wander // Big Four Ice Caves

Now…I would exactly say I am having Pacific Northwest withdrawal…but my sister did text me yesterday to say that when they drove past our old apartment, my three years old nephew said, “Mommy let’s go to Masi’s “(What he calls me) house.”

I pretty much burst into tears right then and there. Ask Jason.

I have to remember that living in Washington was a gift. It was just a special time for a special season, and oh yeah…it’s just a plane ride away.

And don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled to be in Chicago. But we don’t have ice caves. Nope. We don’t have those.

Once we found out we were moving, I hit the ground running with the remaining items on my bucket list. Obviously, the Big Four Ice Caves were high up there. And can you believe they were just 2 hours from our place?! That’s just Washington for you though. Endless insane natural beauty, minutes from your door.

The hike to the actual cave was beautiful in and of itself, and just about a 1.5-2 miles long. You can also see them year round, they don’t go away in the summer! Isn’t that wild?

The caves are technically a glacier, if that helps explain the phenomena to anyone into that sort of thing, but it’s just bizarre to me!

Here’s the inside of the cave from the mountain side. Can you see the waterfall barely in the far back there?

So, this whole area is actually a known avalanche zone. It’s still open to the public, which is honestly really surprising to me.  But I’m terribly claustrophic and chickened out on making the 400 yard trek to the waterfall. I used to be deathly afraid of elevators. As a kid, I actually had a friend who lived on like the 12th floor of an apartment building and I’d walk up the whole way every time I went to visit her. I’ve since trained myself to ride elevators, but I still think that the worst way to die would be to drown or be buried alive. And I really didn’t want to be buried alive under a pile of ice shards.

Wow…sorry to get so morbid.

Anyway, I’ve seen photos and the views are way cooler and so much more other worldly from that end. Let me know if you ever make it!