Oh dear, trip number three this year for me up the strenuous big four ice caves trail. This time was the most crowded yet, it being a Saturday afternoon. The trail construction indicated earlier by signs at the base seems to be well under way--it appears that they're trying to make the whole trail wheelchair accessible, though it will still be quite a climb for a wheelchair. Lots of people around and in (!) the caves, I'd of love to have seen the look on people's faces when we heard the loud crack of something collapsing later in the day. (We were out of site of the main area at that time.)

Dry, unobstructed trails with high river views. Main cave was 5 feet tall with a good size stream emerging. Cascading waterfalls aplenty surrounding the glacier. Do not go in the caves! We were ticketed $5 for parking at the trailhead without a Trail Park Pass, but it was worth it.

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.

This is somewhat of an interesting story. Last summer, my dad and I finally found something that we both enjoyed. For most of my life, we hadn't had much in common, but last summer we both fell in love with hiking. At first, he would have to practically drag me up Tiger Mountain. I mostly did it just because he or the Boy Scouts wanted to. Soon though, I began to get in a little better shape, and started enjoying hiking more. I eventually fell in love with it, not just as an activity to do with my dad, but as my favorite passtime. Dad and I started doing more and more hikes together. Our relationship had not been better in years. Then, last August, we decided to go for a real challenge and we did the Enchantment Lakes. My dad is blind in one eye and has next to no depth perception. We knew this was a problem, but it was always Ok in the past as long as he went slow downhill and was very cautious. Unfortunatly, this time, halfway between Lake Vivian and Snow Lake, he picked the wrong place to have his knee give out. He fell foreword and ended up tumbling and falling, bouncing, and falling and tumbling to a stop just feet from Snow Creek which was in a waterfall. I was the only one with him and and I knew it was bad. He was bleeding a lot from his head and he couldn't move his arm enough to even get his backpack off. There was obviously something wrong with his leg. And he wasn't responsive at first. I was the only one with him and we were 8 difficult miles from the trailhead. An amazing set of miricles was what followed. They included a retired phsycotherapist from Holland, a ""ranger lady sent from heaven,"" and an Air Force Helicopter from Spokeane. Nevermind the exact string of events, we got dad and ourselves out before the night. His injuries included a broken hip, shattered shoulder, a punctured lung, and even a broken femur. He wasn't even able to go home until late October. We were afraid he would never hike again, at least not anything like we used to do. I, however began to enjoy hiking more than ever, as is evidenced by my many reports over the last year on this website. As soon as I got my driver's liscence, I began to go hiking just about every weekend, even in winter. It was really great, but I was saddened that I couldn't do it with my father. Over the winter months, dad slowly improved, and continues to improve. He went back to work in November and was back in the Boeing factory by late Winter. He could even walk without his cain by about two months ago. We began to regain hope that he maybe could hike again. We just had to wait for the snow to melt in an area that is worth hiking in. Today, Saturday, May 27 we were both in a good mood in the morning and we decided to try it. I called up the Verlot Ranger Station to see if the Big Four Ice Caves Trail was free of snow yet (I went about half way up the trail in December and was astounded at the beauty despite the low elevation). They said it was snowfree so we decided to drive up there and check it out. It's really a pretty drive this time of year. Everything is just so green, it's incredible. We got to the trailhead and there wasn't any snow so we decided to start walking. The trail starts off on a recently constructed boardwalk and paved area that didn't really give dad the authentic trail experience that he wanted. Soon, though, it turns into true trail with roots, rocks, and mud to deal with. The first tiny patches of snow were encountered just after the large bridge over the Stilliguamish River. We had no problem with this snow. The trail then gains some elevation, but it is delightfully over-engineered so we didn't have any problem. There were a couple large patches of snow just before the ice caves basin that dad had to go very slow over due to his leg injuries and lack of an eye. We made it into the basin and sat down on some rocks and had a coke. I think it was then that we realized what we were doing. Dad hadn't been on a hike in nine months, in which he had felt like something less than a human being. This was very very symbolic for him, and was a great experience. I believe we both teared up a little bit. We didn't feel like we could stay long because the clouds seemed to be getting thicker (We never could quite see the top of Big Four Mountain. Almost...). So we started down. We actually made pretty good time and felt very good about what we had done when we got down just as it started to rain, and then pour. It was an incredible moment. We got in the car and started home. We stopped at McDonalds in Clearview and stuffed ourselves full of terribly fattening food, a simple joy we had not experienced with each other after a hike since sometime early last August. Everything about this day seemed to be really symbolic, even this visit to McDonalds. I just realized that today is within two days of the one year anniversary of the first time we climbed Mt. Si together. This was the first time I had climbed a mountain that was really long and difficult. Before that, dad had dragged me up mountains. That day we were equal. The next time we went to Mt. Si, in August, I had surpassed him in strength. This day two years ago was a triumph of a different kind. Dad is still making leaps and bounds in his recovery from his injuries, this is just one chapter. We are still hoping beyond hope that we will be able to do more difficult hikes together camping out. Maybe not this summer, but someday this will happen. I am confident of that now. Note: this trail will be really easy for most people and can be enjoyed by the entire family, just know that the ice caves basin where we were can still be dangerous at this time of year. There is still plenty of snow to come sliding off the mountain, and especially on a warm day, I wouldn't go anywhere near the pile of snow (glacier') or anywhere that looks like it does see avalanches. The ice caves have not formed yet, that doesn't usually happen till July, but when they do form, don't go in them! People have died recently from caves collapsing on them.

Drove on Mt. Loop Hwy (530) to where road ends 12 miles past Verlot ranger station. Greeted by Snohomish Co. Sheriff truck and Search & Rescue vehicles unloading snomobiles-- always a good omen('). They headed up the road to parts unknown, while I walked two miles to the Big Four picnic area and the Ice Caves trailhead. Took a path that ran straight across a meadow towards Big Four Mtn looming above. The snow was hard and crusty enough to walk on for the next 1/2 mi. or so until after you crossed the South Fork Stillaguamish River bridge, where I donned snowshoes for the 1/2 mi or so gradual climb up to signs warning you not to proceed further due to extreme avalanche danger. The wide open area at the base of Big Four Mtn. is tempting to explore but I heeded the signs and had some lunch instead while it started to snow moderately. A couple of small slides way up the mtn's face entertained me while eating. The sheer face of rock just towers above you from this spot. Returned to car at 3:45p after starting at 11am, frequented by photo ops. Saw one party of 4 youths, 2 xc skiers on road, 2 snowmobilers all day-- very peaceable outing. Great winter hike, especially during the week.