Tank Lakes, East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Saturday, Jul. 30, 2022

Trailhead was mostly full when we arrived around noon, probably should’ve started earlier given how hot it was though. There was broken glass at the trailhead so keep valuables out of your car. The first five miles along the river are pretty much flat and shady; couple good camping/lunch spots by the river as you go and the bugs weren’t too bad. Once you leave the forest and start climbing it gets hotter, steeper, rockier, and waay buggier. The river crossings are all pretty straightforward, doable without poles. The first few miles to Jade Lake have some pretty exposed and overgrown sections that are a pain especially when it’s hot out. It climbs pretty relentlessly up to the lake and there are a few blowdowns that took some effort to climb over. The bugs were definitely worse but still not as bad as it gets up top. Ranger had left a report noting bears (including mom and cub) on the trail and I ended up seeing a bear cub maybe six feet in front me on the trail about half a mile from Jade Lake. Bring a bear bag if you’re camping at Jade. It was buggy at the lake and saw a few campers but we kept going up. It levels out a bit past Jade and after Emerald route finding becomes tricky as there are multiple “routes” up to Tank. The rock field before Tank Lakes which you climb up is steep but navigation is really difficult given half the cairns aren’t placed on the actual trail so have maps downloaded. Bugs were horrendous on the ridge and wouldn’t let up all the way to Tank. Some snow patches but all on flat ground so easy to navigate. Tank Lakes were stunning, views were amazing but the bugs were something else. Get a mosquito head net if you don’t have one because they would swarm so badly in the evenings and morning. Couple of people camping and most camp sites were melted out with a little snow on the lakes still. It was otherworldly up there, totally worth the effort. Left the next morning around 8:30 AM and arrived at the parking lot around 2:30 PM. Took us about 7 hours to get up.