Serene wilderness resort in B.C. an all-inclusive like no other

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Klahoose First Nation member Coral Delorme is a cultural interpreter at Klahoose Wilderness Resort. Photo by Mary Beth Roberts /POSTMEDIA

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We watched, mesmerized, as she effortlessly looped and twisted the dampened strips into rope. It was only after the cultural activities over the next two evenings, when Delorme sat with us and taught us how to craft roses and bracelets out of sweet-smelling cedar, that I saw how deceptive her demonstration had been: my bracelet sprang back into two pieces immediately after I’d finished it. Unflappable, she carefully demonstrated the correct technique again. Delorme spoke warmly of ongoing efforts to document Klahoose’s language, Ayajuthem, and teach it to children in the community. 

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Boat glides into a hidden cache in the rock face on the coast of Desolation Sound. Photo by Mary Beth Roberts /POSTMEDIA

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Our boat excursion the following day was led by Gerry Gallegos, a 75-year-old Tla’amin elder, who skippered us into Toba Inlet, eyes scanning every shoreline for bears. Our May visit didn’t align with prime grizzly bear viewing season, so we didn’t spot any, but a pod of orcas surfaced close by. Gallegos, who sees the majestic marine mammals regularly, still couldn’t hide his delight. 

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Ancient Indigenous pictographs painted to mark good fishing grounds or travellers’ passage. Photo by Mary Beth Roberts /POSTMEDIA

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He showed us 3,000-year-old pictographs on the towering granite walls above the inlet; fish painted to mark good fishing grounds, canoe drawings left by travellers to trace their passage. He pointed to a wall of granite with crevices resembling a giant’s angry face and told us his grandfather called it T’al: a wild woman of the mountains who carried a sack of snakes and took misbehaving children away to boil and eat them. Gallegos said he only fell for this folktale one-time as a youngster, and his eyes twinkled as he recounted the story. 

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Tla’amin elder Gerry Gallegos scans the shoreline for wildlife. Photo by Mary Beth Roberts /POSTMEDIA

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The next day, after I spent the morning exploring Homfray Channel by kayak, Delorme and Cole Francis — skipper, cultural interpreter and member of the Tla’amin Nation — led us to Homphray Creek to learn about the tradition of First Nation spiritual baths, followed by a forest hike to see a waterfall. 

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Later, Francis guided our boat into a hidden cache in the rock face where he told us his ancestors once concealed canoes, women and children during raids by northern bands. Tall cedars framed the sun far above while a waterfall cooled the air. Delorme recounted the myth of the Goat and the Deer: legend has it a goat who lived across the channel envied the deer’s mountainside stronghold; they fought, and the goat lost, cleaving the mountain in two — and creating the cache — as he was thrown from the summit.

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One of the many waterfalls along the way while exploring Toba Inlet. Photo by Mary Beth Roberts /POSTMEDIA

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Our final evening ended with a traditional First Nations cedar-brushing ceremony, drumming and songs in the Great Lodge. At the dock’s edge, we threw our cedar boughs into the dark water, a custom for expelling negative energy and sending quiet thoughts to ancestors. Remarkably, a bald eagle banked low overhead: a First Nations symbol, we were told, of a departed loved one returning to visit. 

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A visit to this remote eco-resort is as much about discovering joy in nature and adventure as it is about learning Klahoose First Nation traditions, said Delorme, while our bright green branches floated away on the inky black water under a fading sun.

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If you go 

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Klahoose Wilderness Resort offers three-, four- and seven-night all-inclusive vacation packages departing from Lund, B.C. Three-night packages from $4,209 per person (plus fees & taxes) include meals, guided excursions, immersive cultural experiences and boat transfers. Discover Klahoose tours available from May to August. Grizzly Bears of Toba Inlet tours from late August through October. 

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BC Ferries routes from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale and on to Powell River operate daily, or take a 35-minute flight from Vancouver to Powell River. Head to Lund for a 60-minute boat transfer to the resort. Options for private access via seaplane dock, helipad and deepwater boat moorage also available. 

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For more information on this West Coast wilderness resort: klahooseresort.com 

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Mary Beth Roberts was a guest of Klahoose Wilderness Resort, which did not review or approve this article.

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