East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley — Friday, Jan. 17, 2003

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West

I managed to get my Subaru wagon up to the Tonga Ridge road junction, and probably could have driven farther, but why risk getting stuck to save a half of a mile? The snow ended soon after the summer trailhead was reached, and stayed snow-free for almost 2 miles. The snow kicked in again around the wilderness boundary. It was 6 inches deep at it's maximum. At about 3 to 3 1/2 miles from the car was a beautiful swampy, grassy meadow leading down towards the river. Only two other people were seen, and I was there all day. This is a much better winter hike when you don't have to walk almost two miles just to get to the trailhead. I started at 10 am and finished up at 4 pm, 6 hours to go 7 miles with a little bit of off-trail exploration thrown in also.