East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley, Tank Lakes & Taylor River - Otter Falls — Thursday, Jul. 5, 2001

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

We looked for a one overnight trip in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness that would provide adventure and views without the crowds. We planned on first making it to the Necklace Valley and then deciding on whether to continue to the Tank Lakes. We left the parking lot, 1600 feet elevation, at around 10:45. The first 5 miles, relatively flat, were pain free with a couple logs over the trail that were easily passable. After a lunch break, we began the grueling 3 mile ascent to the Necklace Valley. The way was steep and a little rocky, but our swift pace made the going tougher. By 3 p.m. we reached the first of the lakes, Jade Lake, a spectacular sub alpine lake at about 4,700 feet. All the lakes and surrounding area were snow free. Continuing past Emerald Lake, we took a break near a cascading stream. From this area, an alpine high route outlined in Beckey's guide climbs up through the sub alpine forest and rock terraces to the Tank Lakes plateau. Descriptions of a “unique alpine tableland” with “ice-polished granite” and “scattered evergreens” motivated us to continue. We found a faint trail, but it ended within 100 meters. Compass and map came out and a cross country adventure began. In this portion, the mosquitoes were in a frenzy. We hurried to the snowfields above reaching the half-frozen Foehn Lake (5,600+) where the mosquitoes were nowhere to be seen. After a magnificent walk across the plateau, we reached Tank Lakes (5,800) at little over 5 p.m. The higher lake was still about half frozen and the lower lake was ice free. The descriptions of the tableland were accurate. Setting up camp on a grassy knoll between the two lakes, we enjoyed a commanding view of Chimney Rock and Summit Chief mountain. The calm, mosquito-free conditions prevailed throughout the evening. After a beautiful sunset and wonderful weather in the morning we decided to climb higher to Otter Point (6,350) which is described as a “stroll”. In actuality the ridge is very long, involved some precarious boulder crossings with exposure on both sides, and potentially dangerous snow patches. After gaining the ridge at about 6,100 we decided not to waste the time (possibly 2 hours) to gain a little more elevation. We enjoyed views of Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak, Mt. Hinman, the Olympic mountains, Mt. Rainier poking out from behind Chimney Rock, and host of other mountains. We began our descent at about 11:00. A quick glissade and jog through heather meadows brought us back to the trail in 25 minutes. Continuing down, we reached the West Fork Foss River for lunch at 1:00 and the parking lot at 3:15.