MATT SCHUBERT’S OUTDOORS: Weather or not, it’s Hurricane Ridge

IF THERE’S ONE term I loathe typing, it’s “weather permitting.”

It’s about the most obvious statement one can make about any outdoor activity.

Isn’t it a given that inclement weather often leads to cancellations, closures, delays and a host of other inconveniences in the outdoor realm?

But every time I write something about Hurricane Ridge activities each winter, that phrase creeps its way into my life, thanks to some secret federal mandate that requires its inclusion in every news release.

So let’s make a pact for the upcoming winter season.

Anything that happens on the Ridge, be it the road, skiing, tubing, snowshoeing, snowball fighting or what have you, is weather dependent.

If, for example, a blizzard wreaks havoc on the mountain, it’s likely that those activities are not going to be available that day (or the next, depending upon severity).

Hurricane Ridge Road, which opens to seven-day-a-week access today, weather permitting (doh!), will probably be covered in snow and undriveable.

And, of course, similar weather-related events (avalanche issues, cold and icy roads, etc.) can lead to closures and cancellations as well.

I think this is a concept we can all understand.

Thus, there’s no need to mention it again the rest of the winter.

Just call Olympic National Park’s road and weather conditions hotline (360-565-3131) before you head up to the Ridge (and don’t forget all vehicles are required to carry tire chains when traveling above the Heart O’ the Hills entrance station during winter), or if there’s any other doubts whatsoever.

So there you go.

That’s the last you’ll see of “weather permitting” in any PDN outdoors column for the rest of the season.

Permitting illness, a horrible car accident, job dismissal, obsessions pertaining to Jodie Foster . . .

Well, I think you get the idea.

Ski season?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the weather cooperated enough for an earlier-than-expected ski opener this weekend.

While Hurricane Ridge mountain manager Craig Hofer wouldn’t completely rule out the tope tows being up and running by Sunday, the prognosis didn’t sound very good.

“I really don’t want to say,” Hofer said. “I just don’t want to get anybody’s hopes all flying.”

He and his volunteer crew still have at least a couple of days of work left to get the intermediate and bunny tows operating.

And they can only get that work done when the weather cooperates (See how I just did that?).

So all ski fans can do between now and Saturday is check the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club website (hurricaneridge.com) for updates.

Once things do get rolling, organized ski and snowboard activities are set for Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays through March 27.

(Ski school doesn’t get going until the second weekend in January.)

The best bet might be for an opener the day after Christmas.

Individual season passes for all lifts at Hurricane Ridge cost $200.

A family pass for up to five costs $425 ($50 for each additional family member)

All-day and half-day tickets for the bunny lift are $12.

Tickets for the intermediate and bunny tows are $20 for half a day and $22 for a full day.

Once the Poma lift becomes operational, all-day tickets for all three will be $27 ($25 for half day).

None of those fees cover the entrance fee into Olympic National Park.

For more about how to get to the Ridge, see the story on Page C1 of today’s PDN.

Steelhead stunted

It was a lost week for steelheaders on the North Olympic Peninsula.

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, all that rain took its toll on area rivers, rendering just about everything unfishable.

Now that things are starting to clear up a tad, Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said, anglers might think about revisiting the West End.

“They are down there fishing today at the [Bogachiel] Hatchery, and they are catching a few fish,” Gooding said Thursday afternoon.

“It’s not like it’s tons of [fish], but a reasonable amount.”

We’re approaching the traditional midpoint of the hatchery steelhead run on the Peninsula, so it seems safe to assume fish will arrive en masse this week and next.

Surely, the recent splash of wet stuff brought a nice jag of them into the rivers the past few days as well.

It’s hard to say for sure, however, because hardly a soul was fishing any of them until Thursday.

As Gooding said: “You would have died if you tried to go fishing [Monday or Tuesday].

“It was ugly.”

Anglers had a hard time even getting access to some of the smaller tributaries that drain into Strait of Juan de Fuca this week.

Rising rivers shut down parts of state Highway 110 and 112.

Thus, there was little news coming out of the Hoko, Pysht, Lyre and Sekiu.

“The Lyre had been doing real well prior to all of this,” said Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357).

“So I expect things to be pretty good when things get back in.”

Plunkers almost assuredly have a shot to fish those rivers now.

They will likely even be fishable with conventional gear this weekend.

Gooding said that could easily be the case with the Bogey.

“The Bogachiel [today] it will be fishable,” he said.

“It won’t be great, but it will be fishable. By Saturday it should be just about perfect . . . unless we get a big splash of water.”

Getting birdy

Birders can give the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season.

With Christmas bird counts scheduled across the Peninsula the next three weeks, one can make the timeless contribution of some citizen science.

Trust me, future generations will surely thank you.

As Dungeness River Audubon Center director Bob Boekelheide attests, birds are as good an indicator as any concerning the health of the environment around you.

“[Birds] are an excellent bell weather,” Boekelheide said last year.

“First of all they are visible.

“Second of all you can have nonprofessionals out there making the observations.

“So they are a really easy way for us to keep tabs on the natural world.”

The Sequim-Dungeness count — the largest of the three scheduled in the area this winter — is set for all day on Monday.

That particular count is responsible for some of the largest participation numbers in the region.

In December 2007, Dungeness birders even observed a state-record 150 species.

Boekelheide attributed a good deal of that to the species diversity enjoyed in Dungeness Valley.

Although, it certainly doesn’t hurt that so many birders give a hoot around these parts.

“We’ve been really lucky in this count having consistency in the areas being covered and the people doing the birding,” said Boekelheide, who expects 100-plus counters this year.

“It looks like we’re going to have another great group.

“It would be really good to have more people just as feeder watchers, but they should still get in touch with me first [to do that].”

Admiralty Audubon will oversee a Christmas count of its own on Quimper Peninsula this Saturday.

A Port Angeles-area count is set for Jan. 2.

With all three counts, birders will hit the field all day before coming together for a dinner/potluck.

Birders can help by covering a special route, joining another group or just counting their own neighborhood or backyard.

Participation in each count costs $5, which also entitles volunteers to the Christmas Count issue of American Birds.

To sign up for the Dungeness count, phone the River Center at 360-681-4076.

Those interested in the Quimper count can contact Dan Waggoner at 360-385-5418 or danwags57@gmail.com.

The contact for the Port Angeles count is Barb Blackie (360-477-8028).

Hunting clarification

There was something I wanted to clarify from Thursday’s story on the decline of hunting on the Peninsula.

The number of deer hunters cited in the area applied to Region 6 as a whole, which includes the entire coastline and the southern portion of Hood Canal.

As was noted in Thursday’s piece, participations numbers for deer season during the past 14 years peaked at the turn of the millennium (38,259 hunters in 2000) in Region 6.

Those numbers declined precipitously the next year and have not approached 2000 levels since.

Also . . .

• Crabbers have two weeks left to collect crustaceans on the Peninsula.

Marine Areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (eastern Strait), 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and 12 (Hood Canal) all close to crabbing Jan. 2.

• Just about all that’s left for big game hunters are the deer.

Late muzzleloader (Hoko and Matheny GMUs) and archery elk (Pysht, Goodman and Clearwater) seasons ended Wednesday.

Muzzleloader deer (Dickey only) came to a close on the same date, while archery deer (Coyle and Pysht) goes through New Year’s Eve.

• Hunters who report this year’s hunting activities for black bear, deer, elk or turkey by Jan. 10 enter themselves into a drawing for nine special hunting permits.

All hunters, whether successful or not, are required to submit hunting reports for those species by Jan. 31.

Hunters can report by phone (877 945-3492) or the Internet http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

• Olympic National Park partner Discover Your Northwest is holding its annual holiday sale through Dec. 24 at three Peninsula locations: Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles, Forks Recreation Information Center and Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center.

Discover Your Northwest members, as well as members of other national park cooperating organizations, are eligible to receive a 30 percent discount.

Unfortunately, this does not include park passes.

• Fish and Wildlife is seeking nominations for the Anadromous and Marine Resources Sport Fishing Advisory Group through the end of 2010.

The group provides guidance to the state on issues affecting recreational fisheries for salmon, rockfish and other marine species.

Nominations may be submitted to Pat Pattillo by mail: Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA, 98501. Or e-mail Patrick.Pattillo@dfw.wa.gov.

For more information, contact Pattillo at 360-902-2705.

• Clammers can ring in the New Year with a sack full of razors from Kalaloch Beach.

The Olympic National Park beach is tentatively scheduled to open to afternoon digging Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, pending marine toxin testing.

Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks will also open around that time.

Send photos, stories

Want your event listed in the outdoors column?

Have a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique, why not share it with our readers?

Send it to me, Matt Schubert, Sports Department, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362; phone, 360-417-3526; fax, 360-417-3521; e-mail matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.

__________

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

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