French/Casco Halfmoon Creek Conditions?

[carson_h]

I'll be attempting the French/Frasco/Casco Combo soon, but it seems like the creek crossing situation could change my plans by an hour+ (mileage + shoe changes, etc...).

A few questions:
- What's the creek crossing like recently? I would expect it be pretty low this time of year, but this year isn't like others. I'm driving a stock Tacoma.
- Is there decent car camping beyond the crossing, or will I have better luck below the 110J junction?
- Recommendations?

Thanks,

-Carson

[texag11]

Also interested if anyone has any update on this.

[desertdog]

I did this last fall and got across the creek no problem. Plenty of car camping all around this area. There are spots on both sides of the creek you can camp. We ended up walking most of the way up the road because it was so rough, but it was not too big of a day.

The traverse and the basin are really great.

R

[Mtnman200]

The problem isn't the first creek crossing, but the second one. It's seriously eroded such that even though I've driven across it before, I wouldn't try it now. The climb out of the second creek crossing is seriously steep and if you can't make it and don't have a winch, you've got a big problem.

[desertdog]

The problem isn't the first creek crossing, but the second one. It's seriously eroded such that even though I've driven across it before, I wouldn't try it now. The climb out of the second creek crossing is seriously steep and if you can't make it and don't have a winch, you've got a big problem.

Yes, we didn't feel so bad about hiking up the road when we came to this section!

[carson_h]

Yeh, the second creek cross looks heinous in the route description:

http://www.13ers.com/peaks/routes/small ... 023_03.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was asking about in the first creek crossing.

Thanks for the feedback on campsites desertdog!

[ahrendse]

Plenty of camping all over.

I did the hike at the beginning of July. Parked my RAV4 at the 110J junction and started the hike from there. I didn't feel good about driving over the stream, esp the second one. The extra distance wasn't bad. Easy road hike. The stream crossings were raging then. I took my boots off for both during the ascent but left them on during the descent. At that time, it was not possible to cross without getting wet.

Fun hike. Enjoy!

[jblyth]

Plenty of camping all over.

I did the hike at the beginning of July. Parked my RAV4 at the 110J junction and started the hike from there. I didn't feel good about driving over the stream, esp the second one. The extra distance wasn't bad. Easy road hike. The stream crossings were raging then. I took my boots off for both during the ascent but left them on during the descent. At that time, it was not possible to cross without getting wet.

Fun hike. Enjoy!

Did this route a few weeks ago and would agree with everything said here...

[Derek]

I was able to find some "large" fallen trees to cross over at the lower crossing to get across without getting wet. They were pretty high above the stream (enough I was worried about falling off) so I would guess they'd still be there.

[carson_h]

texag11, if you're still interested, here's my summary from being up there over the weekend.

The stream crossing is probably 6" deep now -- not an issue for most SUVs, trucks, etc.

There is lots good camping about 1 mile before the 110J junction, but then it's sparse until the junction. When you get to the junction there are campsites on each side of the creek. Camping is limited once you cross the creek -- I saw one good spot about half way between the first and second creek crossing (with no water). The road is steep and rocky once you cross the creek, so it's probably faster and more enjoyable to hike that section.

We drove across the stream, took a sharp right and camped which was pretty ideal from my perspective -- no creek crossing in the dark, away from the main road, access to water, etc.

-Carson

[James Dziezynski]

There's nice camping after the first crossing; that's as far as I take my 4Runner. The hike up is nice along the road anyhow (and somewhere in the dirt is my key fob I lost like four years ago).

[wphiker]

My wife and I climbed Casco this past Saturday. I was able to hop across the creek on submerged rocks and keep my feet dry.