East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Thursday, Jun. 4, 2015

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

Took advantage of our early summer to hike into the Necklace Valley. Trail is "as good as it gets" in terms of conditions with just a few blowdowns. From the river crossing up to the lakes, it's a rough trail in the best of times, so take that into consideration. There is one large tree blocking the trail near Opal lake, near the official terminus of the trail, and when I skirted the broken stump there was a strong skunk smell ... so there might be a den. Be aware. Camped one night in the upper valley. I picked up a surprising amount of garbage near the camp site - candy wrappers, freeze dried food packages, etc. Thought we were done doing that to the backcountry. Disappointing. Day hiked up to La Bohn Gap. Lots of snow there, but none below. Nice views. Mobbed by bugs when I returned to camp in the warm afternoon, so cleared out. In my hurry I left a Black Diamond ice axe standing next to a small boulder, at the obvious camp to the West of the climber's trail about 1/4 mile below the base of the scree slopes at the head of the valley. If anyone finds it, and has the heart to carry it out, I'd be most grateful.