I’m heading back out to Neah Bay this morning, a two-day visit to a couple of beaches south of Cape Flattery that I’ve been monitoring for a few years now. I usually try to go once in the winter and again in the summer each year. This one is going to feel like winter.

Both beaches were included among the kayak surveys the Ikkatsu Project did back in 2012, when debris from the tsunami was front-and-center in our thoughts. There is less out there now that can be positively identified as tsunami-related, but there is usually plenty of other stuff to look through mixed in with the sand, kelp and driftwood. Lots of bottles, fishing gear and smaller scraps, piled high along the top of the beach by the waves and the wind.

I like the drive. It’s a long one and I’m sure the road to Neah Bay (which is never in great shape), will be especially sporty today if the snow doesn’t melt off. But this being Washington, the snow will likely be gone by mid-morning and we’ll be back to icy rain by the time I hit the trail.