We camped past all of the lakes closer to the base of the pass up to La Bohn Lakes. Mosquitoes are a big problem in this valley, so be ready. We left camp a bit after 6am. To get to the top of the pass, we went up a narrow gully in the center-left. There was snow in the gully, but we went up between the snow and the gully's right wall. Near the top of the gully, exit the gully to the right and scramble up rocks to the base of a short but steep pitch of snow. Ice ax is definitely needed here, and crampons are highly recommended. Go up the snow and follow it up to near La Bohn Lakes (but don't go down to the lakes). Near the lakes, we scrambled up the rocky nose leading up to Hinman's ridge. There are cairns that will guide you for most of the way up to the ridgeline. The rock is super nice to scramble on. Gain the ridge, and follow it up to a knoll, and go around it to the left on the snow. Walk up the snow, or get back on the rocky ridge spine, and continue towards the high summit ridge. When you get up to the higher summit ridge, stay left and traverse the very top of the snowfield to the far end of the ridge, where the true summit is located.

The trail starts off with minor gains and losses.... and stays that way... for quite a long time! Then... Right as you think you can't take anymore... UP! and UP some more! The calm before the storm (aka the valley hike) Overall the trail is in excellent condition- there are a few areas that you will touch minor vegetation but it is almost not worth mentioning (just be sure to avoid nettles if you go off trail) The climb up: The trail was excellent and had minor mud patches before Jade Lake. Nothing to be concerned about. I would HIGHLY recommend hitting the climb before the sun has a chance to warm it up. Otherwise you are in for a brutal climb. Drink lots of water. Necklace Valley hike: There is more mud here- the USFS is currently up there working their magic (anyone want to bring a few extra snickers bars for them? :) ) They are doing an amazing job- re-routing the trail and making lovely steps to help us enjoy the scenery up there. Tank Lakes Ascent: I will keep my language clean... Ooh my goodness. We hit the Tank Lake scramble during the mid afternoon heat. It is fully exposed and I got burned (I was wearing sunscreen...) We hiked up near the river and then climbed the spine- not necessarily the recommended route... the spine is a lot easier to follow... But it was just incredibly hot and it tired us out quite well. Snow begins at the top of the climb but does not require anything technical... just be sure that the snow you are standing on doesn't have a cavern/lake below. Follow the Cairns through the whole ascent- they help a lot. Tank Lakes was not crowded at all- there were 3 parties of 2 (Friday night), we passed quite a few people on the way down that had a destination of Tank Lakes... so it varies greatly depending on the day. The easiest way to keep the trail in your sights is to follow the spine up- it is definitely a difficult climb... but it has the most cairns to follow. There is a water source in the valley below the spine- so that helps if you run out of water/ want to cool down (it is a decent drop/cliff to get there for most of the way up though) Getting to Tank Lakes requires good route-finding skills, a good map/GPS with good maps loaded, and lots of water. Stay hydrated and be sure to stay protected from the sun. Remember to be safe! It is quite the climb and you are exposed to the elements for the entire way up. If anyone wants more information about the hike- I can provide more specifics via comment responses. Ooh... and the bugs are insane. :)

Trail is in really good condition until the 5 mile make and crossing of the river. After that there are several very muddy and rooty spots. It looks like there is trail maintenance going on though. There was pretty much just one melted out spot at Jade Lake and several groups looking for a spot to camp. If you're planning on heading out here soon, you may need to hike further on to Emerald or Opal to get a spot. I did check out Ilswoot Lake and it looks like there would be some places to camp there and it's very close by. And it's super beautiful. There are a few bugs, but nothing terrible. I did have to use some bug spray. There is snow to cross going around the east side of Jade Lake. Some of it was kind of sketchy to cross and I did get my feet a little wet in the lake. One other thing, I think the photo on hiking guide may be of Jade Lake near Deception Pass and not the one in Necklace Valley.

I have been looking at the alpine lakes high route and the area N of Big Snow mountain for years, and after an abortive attempt to reach there about 5 years ago via the Lake Dorothy inlet stream, we decided to give it another go from the Foss Lakes trail. This time our objective was to follow the route description from the end of the Foss Lakes trail to the end of the Necklace valley trail. Day 1: Stashed a mountain bike at the Necklace valley trail for the return. Did not hit the trail until 2 - made it up to Copper Lake for the night. Day 2: Headed up the trail past Little Heart Lk to Big Heart (BH). There is a breathtaking view off the precipice to Delta lake and the waterfall outlet from Angeline on the way - not to be missed. We started to get into serious snow on the approach to BH, and the lake itself remained mostly under ice. At the maintained trail end we found evidence of the fisherman trail that we thought headed for Chetwoot. unfortunately we later learned we were following the trace to Angeline - not realizing the error until near the outlet stream. After some debate about continuing on the E side of Angeline, we decided to return to the original plan to go to the tarn above Chetwoot from the rib between Angeline and BH. We were fully on snow at this point and gave up trying to find evidence of a trail. It was all map and compass work from this point to Tank Lakes at the other end. Camped on snow near the (frozen) tarn. Day 3: Follwed the route description to ice-covered Chetwoot, then down to Azure and Azurite Lakes (saw two otters). The snow was patchy by the time we got down to Azurite and found our way around the E side. Some route finding challenges from there to the two small lakes below Iron Cap pass. From the last lake it was all snow up to the pass. Great views of the middle fork peaks from our camp above the pass. That night we had the pleasure of riding out a ferocious thunderstorm with raging winds, lightning, and pounding sleet. Fortunately the tent held up and we did not get zinged. Day 4: Woke to continued thunder and whiteout. The thunder dissipated by 10 and we packed up and headed out in the fog under map and compass to find our way to Tank Lakes and down to Necklace Valley. We got caught in another intense sleet squall shortly after leaving, but were able to navigate our way to Tank Lakes in reasonable time. The entire area is still blanketed in deep snow, and the lakes are all frozen. Quite a change from about 6 years ago when last in here. It was a summer playground then. As we descended from Tank Lakes we dropped under the clouds and were finally able to see Necklace Valley - looking very snowy and damp. Saw our first person since day 1 (Mike) as we were leaving Emerald Lake. Mike told us that the trail around the E side of Opal was under water and how he had to scramble around the W side. He was right so we followed his lead - no real problems getting around that side. We made it down the trail to the E fork crossing on the Valley floor that night for a final camp. Day 5: Slept in and walked out the last 5 miles to the trailhead, where I found the bike and pedaled the 2.5 miles back to the starting point. All in all quite an adventure. We had ice axes but no rope or crampons and had no problems.

Beautiful, sunny weather melted snow quickly even over the three days we spent camping at Opal Lake. When we arrived Jade, Emerald, Opal and Cloudy Lakes were mostly frozen and that had changed dramatically on the way home. East Fork Foss River crossing was wet as the water is high. The trail up to Jade Lake is snow-free. Past Jade Lake there was a significant amount of snow with tiny sections of trail few and far between. Use caution as it is easy to find yourself standing on a snow-bridge over a creek without realizing. We found Necklace Shelter, Emerald Lake and finally Opal Lake fairly easily using our GPS to keep near the trail. We saw a few Pikas, a couple tiny fish, and lots of bugs. We camped between Opal and Cloudy Lakes for two nights and only saw one other backpacker.