The backcountry host experience at Croteau Lake
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In the heat of late August 2025, father and daughter Clare and Rachel Neufeld hiked out to Croteau Lake. The pair had volunteered to be backcountry hosts for a week at this popular hike-in destination. Croteau Lake is located in Strathcona Park near Campbell River on central Vancouver Island. After sharing their photos with BC Parks, we reached out to get the full story.
The adventures started before the duo ever hit the trails. Clare’s outdoor experience reaches back decades. He provided food for his family as a licensed hunter and trapper in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. After they moved to BC in 1992, backcountry time slowly shifted from a sustenance activity to a family bonding activity. As Clare puts it, “I got to see a lot of countryside and grew an appreciation for BC and its wide variety of environments.” For the Neufeld’s, family vacation was synonymous with the backcountry. However, as Rachel grew into adulthood, those family moments became fond memories.
Today, Rachel works in healthcare but takes every opportunity she can to spend time in the backcountry surrounded by nature. Three years ago, she came across a post for backcountry host volunteers and immediately fell down a rabbit hole. She reached out to friends to find a co-host but struggled to coordinate social and work schedules. After a few years with no success, Rachel realized she knew someone with plenty of experience and a wide-open schedule — her retired father, Clare.
The pair applied, feeling like a perfect fit for the role. Both enjoyed the presence of others and Rachel was familiar with Croteau Lake from her visit the year before. Rachel recalled, “I knew that it was a reasonable hike to get my dad in with me. Other backcountry spots may not be as accessible, but this one felt like a really good site to get into easily.“ When their application got approved, they prepared for a 10-year camping reunion at Croteau Lake.
The host shelter was far more comfortable than the temporary bush shelters the duo was used to. A large canvas tent and a separate kitchen shelter made for cozy living during the rainy start to their stay. The main tent was also stocked with extra blankets, pantry essentials, a satellite communication device, and a binder of resources to help hosts answer visitor questions. In Clare’s words, “It was kind of neat that way. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but it turnout of the be chatting with folks, sharing experiences, and maybe answering a few questions if they were new to the area.
Rachel noted that the most common questions from guests were about day hike options and use of the yurt. They both noted that being familiar with the area was beneficial, but expertise was not necessary to be successful. “We had to look a couple [plants] up and we went into our little resource binder that was there.”
Along with the resource binder was a journal for hosts to record the happenings of their stay. “I really like the journal. We flipped through the journal and read about what other hosts did. It was kind of fun to read ‘Oh, this host went and did this. Maybe I should go check that out!’ It was an enjoyable way to see other people’s experiences. We also could communicate for the next group to say, ’Hey, watch out for this or we noted that.’ So that was fun, but also a good, important communication [tool] between the different hosting groups,” Rachel commented.
The first few days were soggy with rain, but that meant plenty of time for family bonding between chores and check-ins. Rachel teased, “I forced my dad to learn how to play crib again. He hadn’t played crib since he was a teenager… and I love bringing my crib board into the backcountry. We played a lot of crib. We drank a lot of coffee.”
The second half of the week brought much brighter weather, Clare recalled. “When the sun finally came out and the clouds and fog disappeared, just seeing the lake glassy, smooth, reflecting the mountains in the background. The sky and so on, perfectly like a mirror. That to me is perfect solitude. I love being in a place like that. I could sit there and watch nothing except the birds and bees and things like that for hours on end.” Watching Canada jays flit and chitter in the trees and seeing his daughter swim in the clear waters were other notable moments of joy for Clare.
A few memorable experiences peppered their week in the backcountry. Rachel laughed as Clare described an evening when two children asked the pair to play Uno with their family. With the parents’ permission, “we spent some time in [the tent] and played one game, which [the kids] managed to extend… They pushed it quite a bit longer than I think the parents had expected. But it was a good time, and then we found out that they did that to delay their bedtime.”
Clare mused, “One thing that I enjoyed for myself was the people contact. Not only with the campers who were there, but also day hikers who were coming through. There were a number of seniors, which was good to see people in my age cohort…[Spending time] chatting with them a little bit about what they had seen, what they had heard, and what they were experiencing continued to make it worthwhile for me. Felt like I was connecting with some people who walked there quite frequently and others who were new.”
Overall, the pair valued their time spent together in the scenic wilderness.
“I like the backcountry because it forces you to slow down and pay attention to what’s in front of you…We both enjoy being in nature and being on the edge of the lake and we both really enjoy that environment. So, it was a good excuse to hang out for a week undistracted,” Rachel reflected.
She continued, “I think the beauty of Croteau Lake as a location is that it’s accessible for people with various capabilities… There are easy walks and there are challenging hikes and everything in between. It’s a really nice launching spot for other hikes during the day as a host, and a comfortable place to hang out for a whole week.”
Clare added, “There are trails crossing between lakes so that you can make a circuit if you want to see different scenery and different scenarios both coming and going. Croteau Lake is very well situated for that… Highly recommended.”
Rachel concluded, “10 out of 10, would recommend. Can’t get better than that, right?”
