Broughton Archipelago, Canoeing & Kayaking, Telegraph Cove

BC People: Bruce of Paddler’s Inn

October 20, 2015

Fortune favours the brave, we’re told, and adventurous souls carve their own path where few others have travelled before them, creating for themselves a wilderness paradise that would be the envy of most of us, or at least those who can imagine themselves living off the grid, a good distance from shops, services and the modern comforts we consider so essential to our very survival.

In the care of two of these intrepid folks, you can travel beyond the end of the road and wake up in the comfort of a hand-crafted floathouse or seaside cabin, listening to the heartbeat of nature and exploring secluded shorelines by kayak – alone or in the company of your hosts Bruce McMorran, owner of Paddler’s Inn in Simoom Sound in the Broughton Archipelago, accessed from the community of Port McNeill on northeast Vancouver Island.

Bruce McMorran

Bruce moved to his chosen secluded site by kayak in 1980, at the age of just 18, following the call of the whales and nature and his passion to live in and be a part of the wilderness. His homesteading began as a seaside squatter, who after years of persistence and on-site presence and development, was able to arm wrestle the provincial government into allowing a small tenure and right of occupation.

The form of the resort began to unfold over the years, facilitating seaside vacations, guided kayak tours, and wilderness immersion. When not ‘homesteading’ or offering guided kayak trips, Bruce could be found planting trees where once great forests had stood. This suited Bruce’s all-seasons approach to outdoor life, assuring that his personal activities demonstrated a form of wilderness immersion, and an ecological contribution, and allowed for a communal living experience, a welcome contrast to his independent pioneering hermitage lifestyle.

After 10 years of reclusive ocean-side living, Bruce began his family life. He lived in Simoom Sound running the resort in the summers, and a tree-planting company in the fall and spring.

When the children (Indra and Solomon) were school age, he moved to Cortes Island to begin a new life of schooling for the kids, and seasonal employment at the Hollyhock Retreat Centre for Bruce as a bodywork practitioner, where he provided Jin Shin Do acupressure, Reiki, deep tissue Esalen massage, and Hakomi body-centered psychotherapy for six years.

Once the offspring were on their own, Bruce turned his attention back to their homestead, and life in the wilderness, returning to re-open the lodge, and live in ‘the cradle of nature’ again. Bruce gets great pleasure out of welcoming guests to reconnect with nature and experience the beauty of the Broughton Archipelago.