East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Monday, Feb. 4, 2002

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

This is a nice, easy hike along the East Fork Foss River. The first two miles are on the road leading to the summer trailhead. The road is open to motorized traffic, but on a nice Tuesday there was nobody except two cross-country skiers. No snowshoes are necessary, as I made out just fine with cleats. Good hiking boots would also have sufficed. What a change when entering the actual trail portion! It was like a tunnel into the forest primeval. There were lots of trees down, the trail is rather primitve, and there were plenty of big trees. I felt like Lewis, and I think my dog Daisy felt like Clark. We only went about three of the five miles of trail until you would then have to climb up the avalanche chute to the Necklace valley. There are lots of side trails and such off to the river on your right. This would be a great rainy-day hike, or anytime you wanted to see some good old-growth without doing a lot of vertical feet.