I camped 3 nights at Circlet Lake altogether. Lovely.
From Circlet it’s not far to the Castlecrag trail marked in orange on the map. Look for the sign to Moat Lake.
Click for LARGER version.
I hiked the route marked in orange. Here’s the original Park map online.
This was a foggy and somewhat hazy day.
But plenty clear enough to see where I was headed.
I’d seen lovely Moat Lake the day before from the Albert Edward hike.
For Castlecrag you circumambulate the far side, crossing the worst bridge I’d seen in Strathcona 2020.
En route a helicopter flew into Moat Lake Retreat, an island you can rent with 2 cabins sleeping a total of 10 people. It’s a legacy from when Clinton Wood first built a lodge here in 1934.
In good weather, finding the route is not all that difficult. Follow the cairns and (possibly) ribbons.
Much of this adventure is above the treeline.
Overall the hiking is more difficult than on nearby Edward Albert as there is a fair bit of boulder hopping over avalanche slopes.
Two highlights end of September: no mosquitoes and autumn colours.
The turnoff UP to Castlecrag is not signed. Watch for the big cairn on the right.
Castlecrag 1740m (5709ft) is a satellite peak to Mt Albert Edward 2093m and many serious hikers / trail runners connect the two via Mt Frink. I’d originally planned to do that myself — but found it too difficult and risky on my own. Also, days are short end of September. I might have spent some hours in the dark on the way down.
It’s a short climb from the cairn to the summit of Castlecrag.
It’s named for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
Most who climb it start at Circlet Lake campground.
From the campground it’s only5.5km to the summit, but it took much longer for me than I anticipated. Update: that sign on the trail is wrong. It’s significantly further than 5.5km. 😀
The muddiest trail I found was that just departing Duck Pond.
I hiked Circlet to the summit on the trail marked in red.
Strathcona Park had just opened following the COVID-19 shutdown.
The previous day I’d tried King’s Peak with a light day pack. Didn’t get higher than 770m due to high creeks.
Learning my lesson, for Flower Ridge I brought food for up to 3 days. Full pack.
Started up about 5pm.
Like many Strathcona hikes, Flower Ridge starts with a steep climb. But less steep than most others
Not many views early on. When you do, it’s of the the Myra Falls Mine (opened 1959)
The mine is currently owned by Nyrstar and produces zinc, lead, copper, silver and gold concentrates.
Any time you are hiking a ridge, finding running water might be a problem. But my guidebook said there was one reliable creek — I never found it.
No worries. There is plenty of snow to melt. You dig to find the clean white stuff.
I set up 8:30pm at the first obvious campsite. Days are long in Canada in June.
Normally my dinners are based around instant mashed potatoes. But for this trip I went all in for instant stuffing.
I carried my 1.2 pound solar charger for the first time. Normally it stays with my bikepacking gear.
There’s no electricity in Strathcona. No mobile phone service.
I climbed higher next morning. But quickly the snow got too deep. Just like King’s Peak the previous day, I only reached perhaps 800m elevation before turning back.
The ridge is about 1200m. In those meadows I would have found more famed spring flowers.
I really need to return to Strathcona late season: August – September.
#LessonLearned
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I hid and locked my bike close to the trailhead. Transferred what I needed to my hiking pack — and headed up the railway tracks.
I missed the turn-off up mountain. It’s not obvious. On my return I flagged the start to make it more conspicuous.
Steep.
The strenuous 2km climb up to the telecommunications tower is called Wesley Tower Trail.
Many continue on to the first lake vista. It took me about 2 hours to get here. There are two benches, one named Forever Tuesday after the Tuesday Walkers Club in nearby Port Alberni.
Most turn back at this point. There’s no one path across the ridge from here.
I gave it a good try. You follow different (competing) sets of orange tape flags. Some lead to dead ends.
A bigger problem was scrambling hundreds of fallen trees. Not bringing long pants, I got quite scratched up. It was bushwhacking.
Another problem is water. I saw no flowing water — only remnant snow melt tarns.
With daylight failing, I finally decided to find myself a great tent site.
It doesn’t get much better than this. I had to HIDE in the tent at dusk, however, pestered by small non-biting flies.
From here I could see steam rising from Port Alberni.
Here’s where I stopped.
Good night.
Next morning, nearly out of water, I decided to hustle back the way I’d come. I’ll try the Ridge from the other end on some future trip.
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