Frenchman Coulee

We went to the coulee Saturday to (like most people) go rock climbing but its a worthy hiking destination as well in my opinion. We actually did do some wandering after we got tired of climbing. It was sunny all day with only a few clouds rolling in here and there. Got to a comfortable climbing/hiking temp but never too hot. I had some friends camp there and they said the wind kept them up all night and they could not get away without staking their tents. I arived Sat morning at about 8:00 Am Sat morning and the parking lot/ camping area was pretty full with climbers who had camped to get an early start. We climbed without much trouble from the crowds though as the coulee is very spread out, and as most of the crowd are there to climb, the hikers can avoid a crowd pretty easily. A good walk would be across the platau between echo basin and frenchman coulee and then back around the far end. Take you time though cause its not very long and there is a lot to see in the desert if you are observant. We saw a couple different types of rodents (maybe marmots?)scurrying and crawling in the scree piles. Desert flowers are also in bloom. You can also watch climbers do their thing. The Desert is a good option for those of us getting impatient with the stubborn mountain snow.