Nice hike

We hiked from the trailhead past "The Feathers" over to the rim of Echo Basin. The hike was about 1 mile each way but didn't have a very well defined path past the gulch on the other side of the trailhead. It was quite windy but the views were fantastic! Route finding was also interesting since the trail does cut out pretty much once you get veer off the "road" in the gulch. 

Frenchman’s is a place where I used to climb regularly back in the 90s. I was happy to visit on a week day when there were few climbers. They were all pleasant and friendly, but without any crowds or noise it was easier to experience what nature held for us.

Our hike started near the Feathers climbing area. Across the top of the cliff bands we walked westward towards the Columbia. We looped back following climber’s trails between the steep cliffs and the talus slopes below. If you recreate this loop, the end which takes you up to the top can be hard to find. The trail just disappears into the cliff. Ask a climber we’re the trail is and they will point it out. 

Rest day for climbing, so I headed down to the waterfall to scope the surrounding cliffs for potential future climbing. Lovely day, a little overcast, and no one else in the coulee... Snow is long gone anywhere here and things are just starting to get green. Awesome place to explore as well.

Ethan & I headed over to Frenchman Coulee on this cool, sunny day.  We were surprised to find an inch of snow on much of the ground except for the south facing slopes and cliffs.  Where the road into the coulee was in the shade there was compact snow, but any car could pass it with careful driving.  As it's warming up, it will probably be gone in a day or so.  We climbed up the nose of the Frenchman Coulee Rib and walked the rib above Echo Basin.  A little ways past the slot going down to the base of Sunshine Wall (also known as the Near Trail Cave), we found a nice place to sit against some rocks for lunch with a view out over Echo Basin.  It was warm in the sun and we lingered our usual hour or so.  Afterwards we decided to make a loop of it and go down the slot and back to the car along the bottom of the coulee.  The slot is quite narrow, especially with packs, and there is a 10' down-climb at the bottom that was interesting, but we made it just fine.  Once on the bench at the base of Sunshine Wall, a climber suggested that we follow the climber's trail along the bench as it would take us all the way to the nose of the rib.  Neither of us had walked this trail before, and walking along at the very base of the columns was quite dramatic.  Up close and personal, the columns are very impressive.  This is not a trail for the faint-hearted, however, for in places it is narrow and quite precipitous.  Poles are also helpful in negotiating some the rockier sections.  This turned into a great, unexpected adventure.  Except for some rock doves and crows, we didn't see any wildlife or any wildflowers, though Ethan claims he heard a canyon wren.  What was most surprising was how few climbers there were.  There were only 8 or 10 of them and it was nice and quiet most of the time.