The loop around Lonesome Lake changed so much in 2 years I barely recognized it

I hiked the Lonesome Lake trail in the White Mountains back in 2022 and it was a nice moderate route with clear views of the Franconia Ridge. Last weekend I went back and the whole approach to the lake is different now. A beaver dam flooded about a quarter mile of the trail so you have to scramble up this side slope to get around it. The old wooden boardwalk they had is completely underwater and rotting. Plus the campsite near the lake had way more tent platforms than I remember, like 8 instead of 4. I guess the maintenance budget got cut or something in that time. Has anyone else seen a trail transform that fast from just weather and animal activity?

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the_sarah1h ago

Those extra platforms were actually added by the forest service before the beaver dam flooded the old ones, not from budget cuts.