Geoffrey Hawkswell

Geoffrey Hawkswell first came to Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge as an adventure guide, spending his days exploring the mountains, rivers, forests, and waters surrounding Bedwell Sound alongside guests. Three years later, he leads the team he once joined as a first-year guide, shaping the experiences that take guests deeper into this remote corner of Vancouver Island.

As Experience Manager, Geoffrey pairs each guest with adventures suited to their interests and abilities, drawing on his own time in the field to understand what can turn an outing into something more meaningful. “There is something very rewarding about watching someone connect with this landscape,” he says. That moment might come beneath an enormous old-growth tree, on a quiet stretch of water, or at the top of a mountain.

His own connection to wild places extends well beyond Clayoquot. During the lodge’s off-season, Geoffrey guides backcountry skiing in British Columbia’s interior, moving from coastal rainforest to snow-covered mountains and gaining a deeper appreciation for the responsibility that comes with guiding people through both.

At Clayoquot, few experiences capture the landscape better for him than hiking through the Ursus Valley and finishing with a Sip to Sky. Guests travel on foot from the lodge through old-growth rainforest before a helicopter carries them to the peak of Ursus Mountain for a picnic overlooking Bedwell Sound. From above, the entire journey comes into view. “There are very few places where you can experience such dramatically different landscapes in such a short time,” Geoffrey says.