Beautiful hike with lots of water coming off the mountains. At 2.9 miles in, a multiple blow down area prevented our continuing our hike. 

Currently, this is a type 2 trail. Parked half a mile away from TH, snow was soft and I actually got stuck for 20 minutes at the last fork. Car just kept sinking and sliding so I backed out and parked it at a turnaround. Parking lot for TH was under snow; most of the road past where I parked was snow free. Trail was mostly slushy post holing snow. A bit at the start then it was clear up to the first campsite about a mile in. Past the bridge it pretty much fuggin sucked. I was sinking just looking at GPS. Made it 2.5 miles in and promptly stopped before it crosses a creek 3x in a row as tree wells and snow bridges made it dangerous at this point. Butt loads of blow down. It was expected and did not disappoint. My tracks followed the trail pretty close, at least on handheld devices. Ankles hate me and I didn't even get to the damn river. Godspeed to the soul who can make it 5 miles in that horseshit.

Today was classic November PNW hiking.  Rain, mud, fresh blowdowns, water on trail, more water on trail, some snow, and about 60 seconds of blue ski.

The road to the trailhead is passable for all vehicles, some potholes but not too bad. Restroom is locked, presumably for winter, so plan accordingly. I arrived at 9:30 and was the 3rd vehicle. 

I ended up doing a little over 9 miles RT. I got stopped at the river crossing in the 1st picture as did another group. I can't imagine crossing it anytime soon with the current forecast. I walked upstream a bit looking for another crossing but didn't see one. I was soaked and cold anyway so it was time to turn around. There is one blowdown that is difficult to get around but it's doable. Did I mention water on the trail? Regardless of your footwear you will have wet feet in the current conditions. There is some snow but it didn't pose any real problems. No traction needed. I look forward to going back in better conditions. 

Blog version (disclaimers)

Quick-and-dirty version

Access: West Fork Foss Lakes Trailhead
Round Trip: 43.4 miles
Elevation Range: 1600′-7492′
Gear: helmet
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: no

My Route

1. Hike the trail for 3.5 miles and leave the path before the bridge over the creek off Malachite Lake.
2. Climb Malachite Peak and continue south along the ridgeline west of the Foss River lakes.
3. From Wild Goat Peak, continue east on the ridge through Iron Cap Gap, Tank Lakes, La Bohn Gap, and end on Mount Hinman.
4. Return to Iron Cap Gap and cross-country through Saint Agnes Ridge to Big Heart Lake.
5. Exit.

Climb individual peaks in the same order (see blog post) or customize the route depending on terrain, time, and weather.

Highlights

• Expansive views of West Fork Foss River Valley lakes and peaks
• Expansive views of Necklace Valley (East Fork Foss River) lakes and peaks
• Views to surrounding Alpine Lakes Wilderness peaks
• Sunshine and solitude

Lowlights

• Long, rolling ridge traverses
• Rain and clouds on the morning of day three

Maybe because of a long weekend, or because these hikes are so popular, but when we arrived to the parking lot (around 10:10AM on Sunday of September 5th), it was completely full, and we had to park along the road far away from the trailhead.