First off today, it looks like we now have the water version of the Post Canyon Shuttle. Swell Ride Shuttle opens up today, running downwind shuttles for kiters from Viento to the Event Site. Look for them at the Event Site. For now, they’re doing this as a community service to help with overcrowding at the Event Site: You can ride for free, but they’d appreciate it if you’d donate $10 (or something) to help cover gas. After all, gas prices are down now that we’ve tapped the strategic reserves (don’t get me started), but it’s still $3.50 a gallon if you’re willing to wait in a long line or $3.70+ if you’re not.
The Clymb: free membership.
Access to super cheap gear including Trew, Zeal, Sierra Designs, and many more.
Second, I’m feeling a little smug about yesterday’s forecast (which probably means I’ll blow today’s): ““It’s going to be light this morning, but as a system moves in mid-afternoon, the wind will pick up into the low twenties at Stevenson. I bet it’ll still be glassy in HR when it starts blowing in Stevenson. The wind will hold there, and fill in to a gusty 17-19 through the rest of the Gorge.”
The west wind is back today, in case you hadn’t noticed. With the clouds just west of Hood River this morning, the strongest wind will be from the Hatchery to Mosier. Wind speeds have been all over the place already, with averages from the mid-teens to the mid-twenties. With the PDX-DLS gradient at .12, I’d expect 24-27 at the Hatch and Mosier this morning, with 19-23 in HR. The gradient in the eastern Gorge is at .11, so 24-27 seems reasonable from Rowena to Maryhill, but models show the wind dropping out east this afternoon, so staying in the western Gorge may be a better call.
The weather for the holiday tomorrow is going to be perfect for fireworks and hanging out on a boat wakeboarding or skiing or watching fireworks, as the wind is going to be pretty much calm. At best, we’ll see east winds in the 5-10 range tomorrow afternoon.
West wind kicks in again on Tuesday as a weak system moves through, bumping up the morning wind in the western Gorge to 16-19 or so, but it looks like we’ll see a return to glassy conditions after that.
In events, today is a bargain hunter’s dream, with a swap meet at Windance from 8am to noon today and the Mosier Community Yard Sale from 10am to 5pm. Coming up tomorrow morning, it’s the Kollas-Cranmer memorial run. Registration is at Mid-Valley elementary starting at 7am. And if you need to chill out before the fireworks tomorrow night, there’s free Tai Chi at Wilson Park in Hood River at 5:30.
Speaking of fireworks, we all know how bad the traffic is around the Hood River show, so consider riding a bike down to your viewing spot tomorrow.
Finally, coming up on July 10th, it’s the White Salmon Riverfest and Symposium. There are all sorts of cool things going on during this event, but the most popular is the $25 community raft trip from BZ to Husum. You must live in Skamania or Klickitat counties or in Hood River to come. If you do, book by calling 800-306-1673, and please mention you heard about it though me (I don’t get a kickback, but I want them to know I am promoting it). And hey, don’t forget to tip your guide!
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the sad-looking link below. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til June 2012, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.