OUTDOORS: Matt Schubert’s five best bets to do this weekend

• Sol Duc salmon — Listen, I can’t say this anymore than I already did in today’s column, so I’ll do it in all caps: THE SOL DUC IS HOT.

• Hoh hike — Washington Trails Association recently listed the Hoh River Trail as one of the state’s “eight haunted hikes.”

Now I’m not sure about that noise, but I do know the Hoh is always best once the rains start falling and the rainforest comes alive with its classic soggy fairy-tale feel.

Given that it’s mid-October, that would be about right now.

• CCA fundraiser — The Coastal Conservation Association-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter will hold its first fundraising banquet in John Wayne Marina on Saturday at 4 p.m.

There will be live and silent auctions of fishing gear, trips, art and more. Tickets are $65 per person or $120 for couples. That includes a one-year membership in the CCA.

For information on ordering tickets, contact banquet chair Bill Batson at 877-875-2381 (ext. 20) or bill@batsonenterprises.com.

• Quilcene Bay kayaking — Admiralty Audubon’s Ron Sikes will lead a birding trip by kayak through the Quilcene Bay estuary Saturday.

A group will depart Haines Place Park-n-Ride near Safeway in Port Townsend at 11 a.m. Participants must bring their own kayak, gear, lunch and water.

To register for the trip, contact Sikes at 360-385-0307 or sikes@olympus.net.

• Mushroom Madness — The fungal photos continue to pile up in my inbox for the PDN’s annual mushroom photo contest.

Now that the season is in full bloom — if “bloom” is the right word — now is the time to find the perfect shroom shot of the biggest or prettiest mushroom on the Peninsula. Or you can go for the true brass ring and find the mushroom most resembling a notable figure.

Whatever it might be, just make sure to send it to yours truly (matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com) by the Nov. 8 deadline.

Instant fungal fame can be yours.

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