The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

There’s no wind on the Columbia this morning, and it’s going to stay light all day today, with the possible exception of Stevenson where there might be some light east winds. This is great news if you’re sick of the Gorge wind, and I know plenty of you are. Head outside today to get some sun… it’s going to be 80 degrees today.. finally, summer is here!

If you want wind, you’ll get westerlies tomorrow as a cold front moves along the coast. Clouds move into Portland late in the day, so winds will pick up from Stevenson to Viento in the afternoon. If everything works out in Wind Johnny’s favor, we’ll see 25-28 from Stevenson to Hood River tomorrow afternoon. At this point, Monday looks awesome, with high pressure at the coast and low pressure in the desert. Dawn Patrol is the call on Monday. Tuesday looks windy. Wednesday looks windy. I have no idea what will happen after that. =)

Out on the coast, it’s going to be windy from Astoria to Pistol today, tomorrow and Monday, with 25+ knots everywhere and a super-nuker from Florence south on Sunday and Monday. The swell’s only 2 feet today, but it’s 6 feet tomorrow and 8 on Monday.

On the trails, it’s finally drying out. The Whoopdee is in perfect shape right now. If you’re bored of the local trails, Falls Creek and Lewis River are both open, and so are Knebal and 8-mile. Ape Canyon, unfortunately, is not.

If you’re into fishing, it is free fishing weekend in Oregon. No license required today and tomorrow.

And finally, the Hood’s at 5.2 feet, the White Salmon’s at 4 feet even, and the Wind River’s at 7 feet.

Thanks to all of you who’ve subscribed to this forecast over the last few days. To those of you who haven’t heard, this forecast requires a subscription starting June 15th. It’s just $10 for the year (ending May 31st, 2011), and puts you in the running to win some cool prizes. Subscribe via Paypal (go to theGorgeismyGym.com, scroll down, click on donate), or via check/cash handover or snail mail (PO Box 841, Hood River). Thank you for supporting me!

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

Good morning!

There are lots of clouds over Hood River this morning and clear skies out east. Combine that with a .10 gradient from Portland to The Dalles at 5am, and we’re setting up for a good west wind day near Hood River. Give the desert until 10 or 11 to warm up, and give the high pressure a chance to build at the coast some more, and the wind will steady out into the 24-28 range at Mosier and Doug’s. As the clouds burn off, the wind should fill in at the Hatchery, Sandbar and Viento. If you’re headed to the Hatch, one lane is closed on 14 today. The Hatchery itself is open.

Tomorrow looks light, but we’ll probably see 80 degrees, so that’s a good tradeoff. You can try calling Cathy or Dan or Scott for some wakeboarding or waterskiing. With the Columbia temp at 59 degrees now, the total will be 139 tomorrow, so you might be able to skip the 5 mil suit!!!

Westerlies return on Sunday, and things still look good for a big day Monday. If you’re headed to the coast for wind, today looks good from Lincoln City south and the weekend looks good from Astoria south.

In mountain biking world, it’s very muddy out there right now, according to Mitchell, so if you can let Post and Hospital and anything off the 44 road dry out for a day, that would be great. Also, I’ve been getting reports of massive amounts of ticks on the trails, so make sure to check yourself and your riding buddy after you ride or hike. To me, that sounds like a good reason to go skinny dipping after a ride. =)

Boaters, the Wind River’s at 7.2 feet, the White Salmon’s at 4.25 feet, the Hood River’s at 5.4 feet and the Klickitat’s at 2970 cfs. Get out and go rafting or kayaking this weekend – it’s going to be so good, and the river levels are likely going to start dropping after this (we’re done with Junuary, right?) I’m taking a beginner whitewater kayaking class on Monday and Tuesday at Wet Planet. If anyone else is interested, I can give you the details. I’ll be baking brownies to bring to that class.

Coming up this weekend are several fun events. Friends of the Gorge sponsors a road ride through the Gorge on Saturday to benefit… duh… Friends of the Gorge. That indirectly benefits… you and me and everyone we know (and if you haven’t seen that movie, you should). There’s a mountain bike race at Skibowl on Sunday.

Most importantly, It’s free fishing weekend in Oregon, and that means you can cast a line without a license. Back to that in a second… there’s an all-day Steelhead fishing class at Community Ed (different than Special Ed) in Hood River on Saturday. For $17, you can learn all about fishing for Steelhead. So, back to free fishing weekend… makes me think of all the other things we could free up for people to try without a license. Free driving weekend? Free gun owning weekend? Free try-being-a-doctor weekend? Best idea along this theme wins a small tray of homemade brownies!!!

If you’d like to receive this forecast as an email, click on the donate button below and kick down $10. That gets you a daily email from April 15th to October 15th and emails during the rest of the year when there’s wind, snow or something else worth mentioning. Subscription runs June 1st – May 31st.

Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

Temira