I visit, but the trunk is at least solid.

At Jade lake we walked by what looked like the camp of a solo hiker comfortably asleep. The path along Jade lake is now dry. We crossed the inlet of Jade lake, and after about 3.5 hours we reached the Necklace Valley cabin, exactly at the point the sun came up over the ridge. This valley does not get a lot of sun! There is currently some nice beargrass in bloom throughout the valley. Bugs were absent in the morning, but I was blissfully unaware of armies preparing in the bushes to assault me on the way out.

Our plan was to take the waterfall route to La Bohn Lakes, because even with crampons (which I carried for perhaps icy snow conditions on Hinman) the La Bohn Gap route is too sketchy for me. The waterfall route is entirely snow-free and in pretty good condition. A small section of the bootpath is wiped out by avalanche debris, but it's not a problem. If you don't know the route, then check my earlier trip report for a better description ( http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8018734 ). Key is to keep following the forest line almost entirely until the top of the big boulder field.

La Bohn lakes and Hinman attempt

The lowest La Bohn Lake is melted out, while the largest still has some significant snow. Interestingly, the highest La Bohn Lake had a tin sheet of ice from the night. I didn't think it got that cold, so I'm not sure I understand the physics of that ...

Next, the plan was to head up to Hinman. We previously failed because it turned out to be surprisingly tricky to get up the ridge from La Bohn lake with my dog (my previous report has some great comments on routes). I came prepared this time to carefully explore the area and see if I missed an obvious route. Unfortunately, I could't find any route up that was Class Dog, or at least Class Liesl. The part she doesn't do is really quite trivial for people, but she really freaked out after a few attempts. I tried to lift her up there, but that caused even more stress. I didn't want to push it, so decided to abandon Hinman again. Who cares about summits anyway? I'd be cautious about attempting Hinman with a dog, unless your dog is pretty agile or there is snow coverage.

Chain Lakes

We headed down to Chain Lakes, which was still a bit too snowy to really explore the mining activity. I ran into a hiker there who apparently was camped at La Bohn Lakes (missed him!) and he explained me where the cabin is (I missed this on my previous trip). He did a multi-day trip from the Middle Fork. It was fun to visit the cabin briefly, and then I headed up the ridge west of Chain Lakes. I love the views from the top of this ridge. The Middle Fork really looks very impressive there.

Chain Lakes to Tank Lakes

I've found two different routes in online reports of traverses from Chain Lakes to Tank Lakes: one follows a route at about 5400ft, and the other slightly above 6000ft. The lowest one looked a bit easier with CalTopo slope shading, so that's the route we picked. The descent down from the ridge is a bit clumsy and required some luck in finding the easy way down, but it was all doable and didn't require any hands or veggie belays. After this, during the initial traverse there are a couple of big boulder fields to cross, which are a bit unpleasant but also doable. Finally, the granite slabs make for an enjoyable hike all the way to Tank Lakes.

Tank Lakes

All of the lakes still have snow floating around. We took a long break and a refreshing dive. Bugs were still just a minor annoyance here (but later on the day it would become a nightmare in the valley!).

Tank Lakes to Otter Point

We continued to Otter Point via Foehn Lake and traversing above Tahl Lake. I didn't really read anything about routes to Otter, but it seemed like the easiest route would be to stay at about 5800ft until Tahl Lake and then head up the ridge, traversing from a first forested high point to Otter. This worked fairly well, but there a lot of boulder fields. I am always concerned about my dog with all the deep gaps and sharp edges, but it appears it's easier for her than me. She was getting very warm it seemed, so I decided to go a bit higher and stay on snow as much as possible. The views from Otter Point are very nice, in all directions. I enjoyed seeing the West Fork Foss lakes from this angle, and the panorama of the central Alpine Lakes wilderness peaks is a really nice from here. It may be one of my favorite summits now! We signed the summit register with some familiar names (another first ascent for a Corgi! ;) ).

Otter to trailhead

I enjoyed the section back down into the Necklace Valley, again trying to stay on snow as much as possible (there is nice snow coverage below La Bohn Peak still). In the valley, bug hell started, and I basically just kept walking as fast as I could until the trailhead. i probably should have brought some repellent (which my wife did advice).

Stats

Time: 4am - 8pm (16 hours)
Distance: ~24 miles
Elevation gain: ~6200 ft

List of lakes you can see on this loop:

1. Jade Lake
2. Emerald Lake
3. Lake Ilswoot
4. Locket Lake
5. Jewel lake
6. Opal Lake
7. Foehn Lake
8. Tahl Lake
9. La Bohn Lakes
10. Chain Lakes
11. Williams Lake
12. Tank Lakes
13. Otter Lake
14. Azurite Lake
15. Angelina Lake
16. Chetwoot Lake
17. Iron Cap Lake

Use the GPS coordinates to find this trailhead.

The first couple of miles are really enjoyable ups and downs as you make your way through the valley. When you're moving, the bugs bite less, but overall, bugs were absolutely terrible. I had about 20 bites up and down my leg, they were biting through my dry-fit pants. Deet was no match.

You'll cross a large creek and take a right to start scrambling up the mountain (see picture). Follow the cairns. Brace yourself, because this is the beginning of a long, long, seemingly forever long, tough hike up to the lakes (if you're quads don't have superpowers like mine). We took breaks relatively often to catch our breath, or stand in the shade when we could. But then bugs would bite us so we had to keep moving.

Once we got to mile 7 marker, there was still about a mile to go to the first lake. Only one camping spot (a great one, but only one) at the first lake. To get to the lake just above the first one, cross the creek, then cross the other part of the creek to find the trail on the far right of the first lake. The trail to the second lake is enjoyable, through really beautiful meadows. Lots of campsites, a cabin and a toilet are available at the lake. Tons of social trails to other lakes. 

Hike down was easy of course. Later found out this hike is rated most difficult by USFS... it is not for the fainthearted, especially with a pack on!

Highway 2 has terrible traffic on Sundays, so go through Index on Avenue A, then Reiter Rd for a nice drive around the mess. You'll pop out near Gold Bar. Ended up at Route 2 Taproom in Monroe for a post hike burger and beer.

Picked this as my first backpacking trip of the season, and quickly realized how out of shape I am... The first five miles of this hike are deceptively easy, until you come to a brutal 2 mile, 2,000+ foot rocky climb to the first lake. I questioned my life choices at several points during this hike. BUT I think seeing the lakes at the end were worth the feeling of death in my quads.

Overall, this trail is in fairly decent condition right now, but is very overgrown in sections and has a lot of questionably stable bridges. My only real complaint regards the three unbelievably loud US Air Force planes that flew overhead during the first section of our hike, definitely harshed our wilderness vibes.

After you reach the first lake (and cry tears of joy), the area becomes a mess of social trails. It's pretty much a choose-your-own-adventure at this point. My group stumbled across Lake Ilswoot after some exploring, and decided it was by far the most scenic of the lakes for camping. There are only about 2-3 available camp sites around Lake Ilswoot at the moment (some fellow campers informed us that there are usually more, but the water level is so high that the other sites are currently submerged), I would definitely recommend snagging one if you can!

The mosquitoes are vicious right now, I recommend bringing along some heavy-duty bug repellent unless you want to come home with a few dozen bites (still battling a few casualties as I type this).

If you're planning an overnight trip up to Necklace Valley, I would strongly encourage trying to go on a weekday. We totally lucked out on our Friday night trip and only saw 5 other people at the top. During our hike out on Saturday afternoon we passed about 30 people headed up for the night (including one group of 12), so I imagine camping spots are at a premium for Saturday night campers.

We spent 5 days on these trails, with two nights camped at the East Fork Foss River crossing, and the two middle nights camped at Jade Lake. From Jade, we day-hiked to Tank Lakes (more later) and Al and Locket Lakes (more later).

The trail is as described elsewhere - easy going until the river crossing, and then a grind up to the valley. If you look closely, you'll see remnants of the logging railroad along whose bed the first part of the trail lies. Some specifics from this hike that might be helpful:

During our week there, a USFS crew was hard at work clearing out some of the brushy sections and removing all the trees that had fallen across the trail, so it is clear all the way up to Jade. Yeah for USFS workers, and yeah to see our taxes doing good work!

Be sure to pack plenty of water when heading up from the river crossing. It's a long, hot climb up to Necklace Valley, and the river, while always in earshot, is usually too far away to gain access to refill those water bottles.

Mosquitoes. They were beyond horrible all throughout the valley, from morning until well after dusk. We used bug spray and mesh netting and still they were miserable. Be prepared. They were awful.

The hike to Tank Lakes was also a grind, and completely exposed to the sun. Upon reaching the south end of Necklace Valley take a hard right and follow the talus slope up. and up. and up, staying in the gully until rounding the razor edge of the peaks to your left.  The last 1/3 of the route was under snow, and the lake was still mostly frozen over, with just the southern shore opening up. But the view was beyond breathtaking, and highly worth it. Kudos to the US Navy for buzzing us with their E/A-18s while we were refilling water bottles at the lake. 

The hike into Al and Locket Lake was difficult only for the brushy overgrowth and the ever-present mosquitos. The trail to Al was clear enough, but we had to do some cross-country route finding to reach Locket, which was as pretty as the rest of the lakes in the area. I wish we'd had time for a swim, as the water was crystal clear.

Those who wish to make the trek up to Tank, or to Locket, should have some skill in map-reading and cross-country trecking, and a good sense of direction since the trail isn't always clear.

There were a few ripe blueberries on the hike out today, and there should be a lot more in a few more weeks.

Party of Five: Author (mid-seventies) and four (twenty somethings) on a three day back pack, primary objective, Jade Lake.  Trip was successful although Author slipped on a rock (securing water in camp!) which resulted in his early turnaround halfway up the second day.

On the third day exit hike out families with young children were observed.  Author would like to suggest that as one proceeds on the first five miles of this essentially level hike the brush in clearings becomes more intense and would not be suggested for the very young.  Am not sure that this hike - essentially valley trail to "no good view hits" for the first five miles - is a good selection for the casual day hiker.  Additionally, beyond the river camp river crossing (log bridge - trail is to left) the trail is much more challenging due to high pitch.  There was good water access about halfway up the pitched section where the trail closely parallels briefly the stream

My associates stated that Jade Lake had a high (over trail) water level and that they did not proceed beyond that objective.  A late start from camp probably was an issue once arriving at Jake Lake.

Appreciated trip report by "Suhleenah" [July 24, 2017]