The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning, and happy sunny day!

The forecast this week is brought to you Hood River’s best sail repair shop, Sail Repair at 13 Oak Street. Drop your sails off today, so they’re ready for the return of the big west winds by this weekend. Give Olaf (aka Ovetchkin) a call at 806-3117 (HR area code) to get him your sail by 5pm, and he’ll have it fixed by tomorrow at 9am. Olaf is the man, and he’ll make your sail as good as new! Anyway, two of the mailing list subscribers are going to win $65 sail repair gift certificates this week!

Now, the forecast…

It’s another light wind start this morning in the Gorge, but the gradient is already at .05 from Portland to The Dalles, and will slowly build today. By early afternoon, we’ll have 12-15 from Stevenson to Hood River, building to 16-19 this evening in the central Gorge as a system approaches the coast.

That system crosses the Cascades tonight, leaving behind low clouds in Portland tomorrow morning. Westerlies near Hood River tomorrow start off in the 21-24 range, building quickly to 24-27 by midday from Stevenson as far east as Maryhill.

It looks like we’ll see more marine clouds Saturday morning, for continued west winds in the Gorge, likely in the 22-25 range. It’s still a few days out, but Sunday looks quite windy.

Boaters, the White Salmon’s hovering around 2 ¾ feet and the Klickitat’s still around 1500 cfs. Ishy-Pishy is super fun right now, and so is the entire Lower. If I was better at boating, I’d give you the report on some of the other rivers, but alas, I’m not!

In other news, it’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to ride Post Canyon with the dirty fingers crew. Meet at the shop at 5:30 for mountain biking and mountain biker social hour. Because it’s Third Thursday, there’s free sunset yoga at Hood River’s Waterfront Park. Class starts at 8:00 sharp. Also tonight, at the Columbia Center for the Arts, is Doug Ammons’ presentation, Wildwater, a Love story, video, stories and photos of whitewater boating and the love of rivers. That presentation is $10 for general admission and $8 for students, and starts at 8pm. I’ll be there, despite having to get up tomorrow at 5am, and I recommend you go too!

Coming up Saturday Hood River Community Ed presents the movie “UP” at Jackson Park in Hood River, outdoors, on the big screen, starting around dusk. Movies in the Park is always fun, and we need a lot of people to show up or Community Ed will think we don’t care. Grab your family and a picnic and join in the fun on Saturday night (I believe these events are alcohol/drug free, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t fun)…

One last thing, the tree that was down in Post Canyon’s Toilet Bowl was removed yesterday, so the downhill, if not exactly safe (what downhill is?), is clear of downed trees (but not roots, rocks, people, loose soil, manmade features or other hazards).

That’s it for today. Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

P.S. If you find this report valuable, or you’d rather get it in your inbox, click below for a suggested $10 donation. I’ll put you on the mailing list through the end of May, 2011, and you’ll be in the running for some awesome prizes from the weekly sponsors.

Good morning!

This forecast was posted at 5pm Tuesday as a best guess for Wednesday morning. Why? Because your intrepid forecaster needs a good night of sleep once in a while. Did you know I’m actually a night owl? Yep… I’d much rather go to bed at 12:30 and get up at 9:00…

The forecast this week is brought to you Hood River’s best sail repair shop, Sail Repair at 13 Oak Street. Drop your sails off today, so they’re ready for the return of the big west winds by this weekend. Give Olaf a call at 806-3117 (HR area code), get him your sail by 5pm, and he’ll have it fixed by tomorrow at 9am. Olaf is the man, and he’ll make your sail good as new! Anyway, two of you are going to win $65 sail repair gift certificates this week, so get out there and break some gear!

The wind is starting off light this morning, and that’s a good thing if you’re sore from the last few days. If you’re still hoping for more time on the water, you’ll have a chance this evening as thermals kick in, bringing westerlies in the 14-18 range from Stevenson down to Hood River. If it happens, it’s going to be late, just in time for the after work session.

Tomorrow looks a little stronger, as high pressure at the coast combines with a heat low in the desert for 13-16 in the morning and 22-25 in the afternoon. Strongest wind tomorrow will be from Stevenson to Swell in the morning and from the Sandbar to Doug’s in the afternoon.

At this point it’s looking like Portland will see more clouds on Friday, giving us a chance for another big day on the Columbia. The early forecast for next weekend is lots of west wind, hopefully another 3.0 day at The Wall. =)

In after work news today, there are the sailboat races out of the Hood River Marina. Show up at 5:30 and ask around, and you’ll probably find a spot on a boat. I know that Gorgeous needs a few crew members. Also tonight is the Kayak Shed’s shop paddle. Meet at the Husum put-in at 5:30 for a lap on the lower or Middle. I believe there’s beer drinking after the shop paddle.

And speaking of boating, the White Salmon’s around 2.7 feet and the Klickitat’s at 1500 cfs. Don’t forget about Doug Ammons’ presentation at Columbia Center for the Arts tomorrow night. The photos, video, and story are going to be well worth the $10 price of admission. Plus, all of your boating friends will be there, and socializing is good for the soul!

That’s it for today. Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

P.s. If you find this report valuable, or you’d rather get it in your inbox, click below for a suggested $10 donation. I’ll put you on the mailing list through the end of May, 2011, and you’ll be in the running for some awesome prizes from the weekly sponsors.