Frenchman Coulee — Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023

Ethan, Karen, & I took a hike at Frenchman Coulee on this cloudy, cool day.  We started at the trailhead at the bottom of the hill.  There are no facilities here, but there are a couple of good outhouses with toilet paper up the road a little ways at the climbers trailhead/camp.  We followed the old 2-track up the south side of the coulee to the waterfall, admiring the cliffs as we went.  From the waterfall we walked down the north side of the coulee for about 1/2 mile and found some rocks to sit against for lunch.  It was mild enough by now that we spent close to an hour, but then the clouds got thicker and it cooled down, so we continued down the coulee and back to the car.  The cliffs on this side are probably even more impressive than those on the south side.  We didn't see any wildlife except for a few crows, rock doves, and a number of flights of geese.  Except for a couple riding fat-tire bikes, we had the place to ourselves.