No trip report Tim dragged me around the mountains this week for a 4 night extravaganza.

Starting on 9/17. Trail up to Myrtle was nice. Routefinding up to big snow lake and Snowflake Lake wasn't bad. However, carin's were very sparse. camped at Snowflake, lots of of fish in big snow lake.

Day 2 started with a steep ascent of Big Snow Mountain following talus and creek beds. Pretty strenuous, but not too bad. At this point Carin's are more of something to stumble upon then to follow. grabbed the summit, which was about the smokiest elevation around, and headed down to Gold Lake and the 4 or 5 tarns above it, this took much longer than anticipated. Plenty of fish here as well.
After a quick dip we head north to wrap around Wild Goat Peak to Chetwood Lake on some seldom walked talus. Very wild drainage area, and very intense. We loop around the Southside of Chetwood with headlamps on steep talus and make camp near its east shore.

Day 3 is, surprise, more talus! much more traveled, though, which was nice. Routefinding becomes easier, but the terrain remains absolutely wild. we stop at iron cap lake for some water and to soak up its mesmerizing silty blue beauty. From here we head to the Tank Lakes where we saw multiple parties camping. some of the first people we've seen in 3 days. after some water we drop down fast into the end of the Necklace Valley and then up the last steep push to the La Bohn Lakes where we make canp. We decide Mount Hinman is a bit much for our tired toes, so we leave it for another trip. Saw some weird string of lights in the sky that I'll have to look up later. Hanging a food bag here is pretty laughable so an actual bear bag is recommended.

Day 4 starts with us finalizing our decision to bail on Hinman and we walk steep talus to Williams Lake. Some awesome mining history just above that we spent an hour or so checking out.
From Williams we have an actual trail so we turn the speed up and make it to the end of the forest service road that heads up the middlefork and camp at a major hub on the river.

Day 5 is just a wet road hike. the rain started around 5am and didn't let up until around noon so we walked out with soggy feet.

Over all a killer trip. No trip report Tim gives it a 9/10 for difficulty in our current shape. I'd have to agree.

We did a 1 night backpacking trip out & back at Tank Lakes (party of 2, with our dog). This was quite a difficult 1-nighter, if we had the time, we would have liked to do 2 nights with base camp at Tank and exploring around/relaxing for a full day before the big descent, or breaking it up as Jade/Tank.

Road to trailhead is easy peesy. Parking lot was full when we arrived at 10:30am on a Friday. Pit toilet at TH was clean and well stocked with toilet paper. 

The first 5.5 miles were smooth, rolling, lush green forest vibes. A handful of riverside campsites along the way. Quite lovely trail. Then you reach this big log - cross this, bear right and follow a dirt path that will take you straight up a boulder field. This is where the 4000' of climbing really begins and doesn't really ever stop for very long. (note: midway between here and Jade is another good water spot for filtering water, I clocked this at 7 miles from the TH). Jade Lake is very pretty, for sure 3 campsites here. We stopped here to filter water one last time before the final stretch. 

Emerald Lake is soon after- denoted by a historic cabin- then Opal Lake after that. We didn’t stop at these lakes as our goal was set for arriving at Tank Lakes by sunset - we made it just in time to catch the last remnants of the sunset colors - gorgeous and felt totally worth it.  This last mile between Opal and Tank is quite rocky and steep - you can follow the ridgeline (this is the AllTrails route) the entire way, or bear right along a dirt path that may be slightly easier.

We set up camp in the dark and enjoyed dinner under a gorgeous blanket of stars. There were only 4 other groups camped out here and we were all spread out so it never felt crowded. 

The following morning we woke up to smoke in the air and hazy skies from nearby waterfalls, therefore minimal views of the surrounding peaks. The descent was WORSE than the ascent- hiking down the steep loose rock is always so difficult and unnerving with a heavy pack, plus we were still tired from the day before. Trekking poles will be your best friend. 

My Garmin watch GPS stats, one-way from TH to Tank: 11.5 miles, 8ish hours of elapsed time, slightly faster on the way down

Maybe about 25 cars at the TH, but I don’t think I saw that many people. Very quiet/ peaceful hike the whole way. The forest portion at the beginning was long and I hate to say it, but a bit boring. First 5.8ish miles through the forest is relatively flat, then once you turn right it starts to climb. And doesn’t really stop climbing. The views don’t really get amazing until the lakes. Jade Lake was super pretty, and right afterwards it opens up to a nice meadow and the old cabin. I ended up going to Tank Lakes which was a tricky 2 miles past Emerald Lake. The last mile to Tank was steep and over lose rocks and dirt. But no crazy cliffs, so overall a little sketch but not scary. Keeping track of the “trail” in that area was a bit difficult, but the cairns help. Tank lakes is gorgeous, totally worth the effort. Explored a bit up at Tank, the other little lakes seemed a bit dried up, but all together so cool up there. Would love to make it a backpacking trip one day and have more time to explore. All together, about 9 hours of moving time, 22 miles and 5k elevation gain.

I first hiked the Necklace Valley trail eight years ago and remembered it being tough — eight years later, I still think it’s a pretty tough hike!

We got to the trailhead around 10:30 a.m. and the (small) lot was already overflowing so we parked just a bit up the road. The first 4.5 miles of trail ramble along the river and are is in nice shape overall. Once you cross the river though… it gets really root-y and rocky. I spent a lot of this trail staring at my feet and trying not to trip. The grade is steeeep and many sections involve lunging up boulders as tall as my hips. Temps were well into the 80s during our ascent which made it all the more brutal.

Once you get the valley, there’s a slight reprieve as it flattens out and travels through fields of delicious blueberries.

This visit, we continued on past the valley and up to Tank Lakes. It’s another mile or so of rock-hopping uphill with a loosely defined ‘trail’ and sporadic carins. It was not actually as bad as it looked on the map aside from the oppressively hot sun.

The Tank Lakes area is absolutely stunning. We were a bit worried about crowds, but there is so much room to spread out that it was not an issue at all. We ran into quite a few groups hiking the full Alpine Lake High Route. Had one of the best sunsets I’ve seen on trail.

The descent the next day was a bit of a slog in the heat, but definitely went a lot faster than the way up. We unfortunately didn’t make it out early enough to beat the Hwy 2 traffic westbound, but overall worth it!

Had a few midweek days off so decided to do a Wednesday-Thursday overnight to Tank Lakes. I don’t have much else to add that hasn’t already been mentioned in the most recent trip reports, but here we go. 

My 2007 Honda Civic had no trouble getting to the trailhead. There’s a pit toilet in the lot, and you’ll have to fill out a walk-up permit + hang a National Forest Pass in your car before you head up the trail.

The first ~5 miles of the trail are chill and very standard PNW forest vibes. Gentle ups and downs. Unfortunately, after the river crossing, you’ll gain like 2500 ft in about 3 miles heading up to Jade Lake. I was Big Sad about this, but I knew the destination would be worth the suffer fest. There are campsites at Jade, Emerald, Iiswoot, etc. for folks who wanna break up the mileage. 

After Jade, the trail evens out for a little while as you meander past a few other lakes and wander through some meadows. Soon enough, you’ll start to climb in earnest through boulder fields  up to Tank Lakes. I took the boot path up, but I think I’d recommend sticking to the trail that runs along the creek/intersects with the route to La Bohn because it’s less steep. Regardless of which trail you take, they’ll both spit you out on the ridge, which you’ll follow to get to Tank Lakes. There are helpful cairns scattered throughout this area; consider downloading/bringing a map if you’re concerned about losing your way in this rocky landscape.

There is plenty of room to set up camp once you get to the southernmost Tank Lake. I imagine there isn’t a ton of privacy on busy weekends, but it’s a big space with many established sites, so even if there are crowds, I don’t think you’d have much trouble finding a spot to pitch your tent. Please remember to bury your waste or bring Wag Bags. 

A lovely trip overall. Maybe one day I’ll return and do the whole High Route loop.