THE TIMING COULDN’T be much better for Friday’s premiere presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition’s 2016 Adventure Series, even if the reason makes many uneasy.
The Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea popped back into the headlines this week after claiming to have tested a hydrogen bomb.
Port Angeles-based world traveler Elston Hill will present a more benign, tourist-oriented travelogue of his recent trip to the country, “A Photography Adventure in North Korea,” at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St., at 7 p.m.
Hill and his wife Jackie visited North Korea in October of 2015.
The pair spent time sightseeing in the capitol city of Pyongyang, and also visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone, established at the end of the Korean War to serve as a buffer zone between North and South Korea.
Adventure-oriented presentations focused on “traveling with a purpose” will follow at the center each Friday at 7 p.m. through Feb. 5.
The suggested donation is $5 at each presentation, with funds supporting the volunteer efforts of the Peninsula Trails Coalition on the Olympic Discovery Trail. Other lectures in the series are:
■ Jan. 15: Tom Swanson presents “A 3,400-mile Pedal Odyssey for Education”
■ Jan. 22: Marilyn Santiago offers “Glimpses of the World Through A Volunteer Surgical Nurse’s Eyes”
■ Jan. 29: Gary and Jan Holmquist will discuss “Planes, Trains and Bicycles: Our Cycling Trip Through Western Europe”
■ Feb. 5: Sabrina Scruggs and Janet Nickolaus will talk about their experiences “Teaching English in South Korea and Thailand.”
Sequim’s Travelers Journal series, another fundraiser for the Peninsula Trail Coalition, will begin Thursday, Jan. 28.
Arvo and Christiane Johnson will present “Namibia: Vast Horizons” at 7 p.m. at the Sequim High School Library, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
That series will run each Thursday through March 7.
Dig in for clams
Razor clam diggers can fill their limits at a series of planned digs at Long Beach and Copalis Beach.
Digs at both beaches are on evening tides and include a two-day opening (Friday and Saturday) at Copalis and an eight-day dig (today through Jan. 14) at Long Beach.
“The season opener at Copalis over the Christmas holiday was a huge success with most diggers filling their limits,” said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“We’re excited that we can open Long Beach for the first time this season.”
Razor clam digging will remain closed on Washington’s other coastal beaches until domoic acid levels drop below the threshold (20 parts per million) set by state public health officials.
Domoic acid posed a problem for shellfish fisheries along Washington’s coast for much of 2015.
The natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in sufficient quantities. Cooking or freezing does not destroy domoic acid in shellfish.
The digs are set for the following dates and low tides:
■ Today: 4:57 p.m., 0.1 feet, Long Beach.
■ Friday: 5:37 p.m., -0.4 feet, Long Beach and Copalis.
■ Saturday: 6:16 p.m., -0.8 feet, Long Beach and Copalis.
■ Sunday: 6:55 p.m., -1.0 feet, Long Beach.
■ Monday: 7:34 p.m., -1.0 feet, Long Beach.
■ Tuesday: 8:14 p.m., -0.8 feet, Long Beach.
■ Wednesday: 8:56 p.m., -0.4 feet, Long Beach.
■ Thursday: 9:40 p.m., -0.2 feet, Long Beach.
Under state law, diggers can take 15 razor clams per day and are required to keep the first 15 they dig. Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container.
All diggers age 15 or older must have an applicable 2015-16 fishing license to harvest razor clams on any beach.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.