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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2021)
Appeal Tribune | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021 | 1B OUTDOORS Rollie Urness, 4, hikes to Pamelia Lake in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. PHOTO BY ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MICAELA ENCINAS/ USA TODAY NETWORK backpacking trips for younger kids Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK The most rewarding experience with children in the outdoors, for me, has always been backpacking. h Car camping is great, day-hikes are wonderful, and fishing trips are fantastic. But none of those capture the immersive quality of getting away from the road and carrying camp upon your shoulders the way back- packing does. h This seems especially true with younger kids. h But picking the perfect spot for a first, second or third backpacking trip is not easy. You want a hike that’s a few miles into the wilderness, but not so tough that it stops being fun. You want good campsites, ideally near a mountain lake, but not hoards of mosquitoes. And ideally, it’ll have some extra things to do once you reach camp, whether it’s swimming or fishing or day-hiking. h It can feel like a lot. h Here are 10 picks for good backpacking destinations for those younger in age (or looking for an easier experience). h Two people helped out with this list: Bonnie Hen- derson, my co-author on “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon,” and author of the upcoming book “Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail.” And Franziska Weinheimer, owner and operator of the outdoors website Hike Oregon. See BACKPACKING, Page 2B Razor clamming, turkey shooting and pond fishing Fishing Henry Miller Guest columnist According to the plethora of ads ring- ing the web pages, October Fools Day kicks off the start of the holiday shop- ping season. Didn’t you know that’s why it’s called Shoptober? I digress. The witching month also provides several soggy outdoor opportunities in the field. Here are a couple of highlights: Razors re-open Just in time for a set of after-dark mi- nus tides, razor clamming will reopen Oct. 1 on Clatsop County beaches, Ore- gon’s most popular, and productive, site for diggers. Those beaches had been closed un- der the annual conservation closure that began on July 15. Statistics from the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife show that 95 percent of the take in Oregon comes from the 18-mile section of Clatsop beaches. And surveys by the department show production and growth have been good during the digging hiatus. Check out the department’s razor- clamming pages online at Razor clam | Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (myodfw.com) Opening of the state’s northernmost beaches comes on the heels of the lifting on Sept. 24 of a razor-clamming closure south of Tillamook Head near Seaside south to the California border. While bay clamming, crabbing and mussel-gathering remained open coast- wide, digging razors had been prohibit- ed because of elevated levels of the shellfish toxin domoic acid. If the weather cooperates, or you’re really hardy (some would make that foolhardy), strap on the headlamp, pack the lantern, or both, during the low-tide series several hours after sunset Oct. 7- 10. The lowest of the series are minus-1.1 feet at 8:54 on Oct. 8, a Friday, and mi- nus-1 foot at 9:42 on Oct. 9 at Seaside. Public service announcement: Use With the lifting of a pair of closures, the entire Oregon coast is open to razor clamming as of Oct. 1. HENRY MILLER/SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL extreme caution when clamming at night on open beaches, especially when the weather’s sketchy. And don’t waste a trip; be sure to check before heading out because the closure status can change in a hurry. Call the recorded Shellfish Safety Hotline at (800) 448-2474, or go online to the Oregon Department of Agricul- ture’s shellfish closure information page at ODA Shellfish Biotoxin Closures web- page. For complete tide tables for north coast beaches, go to Razorclamming- .com at Seaside - Clatsup Spit Razor Clamming, the Best Clamming in The See MILLER, Page 2B