Strathcona Backcountry Camping

My wife, sons, dog and I visited the Strathcona backcountry in July 2022. The drive up was dismal as it was rainy and socked in. Our excitement about the trip waned as we stepped out of our truck, tried to find more layers, and made our way out on the trail.

In spite of visiting in the mid-summer, we soon found snow (within the first kilometer of our hike) and as we climbed saw much more. Some of the open areas were a bit muddy, as snow melting snow drained away. We were thankful for our Nemo Chipper Seats, which kept our butts dry when we stopped for lunch and snacks.

Our hike was a bit on the slow side, as we were hiking on snow and often sunk through to about mid-thigh. We sometimes had little surprises as a seemingly solid crust of snow was actually hollowed out, resulting in a drop of several feet. This didn’t matter, much, though. We just watched our footing and appreciated how the sun had rolled out leaving us with beautiful blue skies, and hardly anyone else nearby.

That night we camped at Duck Pond near Circlet Lake. The wooden tent pads there were dry and free of snow, unlike the ones at the lake. Our evening was magical. There were a few other campers, but the place was largely deserted. We watched a beautiful sunset, drank some tea, and washed our dishes before calling it a night.

The next morning we awoke to a frozen pond and bright sun. Although we planned to head further along, we decided to turn back—in part fearing a mutiny from our sons if we pushed on. We figured it’d be nice to have a relaxed walk back, and explore an alternate route.

Our last night in the park was 2 – 3 km. from the trailhead. The bugs were awful. (I’ve experienced Yukon swarms, and this was just as bad.) We cooked some ramen, slurped up our noodles quickly, and crashed early. I’m a fan of hiker midnight. 🙂

On the last morning we casually walked back to the truck, drove back to the ferry terminal, and ate some greasy burgers on the ferry back to the mainland. The whole trip was less than three days, but it felt like we’d truly taken a break from our regular days. I can’t wait to go back!