Outdoors Notebook | Toxin tests give green light to go digging for clams
Those looking for something else to eat other than leftover turkey should head to the coast, where a razor clam dig is looming on the horizon.
The latest marine toxin tests were well below the cutoff threshold, allowing Long Beach, Copalis, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks to open Nov. 23-24, and at Twin Harbors only Nov. 25-26.
“The toxin levels on all the beaches are as low as they can be,” said Dan Ayres, the head state Fish and Wildlife coastal shellfish biologist. “This is a special dig because it occurs right after Thanksgiving, and it has been a popular opener and we expect a lot of people to show up.”
On the northern coast, no digging will occur this fall and winter at Kalaloch Beach because of a lack of clams.
At the end of last month, diggers were allowed either four or two days of digging, depending on the beaches, and were greeted with wonderful weather and lights out digging.
“It couldn’t have been more successful, and we had a total of 36,000 digger trips with the average right at 15 clams per person,” Ayres said. The first 15 clams dug, regardless of size or condition, equals a daily limit.
“Diggers got more clams than we might have expected, and including wastage there was a little over 541,000 clams dug,” Ayres said.
Low tides: Nov. 23, minus-1.3 feet at 5:21 p.m.; Nov. 24, minus-1.7 at 6:11 p.m.; Nov. 25, minus-1.8 at 7 p.m.; and Nov. 26, minus-1.6 at 7:48 p.m.
More digs are planned Dec. 21-22 on all beaches except Kalaloch, and Dec. 23 at Twin Harbors only.
A few resorts open for winter operation
Skiers and snowboarders looking to get a jump-start on polishing up their turns on the slopes can head north to British Columbia, where Whistler and Sun Peaks resorts opened their doors yesterday for the winter season.
A series of strong winter storms blasted through Canada in recent days and built a good snow base of 42 inches at Whistler.
The mountain can be accessed from the Whistler Village and Creekside base areas. The Whistler Village Gondola, Creekside Gondola, Emerald Express, Franz’s Chair and Big Red Express are open. A rail park is set up in the Emerald Express Habitat Park area. Whistler is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Blackcomb Mountain will open as planned Thursday.
Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops opened Saturday, and is in operation from Cahilty trail to the Elevation Chair. The mountain is open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Access through the Sunburst Express Chair, with downloading if necessary. If more snow falls, Sun Peaks plans to open terrain from Crystal Lane to the Crystal Chair, providing access to the Upper Five Mile, Spillway and Last Chance. The Elevation Chair will be used to return to the top of Crystal Lane.
In Oregon, Timberline Resort’s upper advanced terrain on the Palmer snowfields is open with the Palmer and Magic Mile lifts in operation. Weather permitting, the area is open Friday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In Washington, more snow or rain continues to fall in the Cascade mountains, and all areas are taking a wait-and-see approach.
“Our opening date always depends on snow amount,” said Holly Lippert, communications manager for The Summit at Snoqualmie. “While we won’t be opening as earlier as we have in the last two years, we are hoping for the last weekend in November or early December.”
Tiana Enger, director of sales and marketing at Crystal Mountain Resort reflected the same optimism, and is hoping the slopes could be open by Thanksgiving, “but that’s up to Mother Nature at this point.”
A wet front approached Thursday, and mountain areas below 5,500 feet got rain.
The weather trend heading into Thanksgiving is colder but drier.
Notes
• The monthly meeting of the Washington Fly Fishing Club is Tuesday. Guest speaker is fly-fisherman Cam Sigler of Vashon Island, whose discussion is titled Billfish on Fly: The Man In the Broad Brimmed Hat. Attendees must register online to participate in the meetings in downtown Seattle. Details: www.wffc.com.
• The Overlake Fly Fishing Club meeting is 6:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Issaquah Holiday Inn, Olympic Room, 1801 12th Ave. N.W. Guest speaker is guide Joe Rotter with Reds Fly Shop in Yakima, who will discuss steelhead fly-fishing in the Klickitat River. Attendees are required to make a dinner reservation by Nov. 22. Details: 206-310-7013.
• The North Cascades Institute’s Eagle Watchers program is looking for volunteers who will be stationed on weekends at three sites along the Skagit River from Dec. 15 to Feb. 3.
Volunteers will offer information about eagles, salmon and the Skagit River at information tables set up along Highway 20. There will be a two-day training session Dec. 8-9.
Applications are available at www.ncascades.org, and will be accepted through Friday.
For details, call 360-856-5700, ext. 209.
• Chum salmon are migrating back to local spawning grounds, and Kennedy Creek Salmon trail located between Olympia and Shelton is the perfect place to view them in a natural setting.
The half-mile viewing area will be open on weekends, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Saturday through Dec. 2, as well as this Friday.
The trail is partially ADA accessible and volunteer trail guides will be on-site to answer questions. Details: 360-412-0808 or www.spsseg.org.
• Seattle Raft and Kayak is hosting the Deception Pass Dash, a 5-mile kayak race through Deception Pass between Whidbey and Fidalgo islands, at 9:45 a.m. Dec. 2 at Bowman Bay in Deception Pass State Park.
The event is open to kayakers who are confident in rough-water paddling. There will be a barbecue. Details: 206-940-6269 or www.seattleraftandkayak.com.
• The Steelhead University clinic is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 8 at Sportco in Fife. The seminar is open for anglers of all abilities. Cost is $88. Details: 206-387-9293 or www.steelheaduniversity.com.
Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com