“How high do you think it is?”
“Watch for mountain goats,” he said.
I was mesmerized by the torrent in front of me.
From left: Sweeping views on the aerial approach to Nimmo Bay; Deborah Murray, one of the founders of Nimmo Bay, with her granddaughter in the resort’s floating outdoor living room.Grant Harder
“Four hundred feet,” Wilson said as we ascended.
“Seven hundred and fifty feet.”
Even Murray was impressed, and he grew up in this region.
From left: The author sits down to a waterfront lunch at Nimmo Bay; oysters with pickled bull kelp at Nimmo Bay.Grant Harder
There is no easy way into the hidden recesses of British Columbia’s coastal wilderness.
Drop a rock into the water and it may not hit bottom for a thousand feet.
I was visitingClayoquot Wilderness Lodgeand Nimmo Bay, two lodges that have been thriving here for decades now.
From left: the interior of a guest tent at Clayoquot; a fireplace in the main lodge’s restaurant.Grant Harder
I grappled with this question every day I was out there, and I loved it.
Small boats, floatplanes, and helicopters are the preferred modes of transport.
There is not a town, or even a house, to be seen.
From left: A whale in Johnstone Strait near Nimmo Bay, a resort in coastal British Columbia; preparing for a helicopter adventure at the resort.Grant Harder
How can a place so wild feel so welcoming and luxurious?
I grappled with this question every day I was out there, and I loved it.
Nimmo Bay is nestled deep within the mid-coast’s rain forest.
Guide Justin Szabo snorkeling in a stream where salmon spawn near Clayoquot.Grant Harder
The lodge is the brainchild of Craig Murray and his dauntless wife, Deborah, Fraser Murray’s parents.
’s coast: out here, it’s not either/or.
I am a bit skeptical of bespoke adventuring, but these lodges deliver it.
Sea lions basking on a rock near Nimmo Bay.Grant Harder
By kayak, paddleboard, motorboat, helicopter, or horse?
In a bathing suit, wet suit, or no suit at all?
“Let me see what I can do,” he said.
From left: Seared scallops, miso-glazed eggplant, pickled fiddleheads, tomato, and nasturtium at Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge, on Vancouver Island; a waterfront tent at Clayoquot.Grant Harder
Both are located in prime salmon, whale, and bear habitat.
The same goes for Clayoquot: if you might stand on it, they can land on it.
Sunset champagne toast on a mountaintop with hundred-mile views?
A kayaking excursion at Clayoquot.Grant Harder
Fancy a “rip and dip” (a naked plunge in a remote summit lake)?
They can make it happen.
But they are still out there.
Nimmo Bay guide Sarah Glenn diving for sea cucumber and sea urchin.Grant Harder
Our plan was to locate a school and float down into it, driftwood fashion.
We would have to look elsewhere.
The coast is a dynamic place; weather changes, wildlife moves, rivers and tides rise and fall.
From left: Guests can borrow a pair of boots from Clayoquot before a horseback ride; the author crossing a stream on horseback near Clayoquot.Grant Harder
To be happy and successful requires adaptability and flexibility.
I had the rare privilege of weathering an autumn gale in one of Clayoquot’s ingenious canvas-walled tents.
It was thrilling and comforting at the same time.
A Wilderness Seaplanes Grumman Goose at Nimmo Bay’s dock; a row of floating buildings at Nimmo Bay.Grant Harder
In the morning, I awoke to birdsong and racing clouds.
You need a hundred words for water here.
Wilson settled the helicopter gently on a gravel bar, and we suited up.
We just drifted with the current, facedown, the river bottom mere inches from our masks.
Salmon have been embarking from and returning to this coast for millions of years.
In those shallow waters we got a glimpse of deep time.
One of my favorite activities was paddleboarding down the Bedwell River.
He thought this would be a fun way to search for salmonand who was I to disagree?
The visibility is better than from a kayak, and a paddleboard is much easier to get onto.
Its maneuverability enabled us to tuck into the tightest spaces and explore the shallowest creeks.
Salmon have been embarking from and returning to this coast for millions of years.
In those shallow waters we got a glimpse of deep time.
This variety of experiencephysical, sensual, gustatory, aesthetic, therapeutic, immersivedoesn’t come cheap.
But what the premium price is really buying, besides extraordinary access, is a quality of attention.
I haven’t felt this relaxed in three years."
I felt the same way.
