What is the deal with disappearing Fadeaway? That is very odd, it's a pretty deep spring. Maybe the name itself is indicitive of it's nature; perhaps it fades away from time to time. Are you sure they were looking in the right spot? It's kind of weird to find.
Did someone hike up there already this year? Apparently, but that's surprising – it's pretty high up. Do you know if they hiked Rho Creek, or drove up there? A trail condition report would be useful.
They hiked up from thr bottom. Trail was fine. Spots of snow near the spring.
It may be a drought indicator. I don't know. Or something happened under ground?
Donovan
I drove up towards Whale Head on Saturday and made it up to about 4000' before being stopped by snow that was too deep for me on the road. There was really nothing below that, though. The trail sheet shows it starts at about 3200', so that end should be snow free.....But after this week, that has probably all changed.
Maybe there is some history in the name. Maybe it comes and goes over some kind of multi year cycle.