While it was hard to leave primo site 13 at Elk Falls Provincial Park (kinda like the Seinfeld episode when George found a good parking spot…), we decided to head into BC’s oldest provincial park – Strathcona. The main entrance is roughly 40 km west of Campbell River. While looking at the map en route, we decided to camp at Buttle Lake, and just as we were arriving, someone was vacating site 7. Sacre bleu! Site 7 is right on the Lake, with private beach front. It had a reserved sign on it but no tag and it wasn’t listed as reserved that night on the entrance board. Could it really be free? We immediately u-balled MaBel around, gravel spitting, and wheeled into the space. We then sat there blinking at the view. Wow.
But what was that sign in the distance?
What the..?! Good thing it didn’t say anything about bears! So after setting up, the Bear went for a swim and an afternoon hike to nearby Darkis Lake before settling in for a nap.
The next day, we got busy and did some hiking in and around the Buttle Lake corridor. Was very quiet on the trails – didn’t see another hiker all day. Midweek in June is most definitely a great time to visit Strathcona PP…
Bear's Groove 