TESLA HAD IT right. Love will find a way.
Just look at the summer coho currently ambling up the Sol Duc River on the West End.
These fish must survive all manner of hooks, gillnets and predators during their three-year journey to adulthood.
Then, just as the scent of desire brings them swimming back home in search of that one glorious shot at reproduction, they encounter a river littered with obstructions.
Of course, near the top of that list is the Sol Duc Salmon Cascades — a series of boulders that serve as the final barrier between the summer silvers and the sweet salmon lovin’ they so desire.
Nature demands that the fish jump for love, PBS style, and they oblige.
Much like a man who spends an afternoon shopping with his special lady, the coho know extraordinary acts of audacity are sometimes required for a little companionship.
Those wishing to witness that courage first hand can do so now at the Cascades — located 28 miles west of Port Angeles off Sol Duc Hot Springs Road.
According to the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, summer coho have been jumping past the craggy obstruction for a few weeks now.
Although nearly every river on the Peninsula sees coho come back to its waters each year, the Sol Duc is the only one that has a summer run.
Thanks to monitoring activities done by park biologists during the past two decades — including weekly snorkel surveys each fall — we now have a detailed understanding of when the unique fish enter the river and where they spawn.
The bulk of the run typically shows up between the final week of September and third week of October, and more than 90 percent of all spawning activity occurs in creeks above the Cascades.
That means nearly all of the summer coho must jump over those boulders to find their dream date.
Reaching that area has likely been a difficult proposition the past few weeks because of the current low flows common to the area.
Thus, you can expect loads of coho to show up there as soon as the next big rain passes through the Peninsula.
More salmon
The Sol Duc isn’t the only place one can go to view returning salmon.
As Jeff Chew noted in a story published on the front page of Wednesday’s PDN, humpy madness has made its way to the Dungeness River.
Hundreds of pink salmon are currently swimming past Railroad Bridge Park near Sequim, site of this weekend’s 12th annual Dungeness River Festival.
The Quasimodo-esque fish — male pinks develop a hump during the spawning phase, hence the nickname — are perhaps the ugliest of all returning salmon.
Their features are so frightening one might assume that pinks must feed on children’s dreams in order to survive.
Fortunately, the river isn’t open to fishing, so nobody can actually test that hypothesis out.
The same goes for the Salmon Cascades, which is also closed to fishing.
Meeting change
The Coastal Conservation Association-North Olympic Chapter moved the venue for tonight’s monthly meeting to Wine on the Waterfront, 115 E. Railroad Ave., in Port Angeles.
State fisheries biologist Lorna Wargo will talk about rockfish management at the meeting, set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
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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@peninsuladailynews.com.
