Decided to do an overnight in Necklace valley. I always get bored for the first 5 miles of the trail. After 5 mile camp, the trail turns up and keeps going. All the bridges are in good shape but the last one near the valley, the hand rail is not usable and about to fall into the river. At least the bridge is in good shape. we hit patchy snow about 3400 feet but still mostly bare. After the last bridge, it was mostly solid snow with a few patches of dirt showing. This is about 3800 - 3900 feet. The valley is solid snow still. We only went to Jade lake which is the first one but we were tired and it was about 4 pm and we were getting hungry. In all it was a good, some wildflowers, 2 owls making noise at night, a black bear was running down the road before the trailhead but then turned into the woods and never saw it again. Camping was great because we were the only ones in the valley. Some blowdowns but not hard to get over, parts of the trail have snow melt running down them. A lot of water on the trail so you won't get thirsty.

This was my first time on this hike and I was not disappointed. This is one of those hikes that just beckoned you to keep going. For the most part, the tread is soft, and the miles will just fly by. I was alone on this trail until about halfway back from 5 mile. Then I began to meet people coming up. I saw at least 20 people coming up the trail in that last 2.5 miles. The trail is in wonderful condition overall. The waterfall is beautiful right now. There are several blowdowns on this trail. Most are small and easy to manage. One at about 2.5 miles is quite large, and though easy to get around, the devils club is starting to come up on the by pass so take care. There is another rather large blow down right before 5 mile. This one will take a little more effort to get around. I loved this trail, and I will be back to explore further.

A rare Monday off along with what is supposed to be the last day of good weather for the week drew me back out on the hiking trail for the fourth time in just 22 days. Today I would take off up the East Fork Foss/ Necklace Valley Trail (second trip here for me) to the footbridge at the 5 mile mark giving me 10 miles round trip on the day. Today's adventure would be my first foray into a wilderness area this year and bring me up to 30.2 miles hiked in the 22 day span. I had no problems reaching the trailhead off Hwy 2 finding only some bumps and minor potholes along the way. There was just one car at the parking area that belonged to a trio of ladies I saw returning from an overnight trip about 3 miles into my day. The trail is in fairly good shape and I made good time for the first 3.5 miles where the river meets up with the trail allowing for easier access (this is where I stopped on my previous trip). Along the way there are several creek crossings, blowdowns that get bigger the further you go (climbed over a couple near the end)and just some minor snow patches that won't present a problem in the last 1.5 miles to the footbridge over the river. Bugs were out and thick in places but were not biting today. The creeks were clear and full with runoff, the one just a mile in being the most spectacular. Wildflowers are really starting to come along here the whole length of the trail. Of course there's also lots of moss and trees that get bigger the further up the trail you go. Had lots of peek-a-boo mountain views too including Mt. Daniel. I passed the camp at mile 4.75 and pushed on just a bit further to the footbridge over the river, crossed it, took some pics then went back to the camp for lunch. I spent a good 40 minutes at the camp with a view of the river and a small peak looking over me. The river was noisy but not loud here and very tranquil. I had lunch, took some pics and just enjoyed the scene. Right as I was leaving I had a couple come up on me. I left them behind and ran into another couple about a mile later coming back and chatted for a bit. That was the last of new hikers I would see for the day. The first couple came up on me going back but cut off at part of the river you have to climb down to see (I plan on checking it out on a future trip). I never saw another soul the rest of the way back. Another great day on the trail with the best hiking of the year to come. Now if only the high country would thaw out soon!

Hike up to the river crossing was relatively easy. Only a few fallen trees blocking the path here and there. Nothing too difficult. Ran into the snow fields that covered the trail about a mile up from the river crossing and attempted to find the trail for an hour or so. As our entire group was inexperienced route finder with no snowshoes/poles/crampons/axe this was a predictably stupid idea. Would make it 30 or so paces before falling through snow to upper thigh. Had to retreat back to river crossing to a great sandy campsite on the rivers edge. Great place for a short hike though!

Spent the night near Opal Lake. There are currently multiple open water sites in Necklace valley, so no need to pack in water or fuel to melt it. There is one possible small campsite melted out at the entrance, near Jade Lake. I ended up camping on the snow-pack. Snowshoes recommended, although on the way out I saw someone had followed my tracks in, wearing crampons. Tough dude, he sunk in 16" in many spots, and had post-holed up to his waist several times as well. There is a hazardous traverse above the creek, and I needed to cut steps down to the Nesby footbridge, so an ice axe is helpful. Continuous snowpack above about 3,000 feet, route finding skills were required. No bugs up there yet, although you'll encounter them in the Foss River Valley on the way in.