Out here on the coast, we went from a sunny week in the low 20s in t-shirts to ... snow! And just like that, the summer alpine hiking season looks like it might be over.
(Pic below from Tuesday when it was still feeling like summer)
If you haven't been to Joffre Lakes this summer, it's going to seem a lot different next visit. It looks like someone took a giant spatula and smoothed out the forest floor into a long smooth strip of dirt all the way from the parking lot to the second lake. The obstacle course of roots and rocks has been replaced by stairs and a brand new route up as well. It's a very quick trip up to the third lake now - took us less than an hour. The way down is one big mud slide however, which might slow you down a bit.
On the upside, the new trail has better views of the second Joffre Lake, as it now wraps around the shore for longer, and the section from the second to third lake takes you past a beautiful waterfall. On the downside, there are even more frighteningly unprepared people milling around at higher elevations than ever before so I am curious to see if the new trail actually improves the safety record here, or just moves the accidents further up the trail. Time will tell.
(Pic from Saturday, now it's definitely feeling like late fall.)
It was awesome to see the fresh snow everywhere this weekend. The alpine was a blanket of white around Coast Mountains and Duffey Lake Rd. I think I could hear the cries of joy all the way from Whistler.
