The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

This week’s report is brought to you by Mosier’s gems: the Thirsty Woman, Good River restaurant and Vine 69 wine bar. If you haven’t checked out Vine 69, come check it out. The outdoor bar is cozy, with comfortable chairs and a welcoming vibe. And if you’d prefer beer, don’t forget about the outdoor bar and delicious nachos at the Thirsty Woman! One of the people on the email list will win $25 at each of the three restaurants this week, so head to Mosier and support our sponsor! (and if you’re not on the list, subscribe by clicking the donate button below)

If you want to get on the water today, you’ll have your chance. Although the morning gradient was only at .07, the westerlies were still blowing in the low teens at 5am. As an upper low shifts east of the Cascades later and high pressure builds at the coast, westerlies pick up into the 21-24 range from Hood River out to Arlington. Yes, I know that’s not very specific, but it’s going to be windy on the whole river by afternoon. If you have the morning, stay near Hood River. If you have the afternoon, head east.

Light westerlies hang on for one last day tomorrow, before switching to east winds for Friday and Saturday and turning back around on Sunday. Actually, models are completely out of agreement on the strength of the west winds tomorrow, so I’m taking a bit of a wait and see approach to make the call on wind speed.

If you’re looking for something to do tonight, there are the sailboat races out of the Hood River Marina. Show up at the docks around 5:30, and there’s a good chance you’ll get on a boat. Also tonight is the Kayak Shed’s shop paddle, run by a mystery boater since Tim’s out of town. If you want to run the Lower or Middle White Salmon with a cool group, meet at the Husum put-in at 5:30.

Speaking of boating, the White Salmon’s just around 2 feet and the Klickitat’s at a slightly boney, but still very fun 900 cfs. Ishy-Pishy is super fun at this level.

And finally, coming up tomorrow night, there’s the Post and Pint ride out of Dirty Fingers Bike Repair, and there’s a new Thursday event: There’s a free Crossfit workout. Meet at the south side of the Event Site at 5:30 for a workout followed by a barbeque and potluck. Jeri is bringing her BBQ. You bring the beer and beef.

As many of you have heard, Mike Jacoby is back! There’s a welcome home party for him from 6-7pm this Saturday night at his home at 431Wess Road in Underwood.

And remember the peak of the Perseids is late Thursday night into Friday morning, with 60 or more meteors and fireballs per hour. Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies and a warm evening. It’s going to be a great show, because there will be almost no moon this year. Get ready…

Have a great 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 button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til May 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.

Good morning!

This week’s report is brought to you by Mosier’s gems: the Thirsty Woman, Good River restaurant and Vine 69 wine bar. If you haven’t checked out Vine 69, come check it out. The outdoor bar is cozy, with comfortable chairs and a welcoming vibe. And if you’d prefer beer, don’t forget about the outdoor bar and delicious nachos at the Thirsty Woman! One of the people on the email list will win $25 at each of the three restaurants this week, so head to Mosier and support our sponsor! (and if you’re not on the list, subscribe by clicking the donate button below)

There’s a nice west breeze flowing through the Gorge this morning, and a gradient of .09 from Portland to The Dalles, giving us 10 for 10 windy days in August. With the low clouds east of Hood River and an upper level low pushing into the state, the wind is going to be pretty gusty today and lighter than it’s been recently. Head east of the low clouds today, probably east of The Dalles, for 19-23. Under the low clouds, we’ll have gusty westerlies in the 13-15 range. With this much cloud coverage, it’s probably going to be quite light in Stevenson and at Viento, at least until some of these clouds burn off.

The upper level low will hang around for a couple of days, so onshore flow will weaken tomorrow. We’ll see west wind in the 10-15 range from Stevenson down to Mosier. With a little luck, the sailable streak will continue, with an evening bump into the 15-18 range. Thursday and Friday look similar to Wednesday. In the early forecast for the weekend, summer returns, with highs climbing into the 90’s. That’s going to shut down the west winds and bring us some easterlies for a few days.

Coming up tonight, it’s the Tuesday Night Triathlon at the Hood River Event site at 6pm. Join Paul Jones and friends for a 500 yard swim, 8 mile bike and 2 mile run.

Just a few days from now, in the late hours of the 12th and wee hours of the 13th, it’s the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, where you’ll see up to 60 meteors per hour, along with lots of fireballs, blazing across the northern sky. It’s the best meteor shower of the year, so make plans to be up late!

Boaters, the White Salmon’s just over 2 feet and the Klickitat’s at 900 cfs.

Have a great 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 button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til May 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.