Walking The Wild Side -- A Rustic Stay, And View-Rich Days, In B.C. 'S Strathcona Park

VANCOUVER ISLAND, B.C. - A few miles west of Campbell River, the telephone poles along the road suddenly end. The blacktop continues, winding its way through dense forest, past rugged snow-capped mountains, and pristine lakes.

Some 30 miles and 45 minutes later begins a 530,000-acre wilderness which boasts British Columbia's oldest provincial park, Vancouver Island's highest mountain, the nation's highest waterfall and high rocky terrain that attracts some of the world's top climbers.

Roads penetrate little of Strathcona Provincial Park in the mountainous center of Vancouver Island.

The route west from Campbell River is the only access to its heart. The road forks, with one prong leading to the park's northern section, the other to Buttle Lake in the park's interior.

There is another approach to the park - on a gravel road west from Courtenay, about 25 miles south of Campbell River - that leads to ski areas in what's called the Forbidden Plateau section.

Its remoteness may explain why Strathcona, though only a long day's journey from Seattle, draws relatively few Puget Sound residents. However, they're increasingly numerous among the more than 30,000 visitors to the park each year.

The area's only lodging is just outside the park's eastern boundary in the funky-rustic Strathcona Park Lodge complex whose services include one gas pump and a radio-telephone for contact with the outside world.

Strathcona Lodge emphasizes outdoor activities. Lessons are offered in canoeing, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and boats are available for rent. Guided overnight and extended outdoor trips, including hiking, kayaking and rock climbing, are available.

When we set out for a four-day mid-summer visit to Strathcona Park, we had only a vague idea of what to expect. We figured on fine scenery, but the literature we'd been able to find had no photos.

Being nature lovers but not wilderness experts, we expected Strathcona Park Lodge would be about our speed; our guidebook described it as ``surprisingly deluxe.'' We planned to split our time between day-hiking and relaxing with a good book in a deck chair beside the lake.

While the park and the lodge are less developed and less amenable to non-hardcore mountain travelers than we'd expected, we adjusted and found plenty to enjoy.

To us, the term ``provincial park'' brought visions of rolling hills, gentle meadows, small-scale beauty - pleasant, but not dramatic.

We found Strathcona Park to be wild and majestic.

The 19-mile-long, finger-shaped Buttle Lake bisects the park for much of its length. Layer after layer, ridge after ridge of snow-capped mountains provide a stunning backdrop for the clear, blue lake water. It reminded us of views of Washington's Lake Chelan region, especially near Stehekin.

A less positive discovery for us was the intrusion of industry on parts of the park.

Most of the provincial park is designated a ``nature conservancy area,'' which severely limits use and access within those boundaries.

Outside those areas, ``multiple use'' is allowed in the park which accounts for the fine road that extends south into the park along much of Buttle Lake. Its purpose is to serve the gold, silver and zinc mining operations at the road's end, and trucks regularly rumble past the lodge.

Clear-cutting of timber is evident on the mountains edging the park. Environmental battles over logging have raged, with arrests of anti-logging protesters last year.

Nevertheless, it's easy to get away from these jarring signs of civilization - and people. A minute's walk from most any picnic site or campground gave us lakeside beaches to ourselves. On trails, we met few other people.

Of the park's handful of day-hike trails, many were steep slogs. At least one more day-hike trail was to be opened this year.

We found the nature trails and short hikes well worth the effort. The trail to Lupin Falls from the road was an easy hike, 30 to 40 minutes round-trip, that offers a variety of terrain with cool shade, wildflowers, a meandering stream and a waterfall.

Myra Falls - less than an hour's round trip from the road - is reached by a trail of loose rock that's a bit of a scramble but not difficult. The reward is being able to stop by the refreshing pools and enjoy a picnic lunch on flattened rocks while feeling the waterfall's spray.

In the Forbidden Plateau area there are a number of day-hiking trails. The area has small fishing lakes and views of glaciers, mountains and the farmlands and forests stretching east to the Strait of Georgia.

Much of Strathcona's splendor can be reached only by foot. But unless you're an experienced mountaineer, you'll need a guide, say park rangers.

Even if you're experienced, ``you have to be pretty good with a compass and map; at the subalpine ridges, there are no trails,'' said R. Miguel Goldstein of Sacramento, Calif, who backpacked in the Forbidden Plateau area.

David White, an engineer from Louisiana, said that with his 1 1/2-year-old son in tow it took a lot of time and energy to get to timberline. ``For a real wilderness experience, it's a great place.''

Seattle residents Matt Loschen and Gretchen Freed Loschen, who spent two nights in the park, said Strathcona was a worthy stopover in their Vancouver Island tour.

Park wildlife includes black bears, cougars and wolves. And last summer's prolonged rains also brought out mosquitoes with a vengeance. (The folks at Strathcona Park Lodge recommend fall as a good time to visit because there are fewer insects in the high country. Plus often there's a warm Indian summer, with plenty of autumn color.)

One of the park's better-known long hikes is to Della Falls (1,443 feet high) in the southernmost part of the park, a route popular with German, Austrian, Swiss and French hikers who also often hike the West Coast Trail in the Pacific Rim National Park on the southwest coast of the island.

Della Falls is accessible via boat across Great Central Lake which lies just outside the southern boundary of the park.

Although the park has existed since 1911, it took the establishment and growth in the past decade of the Strathcona Park Lodge and Outdoor Education Centre to get much public notice of the park.

The lodge is more like a sprawling summer camp than a traditional rustic resort. There's no grand old lodge or white-linen dining service.

Meals are cafeteria-style, communal and granola-flavored. Lodging for 50 people is in old loggers' cabins or steep-roofed, chalet-style wood buildings. Wood buildings house the dining room and the main office, store and lounge. All are set among trees, dotting a fairly steep slope overlooking Upper Campbell Lake.

Most of the cabins and rooms, as well as some campsites and the dining hall balcony, look out over Upper Campbell Lake and the surrounding ranges of timbered mountains.

Guests we encountered included a law-enforcement officer from Las Vegas, Nev., who wanted to do nothing for a week; a lawyer from Vancouver, B.C., set on day-hiking; and a Campbell River couple learning kayaking.

Myrna Boulding and her late husband, Jim, both of whom were teachers, started the lodge in 1959. In 1972, they quit their teaching jobs to devote themselves full time to the lodge and outdoor programs.

``I can tell when they walk through the door whether they'll like it here,'' says Boulding.

``If they're wearing casual clothes, like from REI; if they are interested in environmental concerns,'' and lead a ``non-consumptive type of lifestyle,'' it's likely they'll like it at the lodge, she said.

Anyone wanting nightlife is out of luck. ``This is not a swinging place,'' said Boulding. But there are books to read and trade, a piano, a small bar and the occasional nature slide show.

Lodge rooms are comfortable and modern, though not luxurious. Some have their own bathrooms, some share bathrooms with two other rooms.

Cabins are at water's edge, with porches and potted flowers. Sitting there at sunset is pleasant, indeed. As the air cools, you can make a campfire on the little beach at your front door.

But the oldest cabins - we stayed in one of the smallest and oldest - are what they look like: old logging-camp cabins.

In the dining hall, called the Quilted Whale, guests share the long oilcloth-covered tables. Whale bones and quilts and a hanging canoe decorate the walls.

The buffet-style meals were uneven in quality, though food was plentiful. The emphasis was on ``healthy eating'' - fresh vegetables, whole foods low in fat and sugar.

The 50 or so staff members are young and enthusiastic; many were trained in Strathcona's apprenticeship outdoor-leader program.

A number of guests had mixed feelings about the prices of the rooms and food and the ``camp-like'' atmosphere.

The Seattle couple, Matt Loschen and Gretchen Freed Loschen, felt that $60 for their lodge room facing the road was too much, and $24 too much for a dinner bill when they had to bus their own dishes and the atmosphere was ``like a mess hall.''

They also were not prepared for just how rustic the lodge is (and were especially unhappy when the water taps went dry for an evening.

Still, said Gretchen Freed Loschen, ``It's gorgeous, the setting is beautiful.'' They decided they'd come back to Strathcona - but to camp.

The two developed campgrounds - 85 units at Ralph River and 76 at Buttle Lake - are at scenic spots on the lake. Both have water, firewood and toilets. There are also hike-in campsites in the roadless areas and four marine campsites on the lake.

Other visitors expected more quiet and isolation, which they felt the many youth groups and proximity of the road lessened.

We, too, would have liked a little more comfort and privacy if staying for more than a night. But we concluded Strathcona Park Lodge could be a wonderful vacation spot. It's probably most ideally suited for families, as it offers it a sheltered area for swimming, canoeing and kayaking plus outdoor skills lessons and expeditions.

And the lodge would also be a good spot to stay for a shower and cooked meal after a backpacking trip in the surrounding area, although the lodge doesn't encourage ``one-nighters.''

IF YOU GO:

-- When: July, August and September are the Strathcona's busiest months. Other times of year, it is patronized primarily by school groups and Elderhostel guests. Even in summer, there are many children around, including large school groups that come for outdoor training and adventures.

-- How: From Seattle, Strathcona is a long day's journey. Consider breaking it up by visiting another part of Vancouver Island.

The most direct route to the park is via a new B.C. Ferry service (which began in early May) from Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver) to Nanaimo (on the east coast of Vancouver Island). Then drive north to Courtenay or Campbell River and west into the park.

There's also frequent ferry service from Horseshoe Bay (just north of Vancouver) to Nanaimo.

From Victoria, take the TransCanada Highway (Highway 1) out of Victoria; it eventually becomes Highway 19, the Island Highway, heading north. The road hugs the Strait of Georgia, passing little waterfront towns and bucolic countryside.

Allow about four hours from Victoria to reach Campbell River, where you turn west onto Highway 28 (the Gold River road), and another 45 minutes to drive to the lodge.

You can also fly to Campbell River from Vancouver. Transportation to Strathcona Park Lodge can be arranged with prior notification, $15 each way.

-- Lodging: Prices range from Cdn. $50-75 for rooms with shared bath to Cdn. $85-$105 for the larger, more modern cabins. (No smoking is allowed in any of the buildings or cabins.) There are also packages that include room, meals and outdoor activities. Without a package, or for drop-ins who aren't lodge guests, breakfast is Cdn. $6.50; lunch is Cdn. $7.50 and dinner is Cdn. $12.50.

For more information or reservations: write Strathcona Park Lodge, P.O. Box 2160, Campbell River, B.C., Canada V9W 5C9. Phone: 1-604-286-2008 or 1-604-286-3122 or by VHF radiophone: Strathcona 1 H688568 through the Campbell River radio phone operator.

Bookings also can be made through some travel agents or through BC Stena Lines which offers packages that include transportation and lodge rooms (phone 624-6986 in Seattle).

-- Resources: A useful book for backpackers is ``Hiking Trails III - Central-Northern Vancouver Island,'' published by the Outdoor Club of Victoria. It covers backcountry hiking routes.