Intrigued by Eric Katanaboy's recent report cataloguing a new side trail along this route, I decided to try out the Deadfall trail up Mt. Zion today. The weather report said that it would increasingly clear up during the day, which I took as an excuse to sleep in and get a late start, which paid off with clearer skies than earlier in the morning. Despite the good weather, I didn't see another soul the whole way from trailhead to summit, although I did cross paths with a couple of people as I was leaving the main lookout site south of the true summit on my descent. They must have come up the Zion trail. I didn't see anyone else on the way down, either.
The road to the trailhead is OK, but there are some significant ruts, and some of the potholes are quite large and hard to dodge. If you drive carefully, though, you'll make it.
This is a steep one, which leads me to the way trail I mentioned above. As I wrote in my Deadfall trip report back on 3/29/20:
It's annoying that you gain altitude on the steep Deadfall trail, but then you lose much of it descending to the junction with Snow Creek, only to gain it again on the way up Zion; similar on the way down -- after coming down Zion, you have to hike uphill a lot to get back to the highpoint of the Deadfall trail, only to descend at a steep pitch back to the trailhead. A new trail that cuts from the top of Deadfall up to Snow Creek without losing elevation would be pretty cool.
Well, it looks like someone has done exactly that! Like Eric, I'm not sure whether this is any kind of official trail, but a lot of work has gone into it, and it's pretty well built. Many branches and even some small trees have been cleanly cut, there are appropriate switchbacks, and there have even been benches dug here and there. The flagging is excessive, but maybe it's needed until the trail gets more established, assuming it's here to stay.
This newer trail also exposes a few additional lookout points with great views.
I took the traditional up-and-down trail on my way up and explored the way trail for my descent. Both are in very good shape. (The "deadfall" photo below is not of the actual trail, but of the woods to the side of the trail.)
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