Inspired by recounts of hiking trips I had done, my friend, Moira, developed an interest in trying backpacking; however, she was hesitant to commit to a multiday trail because she had only a handful of day hikes under her belt. She reached out to me about doing an overnighter. I was thrilled by the idea of getting to share one of my favourite hobbies with one of my favourite people! We both had trips planned in the summer of 2022, so it was difficult to align our schedules to get away for a weekend. As September rolled around, it was beginning to look like we would have to wait until next season for an overnighter; however, a golden opportunity presented itself when the death of Queen Elizabeth II made for an unexpected long weekend that happened to aligned perfectly with a stretch of summer weather.
I scoured AllTrails for inspiration and found the options for overnighters on Vancouver Island surprisingly sparse. I could find day hikes that could be made unnecessarily into an overnighter, such as hiking only 8.4km to Shields Lake Campsite in Sea to Sea Regional Park along the Grass Lake Trail. I could also find multiday hikes, such as the Juan de Fuca, where we could opt to do only a portion. Mt Albert Edward via Circlet Lake in Strathcona Provincial Park was the hike that most peaked my interest. The route is 40km with 1723m elevation gain and takes an average of 13 hours to complete, with some people opting for a really long day and others breaking it up over 2 to 3 days. Moira was a bit reluctant to summit a mountain during the trip, as she had been envisioning a relatively flat trail where she could get used to covering a long distance 2 days in a row with a heavy backpack, but she was agreeable to the challenge.
Day 1: Raven Lodge to Circlet Lake
Distance: 11.1km
Time: 3h
Elevation gain: 466m
We drove up to Mt Washington from Victoria that morning, arriving at Raven Lodge around noon. After the 3 hour car ride, I was restless to stretch my legs. We popped into Raven Lodge to use the toilets before setting off on trail and found ourselves interrupting a wedding, so we darted in and out as quickly and inconspicuously as we could.
The first stretch of trail through Paradise Meadows was really interesting to me because I had been cross-country skiing in that area just months before, and the landscape looked so different now that it was not covered in a blanket snow. Much of the trail is boardwalk over marshy area, skirting around the edge of ponds and lakes, which made for a quick pace. After a short climb, we were at Lake Helen Mackenzie, which is the most sizeable of the seemingly innumerable lakes that we were to pass on this trip.
From here, the trail was fairly flat and more open, as the trees were dwarfed by the alpine conditions. With fall approaching, the leaves of the trees were beginning to change colour, and we were surrounded by a palette of green, gold, and red. We happened to pass a family friend on the trail and could hardly believe the coincidence that, in all of the 250,000 hectares of Strathcona Provincial Park, we were on the same trail at the same time. Moira and I stopped at a quaint ranger hut to use the outhouse and began dreaming of taking a pay cut from our 9-5 jobs to live and work in the backcountry.
As we approached Circlet Lake, all the wooden camping pads around the lake appeared to be in use, and I began to panic that we would not have a place to pitch our tent. I soon realized that we were not yet at the main campsite. Circlet Lake was just over the ridge with tent pads a plenty. I was blown away by how luxurious the campsite is, having more amenities than some front country sites I have stayed at. There is wooden tent pads, wooden benches beside the lake, a dock into the lake, pump toilets, and sinks (without running water) for washing dishes. As we settled into our site, I expected mosquitos to descend upon us, but saw only a few and they kept their distance. The days were beginning to shorten, so we tucked in for the night when dusk fell around 8pm. Once the sun disappeared behind the mountains, it got awfully cold. I bundled up in all my layers and snuggled into my sleeping bag so that only my nose was peaking out.
Day 2: Mt Albert Edward from Circlet Lake
Distance: 7.2km
Time (up only): 2h 30min
Elevation gain: 932m
We woke up to a heavy layer of frost on our tent and an inch of ice on the top of our bucket of water. The crispness of fall mornings made it hard to leave the tent. The view that greeted us when we did was absolutely stunning! The mountainside across the lake was lit up gold by the rising sun and the still lake was a perfect mirror for the mountains. We drank our coffee soaking in the view and then packed up our day bags.
The first bit of the trail was steep, almost a scramble, which really woke up the legs and got the heart rate going. I had been cold when we left camp, but now I was sweating and peeled off my fleece jacket. When we got to the top of the ridge, we could look down at Circlet Lake below and revel in how much elevation we had already crushed. We got to enjoy a relatively flat and fairly open section between the ridge and the base of the mountain range ahead, which was nice for flushing out the legs after the ascent we had just done. Once we crossed this, we came to a cliff with Gem Lake below and Mt Albert Edward across the valley.
From here, the trail continued to the left and became rocky. On numerous occasions, we wandered slightly off the official trail, as there is no distinct path across rock face and there appeared to be inukshuks marking multiple different routes nearly paralleling each other about 50m apart. When we reached the final tree in the tree line, we stopped for a snack behind a pile of boulders that sheltered us from the wind. A woman passed us coming the opposite direction and told us that she had attempted Mt Albert Edward around this same time last summer, but had been unable to summit due to being blocked by snow.
Ahead of us, we could see groups of people marching across the ridge line and tiny outlines of people up at the summit. Walking across the ridge line felt a bit like what I imagine it would be like on Mars. The landscape was barren and rocky with a deep orange hue from iron deposits. The trail was relatively flat, but the scree made for unstable ground; thus, this section was not physically demanding but required constant vigilance about where you placed your feet. The final ascent to the summit was intimidatingly steep, but only a short push of a few hundred meters. When we reached the summit, I reflected that this hike had felt quite manageable, but did not say as much to Moira in case she did not feel the same. She later mentioned to me that she had expected the hike to be harder.
We were blessed with clear blue skies, so we could see 360 degree mountain views. It was strange looking back at Mt Washington because I have skied that mountain since I was a young child and looked over at Mt Albert Edward from the chair lift. Now, I was getting the opposite vantage point.
To commemorate our hike, we took tons of photos and signed the log book. We overheard a group of rowdy young guys leave a voicemail for a number that had been written in the log book with a note to "call for a good time". In the voicemail, the guy asked if that person would like to go for a hike sometime, and I really hope a friendship was sparked that day.
On the way down, we took a bit of a different route, again losing the trail in the rocky section strewn with inukshuks. It seemed as though we were the last people on the mountain, despite it being only mid afternoon. The view on the way down was spectacular! We could see across Strathcona Provincial Park with its innumerable glistening lakes, across the Salish Sea, and to the snow-capped Coast Mountains.
When we arrived back at camp, I quickly changed into my bathing suit to take a dip in Circlet Lake because the trip wouldn't feel complete to me otherwise. I knew that if I didn't jump in immediately, I would cool down and lose the urge. The lake was colder than expected for the end of summer, but I guess that the temperatures had started dropping so low overnight that the lake had already lost most of the heat it once had.
Day 3: Circlet Lake to Raven Lodge
Distance: 12.3km
Time: 3h
Elevation gain: 408m
We were greeted with another stunning morning where the sun bathed the mountainside across the lake in gold and the lake mirrored the scenery. I struggled to pack up our campsite, my hands twanging with pain from the cold and my fingers losing their range of motion, and I kicked myself for not coming better prepared with a pair of gloves.
We had a short section of backtracking along the plateau trail before reaching a fork where we could return to Raven Lodge the way we had come or take the other side of the loop trail around Mt Elma, which was nearly equidistant. We opted for new scenery.
As we neared the Kwai Lake Campsite, I heard someone call out in a way like when trying to get a dog that has run off to come back. Right as we exited a section of woods and stepped onto boardwalk over a marshy section, we came upon a group of boy scouts. "Did you see the bear?" they asked. "It was on the trail right there", they said, pointing to a spot maybe 50m behind us. My heart started racing knowing that we had so narrowly avoided an encounter with a bear, and we hiked on high alert the rest of the way back.
We stopped at Croteau Lake Campsite for lunch, sitting with out feet dandling off a tent pad, soaking in the sunshine, and gazing out over the magnificent Croteau Lake. There is an orange yurt that I peeked in out of curiosity and thought how nice it would be to plan a trip with a group of friends here one day, as it is such a scenic spot and does not require much in the way of experience or fitness to reach.
The trail back to Raven Lodge had absolutely stunning fall colours, and I felt so lucky that our timing had been perfect for seeing the changing of the leaves in all their glory. Lake Trail certainly lived up to the name, as we passed so many lakes and ponds, almost numb to their beauty at this point for we had seen so many over the course of the trip. When we reached Battleship Lake, the trail turned to boardwalk and became very busy with families out for a stroll and a picnic. I was sad to be out of the backcountry and back into society, but also joyful and proud to have completed a successful and scenic trip.
