Today we decided to take advantage of the lack of rain, and enjoy what might be our last hike of the season. The way the wind has started to howl around our apartment makes us feel like fall is definitely here and winter isn't far behind it.
So, we headed off to visit a place that we had read about and had wanted to visit for a while, the Big Four Ice Caves. These are caves left in glacial-like snow drifts created when snow falls off of some really big cliffs and down into this valley. The trek was a short 2 mile round trip, so it wasn't difficult to get to at all. The only sticky point was a missing bridge at one point. Fortunately, Ian and I had brought our sandals so we just rolled up our pants and dipped our footsies in the stream of glacial run-off, brrrrr!
Once we arrived at the caves it was definitely worth our chilled toes. The black craggy cliffs towered above us with waterfalls trickling down. The caves were at the bottom of the cliffs and were at their smallest because there hasn't been any snowfall since April. We didn't get too close because we really didn't feel like having a cave fall on us, but we still saw some beautiful sights. With the carved mountain faces, toppled trees, and sheer amount of snow left at this point in the year we could see how dangerous the snow could be during the middle of winter up there!
Rip definitely enjoyed the hike, except for when mom wouldn't let him get in the stream. However, Evan was dressed in his woolies and burrowed into daddy's jacket, so I'm afraid he slept through the whole excursion. Oh well, hopefully, he'll be more alert and ready to enjoy hikes when the weather turns nice again in the spring.
(Me getting ready to stick my feet in the chilly water)
(a view of some of the cliffs and waterfalls through some avalanche-felled trees)
(a view of the cliffs and snow drifts with a tiny me in the foreground)
(close up of a waterfall)
(view of the caves at the bottom of one of the drifts)
(Evan snug in his sweater, hat, and booties after he slept through the hike)
2 comments:
The scenery here looks amazing! You guys are really dedicated to get out and hike, even fording the stream. You are a credit to our pioneer ancestors! Ha. I enjoyed the photo of "smiley" too. Love, Mommie Dearest
I can't believe you guys are wearing parkas and we're wearing tank tops and shorts!
Cool hiking pics. Good to talk to you lasts night :-)
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