I’VE NEVER BEEN one to turn down a good old fashioned hole-digging.
It’s an activity that has captivated thousands of young men, and maybe a few older ones, throughout the ages.
And I myself spent many an afternoon digging random holes in the woods near my boyhood home in Illinois.
There was really no reason for it, just a strong desire to see what’s underground.
The hole didn’t serve much of a purpose either, other than keep my friends and me occupied for hours at a time while our parents reveled in our absence.
Usually it was little more than clay, roots and more dirt.
That’s where the beauty of clam digging lies.
For it combines the unencumbered joy of hole digging with a tasty, if not disturbingly phallic, reward. (That is, unless you use a clam gun, which is basically the outdoors version of the A-Rod steroid cocktail.)
The fanciful fusion of shovel and shellfish will be available to all Peninsulites when Kalaloch Beach opens to razor clam digging next Monday afternoon.
It is one of five beaches set to open between Saturday and Tuesday along the coast.
Twin Harbors will be open to evening digging Saturday through Tuesday, while Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks open Saturday through Monday.
Kalaloch is expected to see 18.5-foot swells for its opener on Monday night, so Peninsulites might be better off making the trek further south.
One look at the surf forecasts indicates that Saturday might be diggers’ best option.
Always make sure to check back in with the weather before heading out, because as many of us know, the weatherman knows diddly when it comes to five-day forecasts around these parts.
All the fun that comes with clam digging quickly fades when you’re stuck in a rainstorm with countless waves crashing on your clam shows.
No, that is a misery I wouldn’t wish on any man, woman or child.
Harvesters are allowed to take no more than 15 razor clams and must keep the first 15 they dig, regardless of size or condition.
Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container.
Here are the tides for each day:
• Saturday — -0.3 feet at 4:34 p.m.
• Sunday — -0.7 feet at 5:21 p.m.
• Monday — -0.9 feet at 6:05 p.m.
• Tuesday — -0.8 feet at 6:47 p.m.
For more information on coastal razor clams, visit http://tinyurl.com/oyekj.
Mushroom Mania, Part Deux
Sorry my dear Peninsulites, but you’re going to have to wait a few more days to find out the winners of Mushroom Mania, Part Deux.
Apparently many of you are ardent procrastinators, because I was overrun with fungal photos during the last four days of the contest in early November.
With so many shrooms to survey, I need to take a few more days to sort out the winners.
Expect to see a full-page spread on Page C1 of an upcoming PDN real soon.
It comes as no surprise that some of you took a few liberties in the “Looks like Matt Schubert” contest.
And judging which ugly fungus most resembles my countenance is no easy task.
In fact, it’s quite degrading.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladaily news.com.
