Adam, I felt the remoteness also. A tree has recently fallen across the manway just before the stream. Fortunately previous hikers/anglers had trampled down its leaves and branches enough to where I wasn't too concerned about snakes.
This steel foot bridge over Thunderhead Prong is one of my favorites. I plan to take a shovel next time to transport the dirt/mud that has washed on to the end of it back to from whence it came. This and the fallen tree resting on the cable on the south end is to be expected since the manway, once Defeat Ridge Trail, is no longer on the maintained list.