French Pass Hike

This the first week of Autumn, low temperatures in the back country have dropped considerably.  Although the sun still blasts the mountains with warmth, its impact on hikers is tempered by steady fall winds.

There was no hike scheduled for the High Country Hiker group this week.  For those members who did check this blog for hiking information, they would find a preview of this hike.  Three hikers...Gary1 and 2, plus hike leader, Ed, would be all who made the trip today.

We followed Rt. 285 out of Denver to the town of Jefferson, then County Road # 35 to Road # 54, to a pull off just before the dirt road crosses French Creek.  There is no defined TH and the trail marker for trail # 651 is nestled in the trees at the left side of the pull off.  See Trails Illustrated topo map by National Geographic #109, (Breckenridge/Tennessee Pass), for details.
 

The first 1.6 mi. of trail follows an abandon mining road before it narrows to a path as it climbs through an old logged area of lodgepole, fir and spruce forest.  From there it is great alpine hiking to the top of the pass.  On the way, we pass through steep grassy meadows of  thick willow.

Trail is littered with loose and exposed rock making footing unstable at times.  We found a few areas had runoff across trail, but not enough to slow down our pace.

Ed and Gary1 on trail.  Start of golden aspen at far right.

On the road leading to the TH (10,600'), we noticed patches of snow at higher elevations.  Later on trail, we found an inch or two of the white stuff in areas not touched by the sun.

At 11,100,' we crossed French Creek.  From there, trail steepened for the approach to French Pass at 12,046'.  A mild breeze was at our back all morning.  On approach to the pass, it was comforting that each of us knew enough to wear an extra layer for protection.

Snow fields dot the slopes on approach to the Pass.

The pass was not the place to stay long today.  We returned to a recessed area at 11,750' providing some protection from the wind.

A pot of hot soup, tuna salad on wheat bread, and fresh fruit, washed down with a cup of lemonade made the day extra special.  Why?

Consider sitting on a rock above treeline, and you look up and see, Boreas Mountain (13,082'), and the French Creek drainage. Behind you is the Continental Divide.  Add touches of what Colorado is known for this time of year...the turning of the Aspen leaves.  Result: An awesome sight!

Above treeline, rock cairns help hikers stay on trail.

This O & B hike of 6.6 mi. RT, includes about 1,500' of elevation gain over the 3.3 mi. climb.

Authors Note:  This trail is named for an early trapper, "French Pete" who used the path across the Continental Divide between South Park and the valley of the Blue River to and from some of his favorite trapping sites.