The Gorge Is My Gym

Summer Pledge Drive – Donate and Support your Weather Girl!

Thank you for using this forecast! If you’ve subscribed before, I encourage you to re-subscribe. Click on my photo to do so. If you’ve never donated, here’s your chance. Does this forecast save you time? Gas money? Does it help you get the good days on the water and mountain? Drop me a few bucks to say thanks. I spend over an hour each day writing this because I want you to have more fun. Your contribution supports my graduate education in counseling at Portland State, the repair of my bikes, and the coffee that goes in my French press. If you can’t afford to donate or don’t want to, that’s okay too: this forecast is offered free for all to use. Donations of $12.34 or more get you on the email list for the next year. All new subscribers this month are entered in a drawing for a TGIMG t-shirt. Thank you, and have an awesome day!

Today’s Gorge Wind – these are ranges for the average speed, not a predicted wind range. =)
Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Rooster Rock	sunburned	rears	reflecting	red clouds
Steven’s Locks	0-5	5-10	12-15	15-18
Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River)	12-15	12-15	12-15	15-18
Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena	5-10	5-10	10-13	15-18
Rufus, etc.	5-10	5-10	10-13	15-18
Roosevelt, etc.	5-10	5-10	5-10	5-10

 

Gorge Wind Forecast (and Sauvie’s, Jones, the Coast…)

There’s not much out there in the way of wind this morning, with low teens at Swell and single digits everywhere else. Windspeeds were perfectly in line with the gradients at 6am (alarm, not the cat): .05 (pdx-dls), .02 (dls-psc) and .42 (eph-dls, or the answer to Life the Universe, and Everything). Expect 12-15 through mid-afternoon, first just at Swell, then filling in from Stevenson to Mosier. Late in the afternoon, we’ll see 15-18 from Stevenson to Rufus. There is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, and those can make the wind weaker, stronger, or anything at all, so there’s not a lot of reliability in this forecast.

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It’s the bi-annual summer pledge drive!
See above for details.

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Tomorrow starts off with westerlies at 5-10 near Hood River. The light wind will stick around for much of the day before a late afternoon jump to 15-18 from Cascade Locks to Rufus. That said, tomorrow’s t-storm potential is pretty high, and that makes the wind rather unpredictable. Tuesday looks nearly identical to Monday. Same speeds, same lack of reliability in the afternoon forecast. If the long-range models are correct, Wednesday and Thursday will be very windy, but that’s a long ways out to be predicting anything. You can probably count on Wednesday afternoon, as I have a 3pm appointment in Portland.

Coast forecast: Light and variable for the next three days everywhere. West swell 3-4′ at 7-8 seconds for the next three days.

Jones and Sauvie’s BTF. Jones today, 5-10. Jones tomorrow, 16-19. Jones Tuesday, 5-10. Sauvie’s today, nope. Sauvie’s tomorrow, 5-8. Sauvie’s Tuesday, nope.

 

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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Nothing to say here today.
 

Random Morning Thoughts

I’m sensitized to suffering. Oversensitized perhaps. I’ve expended a lot of energy in my life avoiding suffering and keeping others from needless suffering.* I was stunned to hear my friends across the river speaking yesterday of people who think suffering is unavoidable, that it’s just part of “the ups and downs of life.”

Let’s take a concrete example: your boss is a dick. In response, you wish he were different, you rage at the injustice of your wage difference, you hate going to work, and you worry about your job safety. Wishing, raging, hating and worrying are creations of your mind. They are an added layer of suffering you manufacture around your boss’ unpleasant behavior. In this example, people assume they just have to suffer because of others.

You do not have to suffer. You create the suffering. Yes, your boss is a dick**, but you can minimize your cognitive reaction. And by minimizing your reaction, you not only decrease your pain; your equanimity increases the chances that the boss’ behavior toward you will improve.

And if it doesn’t, you have choices (your reaction, other jobs, a sit-down chat with him to discuss your needs, not his behavior); choices are freedom and freedom is a path away from suffering. You just have to see that you have choices to take advantage of this fact. (If you are sitting here saying, “But I have no choice,” you are not seeing the whole picture of your situation – there are choices, even tiny choices, that will impact your situation).

So, look at your situation with a fresh perspective. Make a list of your choices and make some choices. Watch your suffering decrease. Suffering is optional. Resistance is futile. Have an awesome day.

*There are, of course, many kinds of suffering. Some are okay and helpful (like the suffering experienced when sprinting up Erhck Hill) and some are unhelpful (regretting, ruminating, and revenge-planning). When I speak of avoiding suffering, I speak of the second. (Thanks to my friends across the river for explicitly mentioning this yesterday)
**Many apologies for the insults to the male genitalia.
 

Gorge Weather Forecast

Last night’s sunrise was off the charts, and if you didn’t see it, you can catch the play-by-play and instant replay on Facebook. This morning’s sunrise was nice too. If you’d like to see tomorrow morning’s sunrise, I can let you borrow my cat.

In actual weather news, expect a partly cloudy day today with increasing convective clouds this afternoon and a slight chance of thunder. Temps will be in the mid 60’s early and the muggy mid 80’s in the afternoon. Light wind. 1% chance of rainbows. 98% chance of a colorful sunset. Tomorrow also starts with a pretty sunrise and carries a moderate chance of thunder in the evening. Temps will be in the mid 60’s early (NOAA says upper 50’s. They are wrong.) and the muggy low 90’s in the afternoon. Light wind, unless the thunderstorms change that, 11% chance of rainbows, 93% chance of a colorful sunset. Expect a pretty sunrise Tuesday with temps in the mid 60’s early and the low 90’s in the afternoon. Solid chance of thunder, 10% chance of rainbows, 84% chance of a colorful sunset.
 

White Sprinter Van of the Day

 

Road and Mountain Biking

Nothing new to report. There’s still no snow on the trails. Hospital Hill and Whoopdee are still closed due to fire danger. Campfires are still banned in the woods, and you still need to carry water, a shovel and/or a fire extinguisher if you’re traveling on forestland. The road biking forecast says today and tomorrow both look good, although tomorrow looks rather warm and muggy. In other bike news – if you have a used bike you no longer need, email me and I’ll help get it to a kid in need and get you a tax writeoff.
 

The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear.
Temira approves. Click to join.

 

Royal Anne Organics: U-Pick Dahlias & Seed garlic

Sometimes you just need a big bunch of flowers. Maybe you need some cheer. Maybe a friend needs some cheer. Head to Hood River U-Pick off Markham Road (4320 Royal Anne Drive) and pick your own big bouquet of flowers. While you’re there, check out the certified organic seed garlic at the same location. Garlic is easy to grow, it’s fun to harvest, and even your black thumb can’t kill it. Haven’t gardened before? Garlic is a great first plant. Get some now and give it a shot!

Upcoming Events

Today’s events include day two of the Dufur Threshing Bee and day three of this weekend’s sailboat races in Cascade Locks. If you’re looking for something a little more active, there’s the Mt. View Cycles shop ride at 5:15 tonight and ping pong at the Hood River Armory at 5:30. there are also three by-donation yoga classes today; 9am at Yoga Samadhi, 4pm at Pure Yoga in The Dalles, and 6pm at Root Down in Hood River. Also at 6pm today, Bernie Sanders speaks in Portland. That should be good entertainment and people watching, no matter where you lie on the political spectrum.

Coming up next weekend, it the inaugural Post Canyon 50k and half marathon. They’re looking for volunteers to help out. Next Saturday is also the Skamania County Fair 5k and 10k race, if 50k sounds like a little too much for you. Finally, don’t forget that the Princess Bride shows next Friday night at Cascade Locks Movies in the Park. In really, really, really important news, the Seattle Seahawks play their pre-season opener next Friday at 7pm against the Broncos at Centurylink Field. Princess Bride. Seahawks. Tough call there.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira