December 18, 2015

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Finally a sunbreak -- a cloudy one, at that -- in the midst of our ongoing series of storms. Only one site was occupied at Tillicum Beach campground. Five people and three dogs, one leashed, were out walking on the sand. Natural driftline debris consisted largely of what looks like short sandy hairs -- wish I knew what that is. There were also a fair number of sand dollar fragments. I was surprised at how little driftwood there was, large or small. Not as much manmade debris as I would have expected, but I did fill a satchel with medium-sized plastics and had to leave three large items I couldn't handle by myself. (See photos 2 and 3.) One of the items, which I didn't photograph, was a tangle of heavy-gauge rope; it was about halfway down the mile. None of the manmade debris looked to be of tsunami origin. Gulls were few and far between. I found one dead bird I couldn't identify (photo 5). The big waves have finally begun carrying off some of the layers of sand that have accumulated over the past couple of years (photo 1). I'd say 18 inches or more have been scoured off here. There was even a smattering of stones on the beach -- no great finds among them, but the mere sight was enough to gladden my rockhounding heart. There was no evidence of substantial new cliff erosion. However, compare the two photos (6 and 7) of the campground's north steps, taken a week apart.