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Necklace Valley and Tank Lakes

August 12-14, 2007. Weekend backpack with Sergiu and Michael starting Friday evening. Our original plan was to make camp at Tank Lakes the second night. Then we changed it to head to the La Bohn Gap based on the advice of another hiker ("most gorgeous location in the world" or some such hyperbole). At one point I even flirted with the idea of climbing Hinman, but we wouldn't have had nearly enough time. In any case, this summer's weather reared its ugly head again so we settled for a quick peek at the Tanks (easier than La Bohn, despite the lack of a trail) and then headed back down to camp at Emerald Lake which, unlike anything above 5700 ft., wasn't going to be socked in for the night. Nonetheless, we got some good fishing (and eating :) in, and had an interesting encounter with a "youth group" doing work on the trail. Of all the Necklace Valley lakes, Ilswoot is probably the prettiest. (~17 miles round trip, ~4200 ft. gain)

Necklace Valley Trail

Camp I: Quiet spot at around the 5 mile point, just before the steep 2 mile, 2500 ft. climb to the valley.

Mushrooms: Tons of mushrooms on the trail. Sergiu claimed to be an expert and I guess his knowledge checked out since we ate some and had no ill effects. ;) These however, are poisonous. (1) Gigantic ones that were quite yummy. (2) See how big they are? (3) Another. (4) Another. (5) And a random marmot. :)

Necklace Valley

Lakes: A fine set of alpine lakes here, full of trout. Here is Jade Lake. (1) Sergiu, catching dinner. (2) Emerald Lake. (3) Ilswoot Lake. (4) Ilswoot again.

Camp II: The second day we pitched camp on the East side of Emerald Lake, where we were surrounded by beargrass. We tried setting up at Ilswoot first, but were swarmed by mosquitoes. (1) Emerald Lake Panorama I. (2) Emerald Lake Panorama II.

Tank Lakes

Lower Tank Lake: I think the typical route is to follow a meadow up here but we followed the creek instead. Of course, just as we reached the lakes, the clouds rolled in. (1) Vertical drop off below the Hinman Glacier on the way to the lakes. (2) Sergiu at the lake. (3) Me too.

View: Chimney Rock, Overcoat Peak, and others under clouds. (1) The area around the Tanks is slabby. (2) Zoomed In. (3) A valley in the distance.

Fishing

Ilswoot Lake: The third day was cold and completely overcast, but Sergiu caught lunch before we started heading back. (1) Another spot on Ilswoot. (2) Sergiu and Michael. (3) And the turquoise lake.

Food: One of three. (2) Breakfast. (3) Lunch. (4) Dinner the previous night.

Misc.: Flowers by Emerald Lake. (1) Beargrass around the camp site. (2) Huge fallen tree on the way back. (3) Big enough to go inside.

Last modified: Sat Oct 27 19:40:57 CDT 2007