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.
The trail to the Jade Lake goes through the forest, which doesn’t offer hikers good views. First, 5.5 mi were relatively flat and easy to hike; after that - all the fun begins :) Considering 18lb backpacks we were walking with, that elevation gain felt brutal.
Before our backpacking trip my husband called rangers to ask where we can stay overnight. He was told that there are many spots at lower lakes and a few at La Bohn lakes. Rangers asked not to camp at Tank Lakes - there are no designated camp sites, and people slowly destroying natural beauty of that area by setting up tents too often. We stayed after all lowers lakes - close to the climb to La Bohn lakes. We dropped all of our stuff at the campsite at hiked to La Bohn lakes. That part of the hike is soooo steep! It involves a lot of bouldering, and it’s very easy to loose the trail. To get to La Bohn Lakes keep left and hike as close to the trees that are at your left as possible. It’s the easiest route to the top, and has kerns as well (but we didn’t see them at first).
As I wrote, this part is very-very steep, and, to be honest, we were happy that we left everything at the campsite, and hiked without heavy backpacks! It’s important to mention that these boulders were killing our knees, and we regretted deeply we didn’t wear knee protectors. I highly recommend to take them with you if you have them.
After the climb look out for the kerns - it’s very easy to loose the track. On your left you’ll see a short walk to the smallest La Bohn lake, and on your right - to the middle one and to the biggest lake. This area is spectacular and totally worth a climb!
One more thing - mosquitoes :) Usually, I don’t care about bugs, but these guys were super bad and annoying! I highly recommend to grab a bug spray.
Overall, this hike is challenging, but the views at La Bohn are spectacular! Take bug spray and knee protectors.
Enjoy the hike!
Comments
ALW Hiker on East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley, La Bohn Gap
Gorgeous photos! Thanks for the detailed report.
Posted by:
ALW Hiker on Sep 07, 2021 07:25 PM
JeffDirks on East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley, La Bohn Gap
Great and rare post on climbing into the La Bohn Gap. Is the route up the left side of the Boulder field steeper then the Boulder climb from Marmot to Jade Lake or Aasgard pass above Colchuck?
Posted by:
JeffDirks on Sep 07, 2021 08:19 PM
Mrs. Mouse Hiker on East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley, La Bohn Gap
We've never done Marmot to Jade Lake climb, but we did Aasgard pass a couple of years ago. I would say they are very close in terms of difficulty, and if you've done Aasgard before, you can defifitely do this one as well.
There were a clear visible trail on Aasgard pass. On this climb we didn't find a trail for about 1/4 part of a climb (I am not sure if it actually exists at the beginning of a climb), so basically we were climbing up using our hands and always stopping to watch around for any signs of trail or kerns.
Posted by:
Mrs. Mouse Hiker on Sep 08, 2021 03:33 PM