Archive for March, 2008
Columbia Coast Wildflower Hikes 2008
Yes, it’s still snowing, but spring is coming. Being optimistic, I do think the snow will end, sometime. When we have cold late springs, high elevation sites have delayed and compressed flowering. One summer in the mid 1990s, I hiked Saddle Mtn in June, to find that a cold spring had delayed typical May flowers. So the late June hike was spectacular for its diversity. Something similar might happen this year, if the road to the mountain is open by then. And if the trail is open. Note the word ‘if.’
Last winter brought a complication that is a bit above the norm: several trails we usually hike by April are still blocked by downed trees. As of late March, I do not know when the Saddle Mtn access road and trail, or Canyon Creek trail at Ft Columbia St Park, will be open. So, aiming for flexibility, we’ll plan to adjust plans as dates approach for each hike. This means that to start, we will use low elevation, easily accessed trails. In some cases we may end up backtracking due to downed trees, and only hiking part of the planned routes.
If access is blocked the day of the hike, I will propose alternative trails. I’ll confirm road/trail access about 7-10 days ahead of each date.
Kathleen Sayce
Hike Schedule: hikes-2008.pdf
Razor Clam Digging
As many of you know, when a razor clam tide is announced on the Long Beach Peninsula, folks flock to the beach to dig their limits of the tasty bivalves. My husband, David Campiche, grew up on the peninsula and rarely misses a clam tide. On Saturday, March 8th, there was an evening tide and David and I drove to the beach to dig a limit of clams for ourselves and some visiting friends; David, with shovel in hand, and me, with camera in hand. We entered the beach from the Seaview approach and headed north in search of our bounty.
We had to drive all the way to Oysterville to spot anyone with their head bent down to actually dig a clam! Here’s what most of the folks looked like on our way north:
David doesn’t give up easily, so we parked the truck and he and our faithful dog, Loki headed out for the surf to begin digging. I’ll let the pictures tell most of the story…
More clamming photos…
Persistence paid off and David finally had nearly his full limit of clams. It was pretty tough digging, though.
The adventure took us a whole lot longer than we had anticipated, so we high-tailed it home so we could clean and cook the clams. As the sun went down, the remaining clam diggers lit their lanterns, which is always a pretty sight.
Finally we made it home with barely enough energy to clean and cook the clams (it’s tough getting old). The clams were
pretty good size as you can see…
Here’s what they look like without their clothes on…
And here’s what they look like in a chowder:
It was worth the trouble!
Laurie Anderson
Scenic Drive
With Spring just around the corner the drive between South Bend and Long Beach is showing alot of Elk activitiy. Some days you can count up to five different herds! It is exciting to see the abundant wildlife and fowl that flourish along our bay. You never know what you will see along the way. Keep your eyes open and enjoy your drive!