Backcountry Camping at Strike Lake

Kasturi had been planning with Manjiri about going on a backcountry camping trip this summer, but the dates didn’t work out till the first week of August. We had not reserved anything, so the options were limited, and we ended up going to Strike Lake at EC Manning Park.

Lightning Lakes Chain Trail

Manjiri and Sujeet left Seattle early on August 9, and we drove together to Lightning Lakes from Langley. We reached the Lightning Lakes day-use area around 12:30 pm.

After a short break, we started our hike around 1 pm. We walked towards the East end of Lightning Lake, crossed over the dam, and then continued on the trail along the lake.

About 30 minutes into the hike, we were at the Rainbow Bridge, where people jumped off into the lake below. I made a mental note of stopping by this bridge on our way back.

The trail was relatively flat, making for a relatively easy hike even with our backpacks. At about 4 km, we reached the end of Lightning Lake and crossed a short bridge to connect with the trail going to Flash Lake.

In the next hour, we hiked past Flash Lake and Strike Lake and arrived at Strike Lake Camp (which is 10-15 minutes past Strike Lake) around 3:15 pm. Getting to this campsite took about two hours and fifteen minutes from the Lightning Lakes day-use area.

Strike Lake Campsite

Strike Lake campsite requires a backcountry permit, but it is not a backcountry reservation. So even though we had a permit, a campsite was not guaranteed, as it is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Luckily, there was only one other group camping at Strike Lake, and we had many sites to choose from. I think there are nine designated sites. We picked sites #2 and #3. Site #3, with its benches and logs, had an excellent space to gather as a group.

There was also a creek behind site #3, but it was shallow and muddy. Creek access behind sites #6 and 7 was much better to fill our gravity filter.

We had some sandwiches as a late lunch and then had some soup and parathas that Manjiri had got for dinner. One day we had pohe for breakfast and upma on the second day. Kasturi had prepared the dry mix for these items at home, so we just had to add boiling water. Our second dinner was instant noodles with some veggies. We had also packed some hummus and extra veggies for this trip.

It was Manjiri’s first backcountry camping experience, so she expected to eat freeze-dried food for most meals. I think she was pleasantly surprised with the food options.

Thunder Lake

The next day, we decided to hike to Thunder Lake. We started late, around noon. Soon, we were in the overgrown section of the trail, with no end in sight. We even considered turning around at one point but decided to hike a bit further. Luckily, the overgrown section didn’t last for more than 10-15 minutes.

The hike to Thunder Lake is flat for the most part and has some scree sections. The longest stretch of scree is towards the end as you get closer to the lake.

It took us about an hour to reach the end of the trail to Thunder Lake. I believe the lake’s water level has gone down quite a bit over the years. Even though Gaia maps showed the lake extending into the narrow section, it was just a dry lake bed in early August.

A trail to the left of the last trail sign takes you down the scree slope to the lake. Compared to other lakes, Thunder Lake was a bit disappointing.

Maybe it was the shallow water, the smell, or the access through the scree and dry lake bed. I won’t do this as a day hike from Lightning Lake day-use area.

We started our hike back to the campsite at around 2 pm. About half an hour into the hike, it drizzled for a bit and then started raining around 3 pm. Luckily, we were back at the campsite before the rain picked up.

Hike Back to Parking Lot

The next day, we packed up and started hiking around 10:30 am. It was a beautiful, clear day, and we made several stops along the way to take pictures.

Our final stop was at the Rainbow Bridge. It was too good of a day to miss jumping into the lake from this unique spot. Manjiri, Sujeet and I took turns and we did a couple of jumps. Kasturi was happy to just enjoy the show from the shore.

The last section of the hike back to the parking lot was deceiving. At one point, we could see the day-use area, but then the trail wound around the lake shore and added probably a kilometre or more than we expected.

When we returned to the car, it was around 2:45 pm. In total, I think we did about 16.5 km with 540 m of elevation gain to Strike Lake and back, with a loop around Lightning Lake. Strike Lake to Thunder Lake and back was another 6 km or so. So overall, 22.5 km hike over three days.

It was a pretty good distance for Manjiri’s first backcountry camping trip. In addition to the beautiful lakes and views, the sketching, the jumps from Rainbow Bridge, and the company made this trip even more memorable.

Manjiri also wrote a blog post (in Marathi), which you can read here. She is a really good artist, and her post contains some of the sketch work she did on this trip.

Territory Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge that this trip took place on the unceded territory of the Stó:lō and Similkameen First Nations. I commit to learning about Indigenous peoples and issues and making reconciliation an ongoing effort.

Source: Native-Land Pronunciation Guide: First-Nations.info

Resources:

First Nations: Stó:lō | Similkameen

BC Parks: Backcountry Registration (Permit) | EC Manning Park

Manning Park: Resort

Weather Forecast – SpotWx | Yr.No | Windy

AdventureSmart – Trip Planning – Leave a trip plan

Disclosure: The links I have shared in the post and under the Resources section are not Affiliate Links.

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