Spent a lovely St Patrick's Day on the 'easy' portion of this trail. Arrived at the trail head around 11am, and we never saw another person. A real delight after the crowds at Ira Spring a few weeks ago. So many shades of green. The miles from the trail head to the river crossing are rolling up and down, my gps reported 1100 feet of gain, VS the 600 in the trail guide. However, it's a beautiful trail, a few downed trees that require working around and some running water over the trail - but all manageable. We stopped for lunch on an enormous boulder - looking across the valley. Walked down to the campsite on the river before turning around and heading for home. Just shy of 9 miles altogether. A few mosquitoes are starting to make their presence felt, huckleberry blossoms and salmon berry starting to bloom. A delightful quiet walk in the presence of majestic old growth. (the privy at the trail head was still locked for the season, but the Skykomish ranger station is only about 5 miles away).

My trip to the East Fork of the Foss River began at Wallace Falls, where I originally ventured with the thought that I'd real off my monthly tromp there. But, on arriving, I found that not only was the parking lot completely full, but the sides of the roads leading up to the state park gorged with cars and a steady stream of people walking to the road. I was a little shocked...there were more people than on a busy summer weekend! Having no desire to join the throng, I decided to go elsewhere. After running through a mental list of possibilities, I selected the East Fork Foss River, where I figured the crowds would be minimized. The trail was in good shape overall, with just a little mud to contend with. The first five miles of this trail aren't my favorite; they make for a nice forest walk, but little else. But, it was pleasant rambling anyway, better than tripping over 300 of my closest friends at Wallace Falls! I know from past experience that it gets better once things start going uphill, but I hit a huge jetlag-induced brick wall about the time I got to the river crossing, so I turned around and went home (the drive back was a bit of a struggle).

Last time I went out (Mount Ann, a couple of weeks ago), the snow conditions were really good, so for yesterday I decided to try something ambitious: the La Bohn Lakes, and see how far I could get towards Mt. Hinman. This is already pretty much impossible in summer as a day hike, but I was vaguely hoping that the snowpack would make it easy going. We got an early start at 6am, walking about an hour with headlight. I can't say much about the Necklace Valley, because I mostly just saw dark forest. The trail was easy to find in the dark though. The valley had a little bit of snow in the open, shaded area of the second half of the trip up the valley. It took us about 2 hours to get to the bridge that crosses the East Fork Foss river towards Necklace Valley. After crossing the bridge, I had a little bit of difficulty finding the trail into the Necklace Valley due to some camp-sites and tracks to creeks. Eventually I noticed that one big tree across the creek was actually a bridge. After the bridge, things are briefly a bit messy, with a boulder field to climb, which is a bit clumsy with the current snow coverage. From this point I only saw a track of one person (which continued all the way until the end of the Necklace Valley). This track was handy for route-finding, but while the earlier visitor had to posthole, the snow was rock solid now, so I didn't use the actual footsteps much. The climb into the Necklace Valley was longer than I expected. Getting to Jade Lake took me another 2 hours, which still kept me on schedule though. The snow was bit messy during the climb: very solid, but with spotty coverage, so a bit hard on the ankles. Solid snow coverage started at Jake Lake. From Jade Lake to Emerald Lake the route is a bit hard to find. I followed the track (which was now one-way) that stays on the east side all the way to Emerald Lake, and crosses the creek at the outlet of Emerald. This worked out okay. The trip up the Necklace Valley from here was uneventful, although some creek crossings were nasty with deep gullies and snow drops. The La Bohn Gap looked very imposing from a distance, but it got better once I got closer. Before I left, I studied the options between the bootpath at the waterfall and the climb up the gap, and decided that the big snow field should be better for winter. Unfortunately, once I arrived at the bottom of the La Bohn Gap, the idea of getting to the La Bohn Lakes failed for unexpected reasons: the snowpack had little resemblance to actual snow, and was simply a sheet of ice. My ice axe could not penetrate the ice for more than an inch, and worse, my dog had no traction at all. Sadly, I only noticed the traction problem for her after she slid down a considerable distance! Fortunately it was all ice in the run-out, so she wasn't harmed. I evaluated my options for a bit, and then decide to go to Tank Lakes, which has much smoother slopes, so should be feasible even with the icy surface. This turned out to be a great destination: the climb to Tank Lakes is very scenic, and the Tank Lakes area was very pretty with the snow coverage. We got some great views of Mt. Hinman, Azurite, Summit Chief, Chimney Rock and Iron Cap Mountain. I can highly recommend Tank Lakes for winter, although it's a long day hike, it would be great for some winter camping (if avalanche risk is low). I wandered around a bit in the Tank Lakes are before heading back. It's a really pretty area. The decent was pretty quick to the Necklace Valley. I decided to stay closer to the valley bottom on the road back, which didn't work out too well. Creek crossings were clumsy, and to avoid climbing up and down too much I walked over the edge of a couple of the lakes, which seemed okay, but was a bit risky perhaps. Back in the East Fork Foss river valley I walked in the dark for about an hour again. At some point my dog got excited about something I could not see, and I heard something large in the water. My guess would be that it was just a deer, but it caused some minor excitement for me as well ;). I didn't spot any eyes staring at me. Stats and gear: - Elevation gain: 5000ft - Distance: 21 miles - 6:00am - 7:00pm - Carried snowshoes, certainly did not need those. Did use crampons.

We intended to backpack to the Tank Lakes (cross country) but trail conditions on the Necklace Valley trail slowed us down considerably and we didn't make it. First off, there are a lot of blowdowns on the section of trail parallelling the E Foss River. Most of them can be stepped or saddled over. A few are more tricky. We definitely weren't the first people over them, we were guessing they came down in the recent windstorms. The last major blowdown seems new- smells fresh too-- it's just after you cross the river on the two separate footlog bridges and start uphill. This section is confusing because of a major blowdown between the two bridges. Yes, cross the blowdown and take the second footlog across the other part of the river. A few cairns mark a route through the talus- the trail is confusing here because of the huge blowdown. You'll be heading up, to the left and into the forest. The Necklace valley is a lovely area which we had all to ourselves- not too surprising with temperatures in the teens at night, and the twenties during the day. We recorded 4.5F this morning at Opal Lake with wind chill considered in our weather station. It was 20 in the sun and colder in the shade- 10am. I lost a hat on the way up that was untouched on the return. No sign of other spikes in the ice or footprints in the snow- doesn't look like anyone has made it to the lakes since the freeze/snow. We found frozen mud footprints under a layer of ice over 2" thick in places. The ground is frozen by the time you reach the Alpine Lakes boundary sign. It's the hoarfrost/mud combo that makes little towers of ice. Sometimes they hold, sometimes you fall a few unexpected inches. A few streams (closer to trailhead) aren't frozen yet, but many that weren't frozen on Friday were frozen on Saturday. It can be tricky to cross partially frozen streams with icy rocks, icy/frosty footlogs, or fully frozen streams with the disconcerting sound of water running beneath the ice. Stretches of the trail above 2500 are all ice over rock. We climbed up without traction, often needing to detour to find a better route and used traction on the way down. We recommend the traction- we have microspikes. It took us quite a while to make it through this section with 40-50 lb packs. Crampons would have been better as the spikes slid on some sections of icy trail, but since it alternates ice and stretches of rock/trail, the crampons could be annoying/destructive to vegetation. If you want to go to the middle section Opal Lake there is a stream crossing that is all ice- you can hear the water beneath. It was almost a deal breaker. It's a waterfall of ice right now. We camped at Opal lake in sub 15 degree temps overnight. Yep our new hilleberg tent, 15 degree double sleeping bag and homemade primaloft overquilt worked! We weren't cold in our sleeping bag, but BOY WAS IT COLD OUTSIDE!! FYI the campsite at the far end of Jade Lake is a very lumpy pile of ice. Jade lake is frozen and constantly makes cracking and pinging sounds as if freezes further. It was a little disconcerting to walk alongside it with all the sounds. Finding unfrozen water we could get to was a challenge. Had to sleep with our water filter in the sleeping bag to make sure it didn't freeze and crack! Frozen peanut butter! Frozen everything! We came home a day early having not made to the Tanks. It was so darned cold at Opal Lake this morning that we didn't want to head farther up in elevation. You literally couldn't take your gloves off for more than 1 minute before your fingers were going numb. Had to wear a balaclava to keep nose and cheeks from hurting. It was novel to walk in the middle of a lake and see it on our GPS route- some of the lake was all the way frozen so we felt comfortable walking across it. Some of it wasn't quite and we didn't The wind was really picking up and temps were dropping so we bailed at 12:30 for the 5 hour hike out- finishing by headlamp. If you lost an unopened container of Pringles and an unopened 70% dark Lindt chocolate bar on the first 1/2 mile of this trail-- we found them on Friday, they were *still* there on Saturday so we carried them out. They're by the trailhead bathroom. ^_^

The Foss River “Full” Necklace Loop. Alpine Lakes Wilderness. GPS Data: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move38438719 Video Recap Short Version: http://youtu.be/_aR1T7hy1vI?list=UUdeQ4SiDOtKhpV1zD1uLNjg Summary: • 2 River Drainages • 1 Mountain Traverse • 17 Lakes • 16.5 Hours • 27.5 Miles • 12,900 Feet Cumulative Gain • 1,000,000,000 Mosquitoes • 1 Epically Awesome Hike Well-traveled trails on the West Fork of the Foss River to Big Heart Lake and the East fork of the Foss River to Opal Lake can be connected via the High Alpine Route over or around Iron Cap Mountain. Start from the Necklace Valley Trailhead heading towards the West fork of the Foss River Trailhead to Trout Lake. Climb up the valley past old growth trees and dramatic waterfalls to Copper Lake. Wrap around Copper Lake to Little Heart Lake before winding and climbing up then back down to Big Heart Lake. The trail continues on the East Ridge between Big Heart and Angeline Lake climbing and dropping to a scenic series of platforms that connect in-between Little Chetwoot and Chetwoot Lake. Ascend talus fields to the southern ridge of Iron Cap Mountain. Navigate the steep ridge on granite blocks until able to cross the face of the peak to the high northern ridge. Follow down and north to a lesser grade bushwhack then cut back on ledges avoiding cliffs along the flanks of the peak. A series of rises connects to the Tank Lakes where the trail and Cairns assist in routefinding. Follow the high ridge down to forested Opal Lake to connect to the Necklace Valley for a series of lakes before a long gradual decent down and along the East fork of the Foss River back to the Necklace Valley Trailhead. ………………………………………………. Lake 1. Trout Lake Lake 2. Copper Lake Lake 3. Little Heart Lake Lake 4. Big Heart Lake Lake 5. Delta Lake Lake 6. Angeline Lake Lake 7. Little Chetwoot Lake Lake 8. Chetwoot Lake Lake 9. Azure Lake Lake 10. Urite Lake Lake 11. Crawford Lake Lake 12. Otter Lake Lake 13. Bonnie Lake Lake 14. Tank Lake Lake 15. Opal Lake Lake 16. Emerald Lake Lake 17. Jade Lake Trip Report: Having been up both the West and East forks of the Foss River we have been looking at connecting the chain as a loop for some time now. Not sure of the difficulty of route-finding terrain etc. in the space between Big Heart Lake, over Iron Cap Mountain and Tank Lakes we decided to conservatively adjust our plan to accommodate an overnight with relative comfort. This trip was intended to be recon to determine if the loop could be safely navigated as a mountain run within a 24-hour period. We researched trip reports on WTA, trail references from Guidebooks, Beyond Mount Si pages 130 &133 and the Alpine Lakes High Route map from Fred Becky Cascade Alpine Guide #1 page 188. Bringing a detailed topo, compass, and gps topos maps Iphone app all proved to be necessary in route-finding in the Iron Cap Mountain Area as cloud cover became low late in the afternoon drastically reducing visibility. Packing light backpacking gear I was able to get tent, sleeping gear for two (bro-rito) clothing and overnight gear in my alpine pack at just under 30 lbs. We brought a jet boil, tons of bars aiming for consuming 100-200 calories per hour). We arrived at the Necklace Valley trailhead at 8am taking the second-to-last parking space. Starting the trip with a 2.5-mile walk down the road to connect with the West Fork of the Foss River Trail to Trout Lake. We decided it would be better to get this road stretch out of the way while we were fresh so we would arrive straight back at the car at the trailhead on the way out. A sleepy owl greeted us along the road and we made good time up to Trout Lake. The trail starts climbing in earnest up to Copper Lake revealing glimpses of waterfalls and giant old growth trees along the way. After taking a dip in the lake and washing our sweaty clothes (it was super humid) we made it to Little Heart Lake in another 40 minutes and climbed to Big Heart Lake in another 40 minutes noticing more cobwebs on the trail indicating a lot less foot traffic on this section. Rising and dropping steeply we were greeted by the dramatic Big Heart Lake where we enjoyed the most pleasant lake swimming of the trip. Never to be undisturbed by the ever-pesky mosquitos we ate a lunch and didn’t linger too long before heading up the trail that rises along the ridge between Big Heart Lake and Angelina lake. This is in surprisingly good shape and although it rises and falls continuously is relatively well trodden and was fairly straightforward. Go too far on either side and you end up at a cliff above a lake. The section of benches, pools and trickling waterfalls ascending to Chetwoot Lake was the most surprisingly beautiful section. Reminiscent of a little Enchantments, these benches of infinity pools, trickling streams and min water falls guided us with brilliant views of the ridge where we had just come. Dropping into Little Chetwoot Lake we refilled our water and crossed at the outlet of Big Chetwoot Lake. A camp above the lake was the only trace of other humans we found in the section between the north bank of Big Heart Lake and Tank Lakes. We observed a well-placed camp with tents, boots, gear, but surprisingly no people (maybe they were completely devoured by the mosquitoes). Continuing up the talus field on Iron Cap Mountain views opened up behind us of other alpine lakes with steep cliffy shores. Reaching the ridge of Iron Cap mountain we hoped for a breeze to blow away the pesky mosquitoes. Not even to get a break from them at 6,000 feet on the ridgeline, we pressed on. Traversing the southern ridge of the peak proved to be exciting. When the way seemed impassable without technical gear we were always able to find a safe passage across the ridge. Dropping off severely to the south we took in views of Crawford Lake and the start of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Climbing up over and around rocky ledges we crossed the face of the peak near the summit for a high north ridge. Dropping down to the east sided proved to be the most challenging part of the trip. We cliffed-out once backtracking and following map contour lines to find a grade that was safely passible. An obstacle course of steep heather, thick brush, moss-covered boulders along with low cloud cover and complex topography to navigate made the way slow going. We were finally able to traverse ledges back across the eastern lower flanks of Iron Cap Mountain. Using the gps iPhone app to double-check our position we made our way back up towards Tank Lakes. Sensing imminent darkness we found a level spot with fresh water and the shelter from mosquitoes in the clouds to make camp for the evening. We woke bright and early to slightly less overcast but increasingly buggy conditions. Using good old-fashioned compass and map along with the Topo Maps iPhone app we were able to navigate as we moved to keep out of reach of the mosquitoes. We saw a tent at Tank Lakes, only the second trace of other humans since leaving Heart Lake. From here the way was fairly well marked by cairns and navigating the ridgeline to the north of broken snow fields below. Descending miles of talus was made easier by z-poles taking some of the weight off weary knees. Trees began to get taller and foliage thicker as we made our way through mossy Irelandish rock gardens down to Opal Lake. Connecting back to the main trail from the west side of Opal Lake we found the path straightforward and easy to follow past the other necklace lakes. Jade Lake was the last (and coldest) swim of the trip. We were able to pick up the pace the last 7 miles out as the trail became more defined crossing the East fork of the Foss river and following it much of the way out. Despite the pack weight, we jogged a good chunk of the last few miles in anticipation of dry clothes and salty chips back in the car. Arriving at the Necklace Valley Trailhead around noon, the total moving time was 16.5 hour. With good fitness, and route-finding ability this route is doable in a day with a very early start. Maybe next time…