Activity Day Camp or the Ice Caves, which would you choose

Last Saturday was our hottest day in the area for the last two years.  Instead of relaxing and enjoying the beautiful day, Elizabeth, Anastaya and I were stuck all day at Stake Activity Girl Days camp for the girls 8-11.  Details here.

Dode decided that my obligation to the camp didn't mean he couldn't have a fun day.  He dropped the girls and I off at Cascade Park where the camp was held and headed off to the mountains.  The Colburn boys had a mother who had the same obligation to camp as me so they went along with for the fun.

the snow field at the base of Big Four Mountain

They headed to the Big Four ice caves above Verlot.  It is the most hiked trail in Snohomish County.  The one mile trail takes you to the North face of Big Four mountain.  Avalanches send snow crashing to the base of rock cliffs all winter long.  The mountain shadow protects the snow from melting away and it compacts down into an ice field.  Over time, waterfalls coming off the face of the mountain trickle under the ice and cause ice caves to open up.  There is minimal elevation gain on the trail so Miriam and William had no problem making it to the caves.

trailhead of the hike

It is a flat hike all the way to the base of the mountain where the ice fields are.

They are standing in the grass where the historic Big Four Inn burned down years ago.

The first part of the hike is through a wetland on boardwalks

our group arrives at the snow

in front of one of the caves

inside an ice cave

the mist coming through the caves makes it hard to get a clean photo

As they were getting ready to go in the morning, I'd encouraged Dode to pack some plastic garbage bags to use as sleds.  When Miriam saw how it worked, she was so impressed with the "sleds.  She couldn't wait to tell me about what her dad had thought up when they got back.  I didn't let her know whose idea it had originally been.   When Miriam and William were done sledding, Dode donated the bags to some boys who'd been unsuccessfully trying to sled down on their bottoms.  The teenagers did some sledding and then decided it was time for some manly competition.

They took off their shirts and stood in the mouth of an ice cave.  A very cold breeze was coming through the cave filled with icy cold water droplets.  The goal of the competition was to see who could last the longest in front of the cave.  Nathan and Isaac called it a draw.

On the hike back to the car they stopped to cool off in the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River.  The girls and I would have loved to do something so refreshing.  We were baked when they got back to us!