I drove up the road to the Wedgemount Lake Trail yesterday to find the parking lot had turned into a giant pile of wood chips, logging trucks and noise.

There are a bunch of little signs pointing you to a new trailhead further down the road, and a new parking lot. The first 1.5kms of this trail are now permanently closed, and a new trail has been cut a little to the north.

This used to be one of the most peaceful places you could find around Whistler - huge stands of forest, total silence, not too many crowds (usually). Now you will find yourself in the midst of a logging operation to clear a pathway for Wedgemount Power to tap the river coming down from Wedgemount Lake. Aside from the grinding machinery, the chainsaws and the sound of falling trees crashing like thunder will be with you on your hike up.

The new trail re-route is pretty good in and of itself, but it's really disappointing to see the forest begin destroyed in this gorgeous valley. I guess there is no holding back 'progress'.

This is the new trail:

And the familiar old one that you meet up with later:

The snow line is under 3000ft here, as the valley doesn't get much sun, and as usual in the spring, the melting snow uses the trail as the quickest way down the mountain. It's very muddy and wet, but the forest right around the trail was gorgeous as always.