East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Saturday, May. 16, 2015

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

A friend and I decided to take our talents to the Necklace Valley on Saturday 5/16/2015. 'The Decision' attracted minimal fanfare : we arrived at the trail head around 11:15 and were greeted by a pleasingly small fleet of vehicles (anything less than a baker's dozen). The trail was in great shape - the first 5 miles were like Lebron's 4-year tromp through the Eastern conference - no hiccups. There were plenty of sturdy-stalked fiddleheads, a speckling of wildflowers, and even some real live non-human creatures. According to my friend, a bird-nerd on the level of Chris Bosh, we saw a flicker and a nuthatch. Before the trail goes vertical, there are a couple really wonderful and spacious campsites along the East Fork Foss. If you have children or a bigger group with gourmet aspirations, consider making this your final destination. The trail is easy to follow all the way up to Jade Lake. It was foggy when we got there, but we found a snacking rock that was probably more impressive than the lake itself (at least it appeared so in the fog). I apologize for not documenting the rock, but I am sure that if you walk along along Jade Lake you will be struck by an incredibly inviting and well shaped snacking rock and will find yourself compelled to rest and engage in prandial matters upon it. From Jade Lake, we continued up to Emerald Lake. The trail was still pretty easy to follow, though we went astray a few times. We continued up past Emerald, looking for Locket with the WTA trip description ringing in our ears: "...you will be amply rewarded." At this point, I am convinced we totally lost the trail. Instead of following the trail, we ended up walking along the river and doing some amateur clambering when the bank got steep / overgrown with greenery. This felt a little like the Heat's loss to the Mavs. Was this whole thing a big mistake? But don't be afraid! The going is not too treacherous and we made it safely up to Locket. Up at Locket we encountered our first fellow camper (we had seen 5 people along the trail headed back to the trail head). There were at least 3 solid campsites at Locket. We settled down in the fog and awoke to a crisp blue championship-caliber morning. The sun came out too. Another note: Locket was marshy, but luckily the cold -ish weather seemed to dampen any potential bug problem. Could definitely see it being a problem later in the summer, so don't forget the b-spray. Overall, highly recommend. Cheers.