Big Four Ice Caves — Friday, Jul. 5, 2024

My kids and I hiked here about a month ago, and no caves had yet emerged from the snow piles below Big Four Mountain, but what a difference a few weeks makes! There are a couple small caves opening on the pile you first encounter at the end of the trail. These caves are maybe 2-3 feet in diameter, but it was cool to see what looked like fog coming out of the caves: I assume it was just super chilled air interacting with the warmer air.

To get to the bigger caves, you have to hike to the right (west of end of trail) up maybe 100 verticle feet to the somewhat smaller snow patch. The biggest cave is at least 10-12 feet at the entrance, and gets smaller as it nears the cliff face. We heeded the MANY warning signs along the trail telling of the dangers of going inside the caves and only ventured just outside the cave. If you go toward the back of the cave near the giant waterfall, you can get a good view of the inside.

I was surprised about the rocks we encountered: Big Four Mountain appears to be comprised of conglomerate rock, which is sedimentary. I thought the Cascades in Washington are comprised of igneous rocks like andesite and granite. I also know that much of the North Cascades are metamorphic, but didn't know about the sedimentary rocks.

Wild flowers are blooming near the caves; we sampled several samonberries and wild blueberries or possibly huckleberries.