I tried to do Mt Defiance by myself on Saturday morning. The trail itself is a little hard to follow, no one had been on it that day so there was no fresh bootpath/tracks. I was comfortable on it w/ my GPS though (though I imagine most would have trudged on just fine even without GPS). I'd hit just past Mason Lake around 9:30 or 10AM but the snow was already too melted out for me to feel comfortable hiking it by myself. The first time I post holed up to my knee, I turned back. It was a bit too sketchy by myself with that much meltout, I could see rocks and trees under the snow and the fear of breaking my ankle was too much.
On my way back down I passed two guys headed up and I imagine they made it just fine. So I guess I just wouldn't recommend this if by yourself and you happen to be the first one up for the day and/or if you don't have GPS. I may just be fainthearted but I turned around and did Bandera instead.
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