Frenchman Coulee — Friday, Apr. 12, 2013

Central Washington > Potholes Region

Faced with the snow-clogged trails in the Cascades I decided to try one of WTA's "Hikes of the Week", Frenchman Coulee located just across the Columbia River. After leaving I-90 I turned off onto Vantage Road for the short but spectacular drive down the rim of the coulee to the tiny parking spot at the trailhead; there's only room for three cars there, but you can park on the side of the seldom-travelled roadway. The enormous coulee looks rather stark at first glance, especially on a cloudy day. And the wind was howling at the TH, but died down to almost nothing as I hiked up the trail. As I headed up the trail (actually an old dirt road) toward the big waterfall at the head of the coulee, I began to see lots of wildflowers in bloom. You might not notice them at first as they are small relative to the sagebrush that covers the area. Most would be unfamiliar to those used to hiking the wildflower meadows of the mountains, and some are very small; small, yes, but making up for diminutive size with sheer abundance. Yellow Bells, one of the few species I recognized, are reaching the end of their bloom cycle. But I saw many others that are yet to flower, so the next month or so should be good for wildflower lovers; I recognized some Zigadenus (now Toxicoscordion) species, unidentifiable until they bloom. For a more interesting hike, I highly recommend wandering off-trail; the most interesting things I saw were during bushwhacking forays, and the open shrub-steppe makes it easy going. And it's pretty much impossible to get lost here if you have eyes. Unfortunately, the other thing that "grows" in the coulee is garbage. Apparently it's considered great fun to chuck unwanted debris off the roadway far above and watch it crash through this delicate ecosystem. The favorite junk item is tires, and many of these hit the bottom and roll quite a ways into the coulee. I didn't encounter any other hikers the whole day, so you won't be crowded here! All in all, though, it was an enjoyable hike and an interesting change from mountain scenery. But if you go, do it during spring as it looks like it will be baking hot during the summer, and there is no shade whatsoever. BTW, I noticed that some trip reports actually refer to the smaller unnamed coulee on the other side of the road, the one with the big sand dunes, and surely an interesting hike in its own right. According to the USGS topo map (Evergreen Ridge quadrangle), the real Frenchman Coulee is on the same side of the road as the tiny parking area.