Big Four Ice Caves, Big Four Ice Caves Snowshoe — Friday, Dec. 3, 1999

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

If you plan your hikes based on a ""breath-taking scenes per mile"" ratio, and don't want to hike to far, this trail is for you. The trail is only one mile long, the elevation gain a paltry 250 feet, but the end is magnificent; a firm snow field, ice caves, and the towering walls of Big Four. There are a few drawbacks: 1) There are a couple of mud-holes on the trail; my definition of a mud-hole being ""any area of mud in which your shoes/boots had best be tied tightly, or they're staying behind"" 2) The parking lot is very slippery 3) There is a boardwalk leading from the ""Big Four Ice Caves"" trailhead to the junction with the ""Big Four Picnic Area"" trail; this boardwalk is slicker than a televangelist. Although there are signs that advise parking at the picnic area, and although the Ice Caves Trailhead parking area is closed, like a fool I parked at the gate. My advice - PARK AT THE PICNIC AREA, TAKE THE TRAIL FROM THERE. The trails are apparantly roughly the same distance from the junction. 4) The trail is just too darned short for me. But it was perfect for the kids! 5) The Ice Caves are at the bottom of an avalanche chute; probably not the safest place to spend an afternoon. And a special note for those with insufficient will-power; don't go! The caves whisper their siren-song, beconing all comers to explore their icy interior. Too dangerous say all the Forest Service signs. The Perks: 1) With the exception of the icy boardwalk,two icy bridges (the bridges have hand rails), and two areas with mud-holes, the trail is in good shape. There is snow near the end, but it is not slick, well compacted, and the trail is well defined. 2) The trail progressively improves; first a short walk through forest, then the bridges over the South Fork Stillaguamish and an unnamed creek that drains from the snow field. About two-thirds of the way up, the trail re-crosses the unnamed creek at a point where it cascades from a narrow moss-laden chanel. Finally, of course, the entry to the snow-field; the Ice Caves are dwarfed by the walls of Big Four and Hall Peak. Prepare to spend five or ten awe struck minutes beneath these walls. The weather on this day was ideal, sunny and ""warm"" for this time of year.