Wednesday: NUKING! - The Gorge is my Gym

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CoronaChat
All across the land, jurisdictions are starting to open up. That seems to be confusing some people. Let’s have an example. Multnomah County is still under “stay home, save lives” orders. Hood River County has entered Phase 1. Does that mean you should drive from one county to another or across state lines to access bars, restaurants, hair cuts, massages, or to have a party? NO!

If you’re still under a “stay home” order, that’s because your community has circulating coronavirus. If you travel to another county that was able to open, you might be bringing the virus with you. You could be the source of a reinstated “stay home” order for that county. Eeek. You don’t want that on your conscience, do you? Follow the orders of the place you live, not the place you want to go. Under normal times, your city residency brings you benefits that rural folks don’t have. Right here, right now, rural residents have some benefits that city folks don’t. Breathe. Accept these differences. Have patience. Stay home, save lives.

The Forecast

Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Today’s Gorge Wind – these are ranges for the average speed, not a predicted wind range. =)
Rooster Rock	beach	closed	buns	clothed
Steven’s Locks	G14-18	G14-18	G20-25	G20-25
Swell-Hood River	G14-18	G14-18	G20-25+	G20-25+
Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena	15-20	20-25	25-30	30-35
Rufus, etc.	25-30	30-35	35-40	35-40
Roosevelt & Arlington	25-30	30-35	35-40	35-40

Gorge Wind Forecast

Oregon and Washington are encouraging people to not travel to access recreation, and all land managers and law enforcement are carefully watching to see if people maintain social distancing. If crowding happens, water access will be revoked. If you are local and lucky enough to have water access in your community, please do this: rig, play, leave. Recreate and go home. That’ll help limit the spread of Novel Coronavirus. If you live in a place that’s still under a stay at home order, stay home – follow the guidance of where you live, not where you want to go.

Offshore high pressure of 1030mb combines with inland low pressure and an approaching front this afternoon for an absolute blasting of a day for the eastern Gorge. Morning gradients were .18 and .13, indicating wind of some sort all across the land. Western Gorge sites stay cloudy with 15-20 in the morning and gusty 20-30 in the afternoon. Speaking of clouds, the eastern Gorge is still under the clouds from an inland low. Give it a couple hours to clear up for best results. Areas from Rowena eastward pick up to 35-40 this afternoon. Sail with a partner. Consider a PFD, as your gear may escape your grasp. What’s open out there? Avery, Roosevelt, Arlington and Threemile. Everything else, including The Wall and Rufus, remains closed. River flow is 345kfs, probably too much for Rufus. River temp is 54 degrees.

Thursday sees lingering showers in the far west and sunshine in the east. Westerlies start at 12-15 in the west and 20-23 east of Hood River. Afternoon: 12-15 in the western Gorge and gusty 25-28 from Rowena to Arlington as a weak front moves through.

Offshore high pressure sticks around Friday for another westerly day. Morning wind: 5-10 in the west and 12-15 in the east. Showers fall on Cascade Locks all day, giving us 12-15mph to Viento. It appears some clouds will stick around Hood River all day too, for gusty 15-18 there. Head to the Avery to Biggs stretch for 25-28. East of there: 14-18. Saturday: light westerlies. Sunday: 15-18, likely to change.

Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast: this portion is waiting for those counties to be ready for visitors. They are still under ‘stay home, save lives’ orders. Please respect their wishes and do not travel there to recreate.

Open/Closed Launch Site List -All restrooms are closed!

Washington:
Skamania County – Phase two, recreate with 5 or less people outside household
Stevenson East Point, Bob’s Beach, Boat ramp: all open
Home Valley: Closed
Swell City: closed
Spring Creek Hatchery: Closed
Klickitat County – Stay at home order in place. Only recreate with household members
Wunderbar: high water
Bingen Point: Open
Lyle: you have to cross private property to access
Doug’s Beach: Closed
Avery: Open
Maryhill: Park closed. Boat ramp open.
The Wall: Closed
Roosevelt: Open

Oregon: Phase one for Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam counties – recreate with 10 or fewer friends from the county
Rooster Rock: Closed
Viento: Closed
The Hook: open
Waterfront Park: Closed
Event Site: Closed
The Spit: Open
The Marina: Open
Boat ramp: open
Mosier: Only open for residents of 97040
Rowena: Closed
Celilo: Closed. Boat ramp open
Rufus: Closed
Arlington: Open
Threemile: Open

Mt. Hood Weather Forecast

Timberline is open with exemplary guidelines for protecting guests and staff from the transmission of novel coronavirus. Please read their guidelines and rules here. Well done, T-Line! The Mt. Hood weather forecast will be on vacation unless something interesting happens in the weather up there. Some of you will be tempted to go out backcountry skiing. Please don’t – accidents do happen, and you may put others at risk. Timberline is allowing uphill access outside the permit area on the climbers’ trail ONLY. No uphill traffic is allowed at Meadows.

Hood River Weather Forecast

Clouds stick around all day on Wednesday. Temps will be in the low 50’s early and low 60’s later. Strong westerlies. 3% chance of rainbows. Thursday looks cloudy. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and upper 50’s later. Moderate westerlies. Snow level 4000′. 1% chance of rainbows. Friday looks cloudy with some sprinkles possible. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and near 60 later. Snow level 3000′ early and 4500′ in the afternoon. Moderate westerlies. 3% chance of rainbows. Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.

Cycling

Trail update: Post open to residents of HR County. No parking in HRC forests (staging areas, or anywhere). Syncline/Coyote Wall: CLOSED (it’s in the scenic area, and all those trails are closed – you risk a parking ticket or more if you’re there). Mt. Hood National Forest: trailheads and developed areas CLOSED. Trails: open if you can park somewhere that’s not a trailhead. Surveyor’s, Dog River, and Oak Ridge open according to Strava. Kreps/SDS: open. Sandy Ridge: Open. Nestor Peak: open. Columbia Hills State Park: CLOSED. Skamania County trails outside the scenic area: open. Ape Canyon: Closed. Falls Creek: too snowy to ride as of five days ago per an email I received.

Current lawful social distancing requirements: only people from your household in Klickitat County. Only household members if you’re from Multnomah, Clark, or other ‘stay at home’ counties. Up to 5 friends in Skamania County. Up to 10 in Hood River County.