MATT SCHUBERT’S OUTDOORS: Clamming coming to Kalaloch

START BRANDISHING SOME shovels.

Digging is officially on at four of five ocean beaches this weekend.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that clams at Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch are all safe to eat.

The announcement comes a little less than a week after the state was forced to cancel harvest dates at Long Beach due to elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) found in clams collected from there.

PSP is a marine toxin found in certain types of algae that can cause paralysis and even death if consumed in sufficient quantities.

Additional tests were conducted this week to determine whether or not it was safe to continue with evening digs at the other four beaches, and the samples proved to be safe.

“We’re pleased that we can move forward with digs at these four beaches,” state coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres said in a news release.

Twin Harbors will have evening digs today through Sunday, Copalis and Mocrocks on Friday through Sunday and Kalaloch on Saturday and Sunday.

Don’t expect a sunny afternoon at the beach, however. Weather reports predict rainfall each of the next four days, and the surf reports are none too promising either.

The surf is expected to taper off by Sunday’s dig, when 11-foot swells are expected to hit the beach at 13-second intervals. So perhaps that will be the best day to dig.

It is always best to begin digging at least one hour before low tide. Here are the low tides for this weekend:

■ Today — -1.1 feet at 5:13 p.m.

■ Friday — -1.5 feet at 5:58 p.m.

■ Saturday — -1.5 feet at 6:41 p.m.

■ Sunday — -1.2 feet at 7:23 p.m.

For more information on razor clams, visit http://tinyurl.com/oyekj.

Ski group

Now that Hurricane Ridge Road is out of commission for the next six weeks, downhill skiers have little choice but to head elsewhere.

Luckily, there is a group on the Peninsula that organizes outings to the I-5 slopes just about every week: the Olympic Peninsula Ski Network.

The group will hold a meeting at the North Olympic Library System’s Port Angeles Branch Meeting Room next Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. to discuss future outings to the Cascades.

The Port Angeles branch is located at 2210 S. Peabody St.

Most of the Ski Network’s organized trips, designed at achieving cheaper group rates and transportation for skiers, have been weekday excursions.

Yet with the current closure of Hurricane Ridge Road, the group is looking at putting together some trips during the weekend.

For more information, contact Margaret Low at 360-417-5503 or mar2low@olympus.net.

Sportsmen’s show

Forget about the event’s need to cling to specific gender roles.

The Washington Sportsmen’s Show is the pre-eminent gathering of its kind in the state.

And it’s going on now at the Puyallup Fair and Events Center through Sunday.

More than 245 hours of free presentations by top experts are scheduled throughout the five-day event.

That includes on-water seminars in a 3,000-gallon warm water demo tank as well as some at a 10,000-gallon indoor steelhead river.

There will also be information on hunting, sporting dogs and just about everything else outdoors.

For more information on the event, visit www.otshows.com.

__________

Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.

More in Sports

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Port Scandalous Roller Derby league members pose for a group photo during a recent practice. Roller Derby athletes traditionally use special names when they play. Back row left to right: Big Papa, Lily Hammer, Skully, Small Fry, Sinna Buns, Steel MadNOLA, Summit Slayer and Austin Plowers. Kneeling: Elastigirl, Malice in Wonderland and Sarah Strange.
ROLLER DERBY: Port Scandalous Scandals, the tough little team that could

The roller derby team the Port Scandalous Scandals will host… Continue reading

For the first time in four years, Sequim and Port Angeles rivals competed against each other on the track in college. Sequim’s Riley Pyeatt, left, a 2022 state champion in the 800 and 4x400, and Port Angeles’ Lauren Larson, who finished second in the 800, second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600 in the state in 2019, met at the Husky Indoor Track and Field Classic in Seattle this weekend. They both competed in the 1-mile run and both finished under five minutes. Pyeatt, who ran for Abilene Christian for a couple of years but now competes for Washington State, finished 57th with a time of 4:52.23, while Larson, who now runs for Boise State, was 75th in a time of 4:54.85.
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD: Old rivals meet again and Port Townsend Crush

Above: For the first time in four years, Sequim and Port Angeles… Continue reading

Left, the Port Angeles boys 200 freestyle relay team came in second at the West Central District III championships this weekend. Clockwise from top left are Finn Thompson, Patrick Ross, Miles Van Denburg and Thomas Jones. At right, Port Angeles’ Grant Butterworth won the West Central District III diving championship this weekend. (Port Angeles Swim Team)
PREP DISTRICT SWIMMING: Port Angeles boys finish third

Grant Butterworth wins district diving title

The East Jefferson girls basketball team celebrates their district playoff win over Cascade Christian on Saturday in a game that the Rivals trailed by nine points in the fourth quarter. The win also assures the Rivals a winning season. (East Jefferson girls basketball)
PREP BASKETBALL RECAP: Peninsula teams prevail in must-win games

The Port Angeles boys, Forks boys and girls and East… Continue reading

Bailey Johnson, Forks basketball.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Bailey Johnson, Forks basketball

Forks’ Bailey Johnson is getting red-hot at the perfect time of the… Continue reading

The Port Angeles and Sequim gymnastics teams competed at the District 3 meet this weekend. From left are head coach Elizabeth DeFrang, Lillian Sutherland, Lexi Possinger, Denise Galvan, Amelie Martin (Sequim), Lucy Spelker (Sequim), Shavari Epps, Ryah Deleon, Mya Callie and assistant coach Laura Rooney.
GYMNASTICS: Port Angeles and Sequim will send two gymnasts to state

Two members of the Port Angeles/Sequim gymnastics team qualified to… Continue reading

The Presidents’ Day Basketball Youth Tournament was held this weekend in Port Angeles with 40 teams coming from as far away as Elma, Sedro-Woolley, Belfair and Forks. Boys and girls teams had players in grades four through eight. Here, KaLeah Quilt of the seventh-grade Port Angeles girls team dribbles up the court against Shorewood. Shorewood won 22-21 on a last-second shot. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
STANDALONE PHOTO: Presidents’ Day hoops in Port Angeles

The Presidents’ Day Basketball Youth Tournament was held this weekend in Port… Continue reading

Peninsula College's Ryana Moss battles in the paint against Olympic's Allie Greene (2). Moss and Greene were teammates on Neah Bay's state championship team in 2023. (Jay Cline/Peninsula College)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Peninsula women clinch playoff berth

Men win crucial game for postseason chances