Page 28 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter/Spring 2022

ADVENTURE
SOAK AND SPA
The lodge’s Healing Grounds Spa allows you to pause and soak it all in, with a curated collection of signature massages and treatments that can be enjoyed seaside. With a focus on environmental sustainability, spa offerings harness the healing powers of the surrounding nature, incorporating local Pacific seaweed and Canadian glacial clay into its unique treatments. Warm up and restore your energy with a languid soak in a large, cedar barrel hot tub while watching the moody fog float away, revealing majestic mountaintops on the horizon.
28 DREAMSCAPES WINTER/SPRING 2022
Secluded Escape
A stay at Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge—a remote, luxury Baillie Lodges property accessed only by private seaplane or boat—is the only way to access this untouched landscape; and as a guest, canyoning is just one of the nature- immersive experiences included in my stay. The day’s four-hour journey involves paddleboarding along a picturesque river channel, then climbing, swimming and leaping our way up the canyons, valleys and waterways that run into Clayoquot Sound. At the top, we snorkel and swim amongst a spectacle of salmon that gather at the base of a waterfall. The trek back down is equally as exhilarating, a must-try cliff jump the highlight of it all.
Wild Adventures
Like a high-end summer camp for adults, this wilderness escape encourages connection— with others, with nature, and in my case, with myself. Once afraid of horses, I surprisingly feel at ease as I ride horseback confidently through rivers with a group of newfound friends encouraging my every trot. I connect with nature in other ways too. Thanks to tailor- made signature experiences you can take a wildlife-viewing zodiac tour through the Sound; hike the Ursus Valley and trek through old-growth forest and lush fern gardens; even kayak through intertidal waterways at this islandplayground.
Sustainable
Safari-style Slumber
A meander along a maze of wooden boardwalks takes me to my private guest quarters: a sustainable luxury safari-style tent perched at the river’s edge tucked away in the rainforest. Inside, contemporary furnishings commissioned from local designers complement the natural surroundings, and each of the 25 tents at the bespoke rustic lodge is equipped with traditional bentwood boxes created by local Indigenous artists available for purchase should I want to take one home as a special keepsake.
As night falls and the temperatures dip, the tented space is kept warm by a woodstove, and a king-size bed dressed with organic linens and plump pillows promises a good night’s sleep after my full day of adventure. An adjoining bathroom offers double sinks and heated floors, and a private, outdoor cedar shower allows me to bare all and bask in the surrounding old- growth forest while soaking my sore muscles in complete serenity.
The call of the wild had beckoned me to this backwoods escape, where I was pushed outside of my comfort zone and challenged mentally and physically. Through it all I discovered a new- found love and appreciation for the wilderness, learning more about nature—and myself. Before, I would have feared the thought of sleeping in a tent in the wilderness, but now, the silent wildernesslullsmetosleep. DS
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TRAVEL PLANNER
The season runs from May 12–September 25, 2022. For reservations and more details, visit clayoquotwildernesslodge.com