East Fork Foss - Necklace Valley, La Bohn Gap, Chain and Doelle Lakes, Williams Lake, Dutch Miller Gap, Red Pass & Red Mountain (Commonwealth Basin) — Saturday, Jun. 29, 2019

Completed the La Bohn Traverse yesterday, June 29th.

Stats:

Mileage: 29.8 miles

Elevation gain: 10,042 ft

Start time: 7:45 AM

End time: 7:17 PM

Total time: 11 hr 32 min

Trip report:

Somehow I was able to convince my parents to take a little road trip that involved dropping us off at the Necklace Valley trailhead and picking us up at Snoqualmie Pass. So thankful they did that for us! We arrived at the Necklace Valley trailhead and started our journey at 7:45 AM. The bathroom at the trailhead is closed FYI.

The first 5 miles are a nice little warm up with rolling hills along the East Fork Foss River. Beware of the stinging nettles about 4 miles in. They weren't the worst thing I've experienced, but definitely not pleasant. The trail is in good condition, but a tiny bit overgrown so my shorts and socks were soaked from the dew on the plants. Once you cross the East Fork Foss River over a footbridge, the climbing begins.

The climb up to Jade Lake is pretty consistent and my legs were definitely feeling it from the long runs I've been doing every weekend for the past few months. We continued past Jade, Emerald, and Opal Lakes and got our first glimpse of La Bohn Gap. Wasn't too stoked to see that there was still a decent amount of snow (we were expecting this, but just hoping it would be more melted out) and that it looked pretty steep.

We got to the bottom of the gap and started to head up the boulder field until we were forced to start hiking on the snow. We slid on our microspikes and began the ascent. Austin and Leo went up first and I followed. Part way up the gap, my foot slipped and I started sliding down the snow field and was trying to dig my hands and feet in, but it was just too steep and I was going too fast. I flipped around so I was sliding on my butt and saw the boulders below, just hoping I could stop myself before I crashed into them and broke both my legs. I dug my heels in as hard as I could and thankfully stopped myself about 20 feet above the boulders. I ended up sliding about 50 feet and at the end of the day, my watch told me my max speed was 25 mile per hour. It was really scary, but I knew I had to get over the gap because there would be no way for us to get home if we went back to the Necklace Valley trailhead. So I made sure to kick steps in and really take my time. We decided to go on the snow as little as possible and take advantage of the exposed boulder fields. Finally made our way to the top and were greeted with the most amazing alpine views.

Apparently there is a climbers trail to the left of the actual gap that ascends next to a waterfall and is almost completely snow free. We did not know about this, but I would highly suggest going this way as it seems much safer.

We descended from the gap and made our way through Chain Lakes. Still plenty of snow here, but easy to navigate and we had no issues with post holing. Snow stops after you get through Chain Lakes and start descending to Williams Lake. The boulder field here is tedious and takes quite a bit of time to get through. Once we hit Williams Lake, we were able to start running again which felt really good. I accidentally slipped on a log crossing a stream outlet from Williams Lake and fully submerged in the stream. Thankfully my phone is fine (so far), but my snacks did get a little wet. It actually felt really good and wasn't too cold!

It's easy cruising down the Dutch Miller Gap trail all the way to Goldmyer Hot Spring, minus a couple sections that are overgrown which makes it hard to run because you can't see where you're stepping.

After we got to Goldmyer, we began our ascent up to Red Pass. Although La Bohn Gap was the most mentally exhausting part of the traverse, the climb up to Red Pass is the most physically exhausting. Lots of blow downs on the trail and it feels like the climbing will never stop. We finally made it to right below Red Pass where there is still come lingering snow. After my fall at La Bohn Gap, I was not happy to see the little bit of snow lingering here. Thankfully, we were able to go to the left of the snow field and do some scrambling on the rocks and make it to the top without having to deal with the snow.

Once we topped out at Red Pass, we made our descent to Snoqualmie Pass. You will come to a trail junction part way down where you have the option to go left to get on the PCT, but make sure to stay right where there is a sign that says "abandoned" to stay on the Commonwealth Basin trail. I should've taken a photo but I was tired and really wanted to beat the FKT of 11:34.

I ended up finishing in 11 hours and 32 minutes, Austin and Leo in 11 hours and 26 minutes. This traverse was amazing, beautiful, brutal, exhausting, and so much fun.

A few things to note: the mosquitoes are out and ready to feast. I have a few bites but nothing too crazy, I think mainly because we kept moving most of the day. Also, water sources are abundant over the whole traverse so that was never an issue.