Big Four Ice Caves #723

Drove up towards Barlow Pass in search of the sun (clearly the grey skies have clouded my mind). Didn't find it, and the ice caves beckoned (come hither, where all is white...). Started out around 6PM from the basically empty picnic lot in the drizzle, encountered two other returning parties on the way up the wet but otherwise fine trail. Remarkably, on entering the basin, the rain stopped. What a spectacular site. Not much snow compared to last December, and no avalanches seen (may have heard one on the way up). There are ice caves a small child might be able to fit in if they ignored the forest service sign placed right at the snow's edge. Lots of waterfalls, birds, flowers. I counted at least 10 flower species, including lupine, bleeding heart, and some berries. After sitting for about half an hour, it started to drizzle again, and I returned to the road, itself lined with flowers, most notably foxglove.