East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Friday, Jul. 7, 2023

I visited the WTA trail crew staying at 5-Mile Camp on Friday.  They are wrapping up their week on the trail up to Jade Lake and beyond.  The good news is that the saw teams have removed most of the larger trees crossing the trail from 4 miles from the trailhead up beyond Jade Lake.  Since this is in a wilderness area, it was all sweat and hard work with crosscut saws, wedges, and axes.   Consider joining a WTA work party in the future.   No experience necessary.   

The roads are in good condition on the way into the trailhead.  You start with paved road the first couple miles.  The second section is a county gravel road with minor washboard bumps along the way.  At about 35mph, the vibration is like a good massage chair.  The last few miles are on much narrower forest roads (after going under train trestle).   Watch out for potholes.   There are a few larger ones along the way.    All vehicles should be ok.    About 10 cars in the lot at 10:00am and completely full when I returned at 3:00 pm.   

The trail is in great shape up to 5-mile camp.   There are a couple of easy step over trees on the ground, but the saw crews may remove more on their way out on Saturday.    I actually found some early huckleberries off the trail on my way back.   Keep looking as more should be in soon.  A real treat if you are camping.