This is an update to the 2020 summary of the hike from the Deafy Glade Trailhead to Summit Springs due to changing trail conditions that now present a safety hazard to hikers and backpackers.
We hiked the trail as an intended two-night backpacking trip. Since my original summary was written in 2020, the trail conditions have significantly worsened. We went on Memorial Day weekend in an attempt to make it to Snow Mountain. However, the trail clearly has not been maintained, and in 2020, the conditions for hiking and backpacking were much better and safer.
While some trail work has been done, portions of the trail from Stony Creek to Deafy Glade are significatnly overgrown and very difficult to navigate as you literally have to bushwhack on a slope and climb over fallen trees while on a slope. You may wonder if you are actually on the trial or lost your way, but yes, you are on the trail. While climbing over downed trees with vegetation under them on a slope, you cannot trust that your feet will be on stable ground. You may fall deeper into the vegetation as you cannot see the ground under it, which could lead to you tumbling down the side of the hill if you take a wrong step. The difficulty in navigating this trail is compounded when wearing backpacking gear as your balance can be thrown off while scrambling through the bushes and over fallen trees on uneven ground.
Once we made it to Deafy Glade, we came upon another group of backpackers who were perplexed as to where to go from the glade. They asked us if we knew anything about the trail because they lost the trail as you leave Deafy Glade. We told them we hiked it about four years prior, and they were headed in the right direction. They said the trail was so overgrown and the trees fallen on it, that they could not navigate it. They said they could see where there might be or might have been a trail one time.
We went on ahead to try it for ourselves, and we found the trial to be impassable. We came back down and hiked the perimeter of Deafy Glade back up in an attempt to find the trail if we entered from another way. We hiked in, and Anne scouted ahead on up the hill. She found the trail, but it was overgrown, and there was a fallen tree that ran several hundred feet directly on the tail, and it was determined it was impassable at that point too. Even if we could navigate it, we did not know what the trial conditions were like after that. We did not want to start that arduous climb with the the possibility of having to turn back.
We, like the other group of backpackers, opted camp at Deafy Glade for the evening and head back the next day.
Three other backpackers come through that afternoon after we set up camp. Two were a pair, and one was a solo backpacker. I watched as the pair made it up to the end of the Deafy Glade and attempted to trek the unmaintained trail. After watching for quite a while, they did not turn back, so they must have found their way to the top to the Summit Springs Trail.
I could hear the solo backpacker talking with the group of backpackers we encountered, but I could not hear what they were saying. I did not see the solo backpacker attempt the climb on up to Snow Mountain, but he did not camp at Deafy Glade either. It’s possible he took the Bathhouse Trail from Deafy Glade to explore it. I don’t know.
A check of the Mendocino National Forest website does not list the trail conditions for this trail, but at this time, the trial should be closed for safety reasons. For the inexperienced hiker/backpacker, with the trail conditions the way they are, this could lead to a serious injury or worse.
There are also ticks on the trail, as when we were having to bushwhack on it, Anne picked one up that got under her shirt and embedded itself in her chest.
While we were not disappointed we could not backpack to the destination we wanted to, we were didn’t let it get us down. Camping at Deafy Glade was a wonderful experience. It was really quite mediative to look out and gaze on the glad and listen to the wildlife while we were there.
The bird chatter was incredible and nearly non-stop the entire time we were there. We could hear an owl in the evening and again in the early morning day-break hours. We watched lizards sun themselves where we camped and could hear a squirrel calling while it was in a tree. Anne saw a garter snake on the trail as we hiked out. Recently laid bear scat was observed near our campsite, but we did not see any bears.
For directions, see the Deafy Glade Trailhead to Summit Springs summary.