How to make your own clam gun! (prequel to the lost coast trip)

I have been focussing most of my efforts in backpacking terms these past few months on the sole goal of the Lost Coast of California.  I have been planning a trip most of the year, with my dad, friend Marco, and possibly Mike, and have been thinking into my gear and also many other possibilities that a backpacking trip along the coast presents.

I grew up on the Oregon coast, clamming and crabbing until I didn't think I could take any more of it! (just kidding, I love it!)  My father used to take us at least once a year at low tide, down to the ocean to go clamming.  We did it the old fashioned way.  Shovel, bag/bucket, and your bare hands.  It was a chore and a half to dig up even one clam, due to their speed at digging and their ability to move, albeit slowly.

Enter the Clam Gun!  A simple but effective way to get those pesky clams before they can get too far away!  Here is how I made mine, and I hope to make good use of it on my backpacking trip to the Lost Coast in a few weeks, wrangling up some good clams for some chowder:

Materials:

2' length of 1" PVC pipe
2' length of 4" PCV pipe
Cap for 4" PVC pipe
1 1/2" long 5/16 bolt x 2
5/16 nut x 2
5/16 washer x 2

Tools:

Hack Saw
Battery Drill gun
1/8 drill bit
5/16 drill bit
PVC quick dry glue
Socket Wrench and 5/16 socket
Hammer or Mallet

Instructions:

1. Cut your 2' length of 1" PVC pipe to 14" or whatever length you choose for a good handle length.

2. Center your handle on the cap by itself and duct tape the center of the handle into position.

3. Drill a 1/8 pilot hole with your 1/8 drill bit on either side of the duct tape.

4. Drill a 5/16 hole where you drilled your pilot hole using your 5/16 drill bit.

5. Insert the bolts into the 5/16 holes.

6. Use your mallet/hammer to tap down the inserted bolts.

7. Flip the cap and handle over and place your washer and nut onto both bolts.

8. Tighten both nuts with your socket wrench and 5/16 socket. (you may need an extention to get down into the cap with the wrench.)

9. Apply PVC glue to the inside edge of the cap.

10. Apply PVC glue to the outside edge of the 4" PVC pipe.

11. Push cap down onto the 4" PVC pipe.

12. Gently tap around the rim with your mallet/hammer.  Make sure the cap is level and pushed all the way down.

13.  Allow time for glue to dry!

14. Enjoy your clam gun on any beach (provided you check out the take restrictions and permit requirements first ;-)

I had a blast making mine and it only took about 15 minutes.  Hope you all get a chance to try it someday! (pictures below show more detail of each part of the process)

Andy

Off to Discover Fire!

Since I have recently discovered that California Wilderness areas generally do not allow fire (something that I have known for a while but was always optimistic about), I have been searching for any wilderness locations near me that allow personal campfires.  I recently discovered that their is such a campsite, called a yellow post site, that is not technically located on National Wilderness land, but is often located in secluded wilderness like areas.  My friend Mike located one near our local wilderness area (San Gregornio Wilderness) and we decided to make a day hike in to see if it was truly what we had been looking for.

The day was a beautiful 75 degrees and sunny, the perfect day for hiking.  Mike and I arrived at the trailhead around 11:45 am and headed out.  The trail followed a creek for about a mile and then left it to traverse the hillside with numerous switch backs.

The rangers had told us over the phone that no one ever used the trail or campsite because of the unkept trail, which was likely overgrown and broken down in areas.  This challenge all the more invigorated me to find this camp site.

As we traversed the creek, we eventually came to a point where it went underground, and what was left was a gully nearly entirely lined with oak leaves, rocks, and giant pine cones!

We kept going up and eventually ran into switch backs that took us over the hill and into the next ravine, cut deep by a roaring snow melt creek.  I kept getting ahead of mike, and would often turn around and snap a photo of him.

As we descended we got into the section of unkept trail and saw that it was mostly rock slides and erosion that had disrupted the trail.  We spent a minute stopping to get the gravel out of our five finger shoes.

As we continued I saw an amazing freak of nature! A rock had become overgrown by a tree trunk, and over time the rock had eroded away from the hill side, to be completely separate from the hill and embedded in the tree!

We kept moving and eventually came to an amazing section of creek where the water cascaded over solid rock into pools that looked like hot tubs, swirling and streaming down the mountainside.  It so far was the prettiest section of the San G wilderness that I have seen.

 Mike in his Bikila FiveFingers at the Creek Crossing

We continued up the hill and finally found the campsite!  Oh woe is me!  There were people camped there, by the firepit, taking up the entire site!  I thought it might be a hunting party that had come up from another route (I hadn't seen any fresh tracks on the trail), but wasn't sure.  The only thing I was sure of was that our day was ruined and we would have to go back to the trailhead without any cooked beef sausage in our stomaches!

However, we were determined to cook our lunch and eat it too, so we went a ways away into a rock field and built a fire ring of our own.  The fire took off quickly since the wood was so dry, and we kept it small, using only the coals from the first burn and a few little sticks to do the dirty work.  In a half an hour or so we had nice roasted sausage!

 Our Site

Our Lunch Cooking!

We then took some photos around the site, showcasing our wilderness prowess!

Packing up we were most definitely sure that we would return to this camp site again, possibly this summer and definitely the next winter, to enjoy a camp fire and the joys it brings when camping in the outdoors.  

Until Next Time!

PS: Here are some photos that mike took and sent me after the fact!

Me crossing the creek