East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Saturday, May. 13, 2017

The trail itself was in very good condition (especially this early in the season) with a few minor blowdowns and some mud patches. There are some pretty primitive and magical log bridge river crossings on this trail and the spring melt had the rivers raging. As the description mentions, the trail stays flat and accessible for the first few miles until you finally cross the East Fork Foss River via a log bridge with a handrail, at which point it veers to the right across another log bridge and then begins the ascent to Jade Lake. We got a late start and the weather was menacing all day so we turned around here. The area was heavily logged nearly 100 years ago and if you know what to look for, the signs are everywhere. Massive old growth stumps, chopped clean off at the top, litter the trailside and you can even see axe marks in the bark from where they started to cut them. The final campsite just before East Fork has some rusting old logging gear too, adding a sense of history to an already beautiful area. The trail was exploding with Trillium and though we didn't see much wildlife, we heard plenty of beautiful birds in the canopy. At about the 2 mile mark, towering granite walls rise up on your left and you realize just how small you really are.