I took this trail to the spot where it disappears and turned back, as planned. It's really a shame that this trail disappears where it does because for the last half mile, the canyon starts to get really narrow and the scenery become very interesting. I was wondering if hiking up the creek bed might be a viable option if you intend to do a loop hike to either the South Fork or Gold Ridge trail. While the weather was starting to get hot, once you get into the narrow canyon section, the air gets noticably cooler. Deer Creek was running pretty good, and I noticed some minnows in one pool, meaning this must be a perennial stream. The trail is very easy to follow until it (very abruptly) disappears and stays level for the most part, except for a few intermittent climbs above the stream bed. This seems like a decent trail to take kids on (be careful thru the washouts) and on my way out I passed a couple going in with an infant in a baby backpack.