East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

Decided to take a day hike up the Necklace Valley and see how far up I could get before turning around. Starting at 6:15 am I began my trek up the East Fork Foss trail. The first 5 miles you gain 600 feet and it went by in about an hour and a half. You cross the river and head up stream a little to the left. This is where the fun begins. You gain 2400 ft in the next 3 miles or so climbing pretty steep in sections. After about a mile it levels out a little before climbing again up to Jade Lake. It to me about 3 hours to get here from the TH. It's swimmable if you're okay with pretty cold water. There is one medium sized blow down when hiking along the lake. After the lake you have to climb up the large rocks and onto Emerald Lake. Pushing onto Opal Lake, or so I had hoped, this is where the trails get confusing. The reason being, there isn't just one trail. There is a whole network of trails going I multiple directions. Knowing Opal lied straight ahead I made my way in that direction. Not finding Opal, and using directions from other hikers I started to make my way in the direction of Tank Lake. Lets get one thing straight, the trail to Tank isn't a trail. Its more like a scramble where you go 30 feet and look for the next Cairn. You need to head to the right and head up, following the creek most the way before popping over a ridge. I don't believe I made it to Tank Lake but a little tarn just before it. I braked for lunch enjoying views of La Bohn Peak, Glacier Peak, and Sloan Peak before heading back down. Stopped at Jade to take a dip and soak sore feet before heading back down the valley. The quick easy flat 5 miles that you started your hike with becomes a curse on your way back dragging on and on. Total mileage was around 19 miles with about 4000 ft of gain