{"id":3764,"date":"2004-07-31T13:38:11","date_gmt":"2004-07-31T17:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1_1373736955"},"modified":"2017-06-30T17:21:31","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T17:21:31","slug":"hiking-to-frenchman-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cncadventures.com\/?p=3764","title":{"rendered":"Hiking to Frenchman Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Frenchman Creek Colorado, CO<\/b> July 31, 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Carol Campsite Showgirl<\/p><\/div>\n

We get up and have our usual no cook breakfast of granola\/breakfast bars and some Gatorade. It turns into a beautiful morning as we break camp and get ready to go. We are on the trail at 8:50 A.M. and of course we start with a climb. Carol is struggling this morning as her heart medication takes some time to kick in. For those who did not know, Carol has had an overactive thyroid this season. This is what is causing most of her problems on the trail. She has had radiation iodine treatment, which will slowly kill the thyroid and hopefully solve this problem for good. In the meantime her heart rate has been high, which is a symptom of her condition. So she is taking some heart medication to slow down the rate and help with her chest pains.<\/p>\n

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She is Smiling Carol and Steven<\/p><\/div>\n

This morning she is having real trouble with this climb. I am really proud and amazed at how she is not letting this stop her from getting out and continuing our journey. I have offered to stop or not hike over the last few months but she wants to go on. We finally reach the top of the saddle at 11,640 feet. There are nice views of Mount Harvard to the south and the mosquito range behind us to the north. It is 10:40 and we have only walked 2.03 miles for an overall average of 1.1 miles per hour. However, Carol made it, and is beginning to feel better. There is some downhill coming up which should also help. It really helps that she is hiking with her son and he stayed with her on the climb and during her many breaks. The saddle is a perfect place to take a break and we have a few snacks to replenish our fuel tanks. We meet a man who has hiked up here from the trail head we started at yesterday. He is an older gentleman with a bit of a wheezing breath. It is always inspiring to me to meet older people or people with problems that still get out and enjoy nature and life. He is at his turnaround point and it is time for us to leave so we bid him a good day.<\/p>\n

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Pine Creek<\/p><\/div>\n

The next mile and a half we lose over 1,200 feet in elevation. We descend through a lodgepole forest and are treated to views of winding Pine Creek below. This is where we plan on having lunch, so that is added incentive to keep it moving. Of course, the downhill with easier breathing, doesn’t hurt the endeavor either. Pine Creek was one of the potential campsites we had thought about in our planning. It is a very nice spot; however, we would have had to share it with a large group, if we had made it that far last night. We cross the creek and sit by its banks and have lunch. It has really turned out to be a beautiful day, sunny and not too hot. After lunch, we filter water from the creek to replenish our water supply. Then, it was put the packs back on, and resume the trail. We have to immediately climb out of the Pine Creek valley and start ascending a ridge. We climb southeastward and start to get views back to the north. I see a rock formation with a mans profile and taking in the whole scene it looks somewhat like a turkey. It could be the altitude. We also passed a downed log that looks like a rhinoceros. Altitude again or maybe not, as I have pictures of both. I am probably on more solid ground with the rhino over the turkey.<\/p>\n

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Carol First<\/p><\/div>\n

As we top 11,500 feet, we come to a spot where we take another short break. We are getting close to tree line and there is a perfect log to lie upon where the packs fit comfortably in the curvature of the log. We continue to climb towards the high point for today. We hike above tree line and across tundra areas, with views of the Buffalo peaks. From the high point we start a gradual descent back into the trees. Our planned campsite was a flat area on the map near Frenchman Creek. We cross Frenchman Creek and were dismayed to find that the perfect campsites are already taken. Carol, Steven, and I take our packs off and Steven, Tim, Jill and I start to look around for a place to camp. Jill left her pack on, why I do not know. Anyway, she takes off up the trail with Tim to look, and I start scouting the surrounding area. Everything is on a slope and after searching quite a bit in one direction; I return to Carol and start to head in the opposite direction. I go over a small rise and find a promising campsite. The only concern is that it is within 30 yards of another site that is taken. After Tim and Jill return from their unsuccessful search, we decide to stake our claim on the site I had found. Carol plays negotiator and talks to the people we will be near to make sure that they don’t have a problem with us being that close. With Carol’s great human relation skills, I knew they would be Okay with it and they are. After about an hour of looking we finally begin the setup of our camp.<\/p>\n

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Charlie Campsite Near Frenchman Creek<\/p><\/div>\n

It is a nice level spot with a fire pit nearby. Bear bags hung and tents set up, it is time for dinner. We are cooking tonight and set up the stoves about 100 yards from camp. Carol and I have beef stroganoff with mashed potatoes and Steven has Ramen noodle soup. It all starts out dehydrated to keep the pack weight down, but is really quite tasty when cooked. After dinner and cleanup, we start a nice campfire and enjoy this luxury with good conversation. We do not stay up too late, as we are tired from our full day today. We have hiked a total of 9.63 miles today and our total ascent was 2,805 feet. We arrived at Frenchman Creek at around 4:10 P.M. With full packs and significant uphill we walked at a respectable 2.5 miles per hour, with an overall average of 1.5 miles per hour. This was better than expected considering the slow start we had in the morning when Carol wasn’t feeling well. We are camped at 11,060 feet and our maximum elevation reached today was 11,828 feet. See you tomorrow. Good Night.<\/p>\n\n\t\t