Gundyville On Wheels: Cold, Wet, and Clammy...

A cold and cloudy day greeted our arrival to Ninilchik, a quaint little village between Homer and Soldotna. We scouted the clam flats and prepared for our first try at the Alaskan Razor Clam- a VERY soft shelled clam that prides itself in living deep in the sand (average about 20 inches down) and being able to go further down faster than you can dig them up. A challenge, yes, but not an impossibility, so armed with shovel and an Alaskan tool called the “Clam Gun“, we headed out. Another cold day, but now raining- 3 ½ hours on the flats made us wet, cold, sore, tired, and yes, clammy. By the time we got back to camp and cleaned the clams, about another hour and a half, I was feeling borderline hypothermic. That in and of itself wouldn’t seem so bad, except this is August and I was wearing a wet suit under my pants and shirt and hip boots. But a hot shower, some dry clothes and a plate of “steamers” made it all seem worthwhile- and fun.

Below, beautiful downtown Ninilchik...

and the clam flats just beyond.

The Clam Gun is a steel tube attached to a hollow T handle which has a small hole in it. When you find a clam "dimple", you plunge the tube into the sand, cover the hole with your finger to seal the vacuum, then pull up the tube full of sand, uncover the hole, to release the vacuum, and shake out the sand. MAYBE the clam comes up with the column of sand in the tube, but usually not, so you drop to your knees in the sand and dig the rest of the distance down to the clam with your hand. IF you find that little rascal, you pull him out- usually with a broken shell because they are so soft.