After the first half-mile, French Cabin Creek trail is covered with snow. I'd advise waiting until August to try this hike, unless you like routefinding. Although there are a few clearings where the sun has melted out the snow, the great majority of this trail is through forest, where the snow is deep - anywhere from two to five feet deep.
I did my best to follow the existing boot-tracks through the snow, but still managed to take a number of wrong turns, and then have to retrace my steps to try and find my way up. I've never hiked this trail before, but it appears to me that with the proper (summertime) trail hidden by snow, a more direct route uphill has been adopted. By keeping French Creek within earshot as I kick-stepped my way up the hill, I finally managed to make it up to the clear cut (approx 1.3 mi from the TH).
More through luck than skill I stumbled across the actual trail; but after the intersection with the Thorp Mtn / Kachess Ridge trail, the snow once again covered everything up and I was unable to find any reliable boot tracks to follow. After the second time I postholed thigh-deep into a freezing rivulet, I gave up and headed back.
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