The trail is in great condition. The first 5 miles are relatively flat, but there are some great views along the way. There are a couple of established campsites at the end of this section. After that, you cross the river and the route changes dramatically as you start climbing. We ended up camping at Al Lake. One of the other hikers we met mentioned that Lake Iiswoot was stunning, but since we got up there later in the afternoon we decided not to explore over there. Every trip report I've ever read about Necklace Valley warned about the bugs, and they were definitely present, although they could have been worse.

The trail is absolutely gorgeous right now - mostly clear, plenty of water along the route, wildflowers, and (relatively) few bugs for this time of year. The first 5-6 miles of this trail are quite flat and easy, just going through the forest following the river, but at ~6mi in you cross the river and start a pretty beastly climb: ~2500-3000 vertical over 2-3mi. However, as soon as you reach the top you get greeted by Jade Lake, and it's stunning. The trail then levels off again for another mile or so (although it does start to get overgrown) to the other two lakes before it ends. We actually went past the end of this trail and followed the cairns and scrambled over the granite fields up over a couple more ridgelines (about 3mi (and ~1500 more vertical) beyond the end of the trail) to Tank Lakes, and I highly recommend it - the view from there is breathtaking.

East Fork Foss trail is in great shape all the way to the crossing. At 2200 ft the climbing begins and only eases once on your way up to Jade Lake. Hearing the warning from other backpackers about the mosquitoes in the valley, I wasn't too concerned. After getting there, my level of concern rose quickly. They are ferocious bloodsuckers. Beware if you intend to camp in the valley. No problems in the lower elevations. The trails up valley are clear of snow. Scrambled up to Tank Lakes and enjoyed the amazing alpine scenery. The views here are incredible. The approach to the pass crossed a couple of minor snowfields, but relatively easy going after scrambling up the talus slope. The mosquitoes at this elevation were not as big of a problem. Camp high or low or plan to stay in your tent in the valley

Rachel, Ben,and I spent some time in the Necklace Valley from Friday, July 12 through Sunday, July 14. We started late Friday afternoon and camped on a sandy spot on the shore of the river, about five miles in. This part of the trail is flat. Next day up to the lakes themselves. Camped at Emerald Lake. We saw perhaps three other tents in the entire valley, and there seemed to be enough campsites to accommodate plenty more parties. Ground cover along the trail was diverse,including the usual suspects: lily family (false solomon's seal, false lily of the valley, clasping twisted stalk, queen's cup, trillium, skunk cabbage, false hellibore), saxifrages (foam flower, youth-on-age, Mertens' saxifrage), deer fern and bracken, even a few maidenhair ferns, thimbleberry, and salmon berry (only a few). Lots of huckleberries. Trees mostly mountain hemlock and red cedar, with yellow cedar and some firs higher up. We were buzzed by a few hummingbirds. Saw a water ouzel (dipper)--gray with a surprisingly short tail. Tons of frogs. As for the lakes--Jade, Emerald, and Opal (strung in a straight line in that order) are pretty shallow. Locket and Ilswoot are deeper, swimmable, larger, far more beautiful. They're at around 4500 feet, wooded. We spent some time in the basin below La Boehm gap. Trail is snow- free, except for some patches, up to the basin. We heard Tank Lakes were reachable without having to cross snow fields, but we opted not to go there. Mosquitos were negligible along the river, more plentiful at the lakes. Perhaps a 6 on my personal 10 point scale, with 10 being the worst. They seemed to like Ben the best, so we used him as bait. All-in-all, a nice trip.

We started out with overnight packs and two dogs at about 1pm. There were several other cars in the parking lot and three other groups waiting to fill out permits so we were a little wary. The bathroom at the trailhead was the cleanest I’ve ever seen through! The first five miles are beautiful and pleasent with multiple shallow stream crossings that were easy to cross without getting feet wet. They were great for keeping the dogs hydrated. You follow the river most of the way as well. The log bridges were in okay shape and were easily crossed. There are camp sites sprinkled out for the first 5 miles, many of which were right by the river and easily accessible. Two of the groups made camp down by the river with plans to day hike up to the lakes the next day. We really took our time with pictures and chatting and made 2mph along this section. This alone would make a nice walk in the woods that is worth the drive. The scramble up started without mercy and the cairns were helpful for moral-that yes, you are supposed to go right up these rocks. We are young and in decent shape, but with our packs the next 2-3 miles up were difficult. It’s not quite Mailbox Peak, but if you didn’t enjoy that hike I would skip this one. There are a couple of areas of respite, but in general you get to work for your prize. Bug spray was helpful here! The bugs were pretty bad. Jade lake was amazing and clear. The two best camp spots were taken. By this time it was getting cold and there were some spots of snow on the ground. To get past the lake we had to take our shoes off and walk along the lake shore – ouch! There are many trails to the other lakes that are easy to follow, but a topo map was nice for peace of mind. The trails were all very muddy, and most had become streams for the melting snow. Several stretches of snow had to be crossed and we did them in boots, but cramp-ons/spikes would have been helpful. We explored Emerald, Opal, and Cloudy lakes quickly-all of which were clear, hiking another couple miles before going back to a secluded camp site we had seen. The next day we passed a lot of people on the trail, and were very glad we came the day before. It seems that this hike and the camping spots get on long weekends. I’d post pictures, but we left the camera on top of the car… if anyone sees a black camera in a black case shoot me a message  Thanks!