It’s looking benign on the river this morning and benign on the shores of the Columbia, with the stately trees holding still and quite, watching the bald eagles as they dive for fish. That tranquil scene will collapse into chaos later today as a front crosses the PNW and high pressure builds off the coast. This morning’s .04 gradient will climb into the uh-oh zone by early afternoon. Whether we’ll see this gradient translate to wind on the water remains to be seen.
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster’s Rocks | tan | in the bare | if you | dare | |
| Steven’s Locks | W 5-10 | 15-18 | 26-30+ | 15-18 | |
| Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River) | 5-10 | 22-25 | 28-32 | 22-25 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | 5-10 | 22-25 | 28-32+ | 22-25 | |
| Rufus, etc. | 5-10 | 22-25 | 28-32+ | 22-25 | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | 5-10 | 22-25 | 28-32 | 28-32 | |
| Temira’s sail: 35-40: 2.9 / 30-35: 3.2 / 26-30: 3.5 23-26: 4.0 / 20-23: 4.5 less than 20: something bigger! |
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| Tonia’s kite: 35-40: 4m / 30-35: 4-6m / 26-30: 5-7m 23-26: 7-9m / 20-23: 8-10 / 15-20: 10-12 / 10-15: 13-15. |
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Gorge Wind forecast, continued…
I think you can count on Stevenson for 26-30+ today, at least until it starts raining there late afternoon, so let’s leave Stevenson out of the picture. The rest of our beaches, all of them from Swell to Arlington, will see a slow and steady build to 28-32 by early afternoon. I think we’ll see a 1.5-2 hour bump of good, steady wind, so make a preemptive strike, if you can. Otherwise, expect the streadiest and most reliable wind after the early period to be at Avery and Arlington. Other locations will likely drop to very gusty, up-and-down 23-27. Don’t get me wrong: it’ll still be windy. It’ll just be gusty. So strike early and get the goods.
Tomorrow starts with leftover 12-15 through the whole Gorge. Expect afternoon westerlies at 12-15 under the clouds from Steven’s Locks to Swell and out east at Arlington, with 20-23 from Mosier to Maryhill. Thursday starts light and variable and picks up to W 10-13. The next few days after that don’t look particularly strong, but keep an eye on the coast starting Thursday.
In other news, the Hatchcam is currently down, but the owner (who’s out of the country right now) tells me that although the date is wrong, the image is correct. Also, the river temp is 53 degrees, and the river flow is 141kcfs, very low for this time of year (median flow is 230kcfs), meaning Maryhill will be just fine.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
Nothing to say here today.
Random Morning Thoughts
One of the most difficult things we can do is sit with someone who’s in emotional pain. There are many reasons this can be hard. We may not know what to say. We may worry about saying the wrong thing and what it says about us if we can’t come up with the right thing to say. We may worry about hurting the other person more. We might be embarrassed by strong emotions in other people (probably signifying we feel shame at showing those emotions ourselves).
But one of the most powerful gifts we can give someone is to be with them while they are hurting, because along with the pain, they’re probably feeling lonely. By sitting with someone, we take the loneliness away and help them move through the other pain.
I am saying this to encourage you in something: if someone around you is hurting, especially if they ask for help, offer to sit with them. Or even offer to listen to them on the phone. You don’t even have to say anything – if they accept your offer, your presence is enough.
Thank you to all my friends who have come through in this department over the last couple of years. You have no idea how much your support means to me. To the rest of you, I’d encourage you to give this gift to your friends, even if their pain makes you uncomfortable. You can even tell them that – honesty is an amazing connection builder. Have a nice day, and may you be free from suffering today.
Gorge Weather Forecast
It’s really quite a beautiful start to the day today, so beautiful that I had to lie in bed for a little extra time today just to look at the blue sky and hills of the Gorge. Expect a mix of low and mid-level clouds to move in as the day goes on, with just the slightest chance of sprinkles in the afternoon. Temps will be in the upper 40’s early and mid 60’s later. Nuking wind, 3% chance of rainbows. Tomorrow starts partly to mostly cloudy and clears as the day progresses. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and low 60’s in the afternoon. The freezing level will be around 3000′ tomorrow, so if you’re crossing the pass, be prepared for icy spots. Thursday looks sunny with temps in the low 40’s early and the upper 60’s in the afternoon.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
I’ve been getting very mixed messages about the condition of Surveyor’s Ridge, so here is my latest compilation of all the reports: Section from Dog River to the singletrack: 30 trees down. Powerlines to doubletrack, 10-20 trees down. Knebal, 8 Mile, Fifteenmile: open. Hospital: cows, no dogs allowed. Whoopdee: climb out closed, expect two-way traffic. Syncline: ticks, wildflowers & poison oak. Crawford Hills: wildflowers, ticks, and a trail day on Saturday. Nestor: Open. Dog River: Clear, race this weekend. Plains/Ape/Smith: brushed out and open, rumor has it. Not confirmed. Siouxon/Huffman: open and clear, not confirmed.
Road biking news: Thursday is your day. Light wind and highs in the upper 60’s.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear.
Temira approves. Click to join.
Upcoming Events
Today’s events include community power Vinyasa yoga at Flow at 8am. There’s pickup touch rugby tonight at the Hood River Marina fields at 5pm, and there’s a trail run in Post Canyon at 6:15pm. There’s also $12 Prime Rib tonight at Cebu.
So, last week I told you the Gorge Paddler Film Festival was Friday night. The truth is that it’s this Friday at the River City. So, if you were kicking yourself for missing it, you can still watch some great local kayaking movies.
This Saturday’s Columbia Hills Park days, where you’ll see some great wildflowers, Saturday’s also a free youth fishing clinic at Mayer Park in Rowena, and it’s the Angela Coe Rainy Day Walk and Run in Cascade Locks. The Dog River trail off Highway 35 hosts the Dog River Downhill on Saturday and Sunday.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
