We combined this short afternoon hike with lunch at the picnic area, and a morning hike to Boardman Lake, to round out our "day out" on the mountain loop to enjoy the fall colors.  They have reopened/rebuilt the out houses at both the picnic area and the main trail head parking lot, so that's good news.

Lunch in the sun was hot on this last warm day of the year.  There were minimal views of Big Four from our picnic table due to the haze and low angle of the sun.  You have to hike in the cave basin for those.  I was amazed just how hot it was as we hiked the board walk across the marsh, and then how much it cooled off as we crossed the river and ascended in the shade of the forest.  The ice caves are always stunning even this late in the season, but we were there to admire the falls colors against the face of Big Four.  It really is a fabulous place, very much worthy of being in a national park.  Being good citizens we stuck to the formal trail and ended our viewing at the little platform on the ridge.  Most other people approached the caves although I don't think anyone entered as large blocks of ice have fallen and obscured the mouth.  When you look at pictures you can see how there are "crevasses" in the ice and how if/when that ice comes down it will fall right on the people admiring the caves up close!

The colors of the cave basin are a study in tawny browns and red russets.  Up higher on the flanks the sun was firing up the reds and golds.  It is the most impressive place.  If you want to explore the basin there is a boot trail that takes off from the viewing area and makes it way to the western side of the basin behind the knoll there.  Not for us today but in the spring there are waterfalls back there to discover.  We returned to the picnic area making a little loop by taking a right at the Y to the main trail head then the short connector back to our car.  Views on the return up the Perry Creek valley to the north were bathed in a golden glow, making me wish we had time to add that hike as well.

I took my mom for a little 79th birthday hike today. Lots of families on the trail. There are now new vault toilets in both the picnic area and main parking lot. They also have drop boxes in both parking lots if you forgot your America the Beautiful or NW Forest pass.
Pretty smoky today.

Absolutely beautiful walk. Ice caves were awesome, wish we could have gone inside! 

Well-maintained trail, lots of parking, awesome scenery!

Despite what seemed like throngs of people, the parking lot was less than a quarter full, on a Saturday just after noon. The ice caves are cool but hoo boy, I was not prepared for just how many people gamble with their lives. I get that the odds of fatality are pretty low on any given day, but it has still happened, and there is a perfectly safe option: just stay on the trail. But when I was there, only two parties remained on the trail with me: a grandpa who was uncomfortable with the climb down from the ridge, and a young couple with a baby in a stroller. There had to have been close to a hundred people who ignored the warnings just while I was there. I get it: the caves look cool, and honestly the ridgetop trail is pretty far from the caves, and everyone else is doing it. But the complete lack of caution just gave me such a bad vibe.

The trail itself is in fantastic shape, wide, and well-maintained. The bridges are sturdy and the whole trail is an easy walk. No balancing on log crossings or steep rooty sections.

No wildflowers or berries now, but there were a few frogs making a racket down by the river. The fall foliage is just getting into gear on the upper slopes.