Clayoquot Wilderness Resort Blog

Wild Visitors

We have a few “wild” visitors at the Resort this summer.  Paul Harder, award winning wildlife  sculptor, visited the resort last week and left behind three life size bronze sculptures for sale.  We have an owl, an eagle and a cougar displayed around the camp which are all being watched suspiciously by the twelve Bedwell dogs.  In addition, our guests have the opportunity to take part in an introductory bronze sculpture class with Paul; however, we need to know prior to their arrival in order to schedule this add-on.  You can see pictures of these sculptures in the photo album titled "Bronze Sculptures" and to view more examples of Paul's work go to www.paulharder.com      

Another Busy Week

We have cut a new trail in the Bedwell Valley last week.  For those guests who want to experience a river crossing on horseback, without having to take an all day ride, we accommodated this desire by blazing trail on the other side of Bedwell River closer to the camp.  The trail goes through lush fern gardens and a beautiful tree stand of Douglas fir and Sitka Spruce.  Moreover, our guests will see a lot of wildlife sign such as droppings, tree rubs, bedding and grazing areas.  Dickson, another wrangler, was fortunate enough to find a massive elk antler which is now on display in his cabin.

In addition, we released the rest of our hatchery fish.  In the end we ended up releasing 23640 Chinook salmon fry.  We will not know the results of this project for another 4 years which is the life cycle of this particular salmon species; however, the estimated survival rate of hatchery fish is 1%.  A possible 236 fish is better than none.  Follow the link to see more video of the Chinook and to see pictures of the Hatchery project from the beginning check out the “Bedwell Chinook Hatchery” photo album.

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24000 Chinook Salmon

  It has been an exciting week for our Chinook salmon hatchery fish.  On Monday, I was sent to the Tofino Fish Hatchery, to help five people employed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).  We clipped off the adipose fin, which identifies the fish as hatchery when in the wild and then they were tagged.  The tags are no more than a millimeter long with a number inscribed on all four sides which are inserted into cartilage in the fish’s snout.   The number determines the river in which the fish was released; this was a requirement, by DFO, due to the fact that the Bedwell River is classified as an indicator river.   The fish are anesthetized before they are handled to help reduce to possibility of stress and injury.   It took us from 8:30am until 4:30pm to clip and tag 24000 fish.

  Once the fish reach a weight of approximately 5 grams they are ready to be released into the Bedwell River.  Tuesday, Doug Palfry and his crew, from the Tofino Fish Hatchery, released 12000 fish into the river.  He plans on releasing the remainder fish once they are closer to the ideal weight of 5 grams; within the next two weeks.   Please check out the pictures added to the photo album titled “Bedwell Fish Hatchery” and click on the following link to view a video clip of the salmon being released.  Download P6050001      Download P6050003  

Game Camera

  For the past few years, I have been attempting to capture a picture of deer or elk on the game cameras.  I originally thought that this would be an easier task than some of the more elusive  animals, cougars and wolves; however, this has not been the case.                                                                                                                  As I walked up to the camera I was not expecting to see not only a doe (picture taken on May 13^th) but also a buck (picture taken May 14^th).  I was  super excited, especially considering I just finishing checking another camera which took 287 pictures of vegetation growing, directly in front of the camera, in a one month span.

The 2009 Season Starts

 

Well you know that the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort season has begun when you see the horse and wagon tied up to the hitching post in front of the Cookhouse.  We opened the 2009 season with a full house of 40 people, therefore, two wagons and two teams of horses were used; this was the first time we have ever used two wagons.

  In addition, we have a new attraction at the Outpost camp.  Thanks to the generous donation by Ian Green and his team from Greenheart Conservation Company Ltd. www.greenheart.ca we have an octagonal viewing platform high up in the trees above the main camp.  What a view!  Moreover, I overheard John and Ian discussing the possibility of a zip line which would go from our rock wall over the sound and end up at what we call the “nude beach” (it has yet to live up to it’s name).

Ladies! Tips for Packing

  With less than a week until our opening day, I suspect that the ladies are wondering what to pack.  A good site was found last year on the she-she-blog when traveling to a glamping (glamorous camping) resort.  Our recommendation was that a pair of light hikers instead of canvas shoes would be a better option for your trip to Clayoquot Wilderness Resort.  You can find the list by navigating to the heading Website Links on our blog.  Additionally, there are links to weather websites available here.

Camp Set-Up 2009

  My apologies for not blogging in the past few weeks but it was definitely not attributed to laziness.  The Clayoquot Wilderness Resort crew, including myself, has been working hard at setting up the camp for the 2009 season.  We have been moving along at a steady pace doing things such as:  horse shoeing, putting up the tents, moving furniture, repairs, clean-up, pressure washing, building a garden, trail maintenance, unpacking totes and the list goes on.  I have managed to take a lot of photographs which you can view in the photo album Camp Set-Up 2009.  Check back with this photo album in the following week to see more set-up pics.    

Game Cameras

  My family and I hiked into the end of the estuary about three weeks ago and actually walked downwind of two elk grazing.  I managed to snap off a few long shots before they noticed us and cautiously moved on.  Once they were gone we set up a game camera in what looked like a high traffic area and left the site alone for two and a half weeks.  Additionally, we set up three more cameras around the claim in areas that have good wildlife potential.  One of the game  camera sites is on the tent in the tree trail where we got an amazing photo of a cougar in February 2008.

  We checked the cameras last week with very high hopes.  The camera where the elk were grazing said that it had taken 281 photos; another camera read 157 shots.  We rushed home to check out what we got.  Well wouldn’t you know it we got 281 pictures of a stick blowing in the wind and 157 pictures of horseback riders and foliage.  However, we did manage to get a picture of raccoon. 

 

New Features

 There are a few new features on the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort Blog this week. I have added links to Environment Canada and the Weather Network which can be found under the Website Links heading. Therefore, our guests will be able to check the weather for their trip. As the 2009 season approaches I will be sure to give new guests some tips on what to pack for their trip to the wilderness.
  In addition, you will find a widget titled One Million Acts of Green. This widget allows you to learn and share tips to help make the world a greener place. Moreover, you can track the total acts of green being performed as well as the greenhouse gases saved as a result of those acts.

Sneak Peak

     See it here first! Clayoquot Wilderness Resort publishes an annual newsletter every spring and I managed to get it in my hands before its release. In our newsletter, The Sounder, you will read about the Resorts commitment to sustainability, exciting events from the past year, packages that we are offering for the 2009 season, recipes from our executive chef Timothy May and much more. The Sounder will be emailed to past guests and new guests. Additionally, the newsletter will be released on our new website www.wildretreat.com soon. For a sneak peak of The Sounder follow the link.
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