Good morning,
First off, I want to give my condolences to the friends and family of Jon Johnson, who passed away from a stroke Tuesday at Doug’s Beach. Jon and his wife Marilyn were longtime owners of the Inn at the Gorge, until a couple of years ago, and had been sailing in the Gorge since the 1980’s. I’ve been asked by one of their friends to pass along thanks from Marilyn to everyone who helped out at Doug’s… if you were there, know that you did your best, and that Jon passed away on a good day of windsurfing. May we all go so easily, wearing our favorite sporting gear, at our favorite beach, trail, mountain or river. And may we all be here for many more years, and not pass away in our prime, as Jon did.
And now, the forecast, in Jon’s memory… so you damn well better get out and windsurf for him today!
Cloudy skies in the western Gorge this morning combine with a passing weather system and sunshine in the desert for continuing west winds today. Although early morning gradients and windspeeds were light (.07 gradient and winds around 10-12mph), winds will pick up later. By midday, we’ll see upper teens from Hood River to Arlington, building to the low twenties this afternoon.
Tomorrow looks windier, as high pressure rebuilds along the coast. Winds start out light tomorrow, but slowly build into the 23-27 range east of Hood River in the afternoon, with 15-19 from Viento down to Mosier.
At this point, the weekend is looking at least windy enough for kiting and slalom sailing, with maybe a 50/50 chance of stronger westerlies on Saturday. The first few days of next week look hot, with the first 90 degree temps of the year headed this way. Not a good sign for wind, but a great chance for you to get a tan…
If you want mountain biking tonight, it’s Post and Pint night at Dirty Fingers. Meet at the shop at 5:30 for a Post Canyon lap followed by social hour at the shop. Don’t forget that tomorrow morning is the Dirty Divas women’s-only ride, and it’s Hospital Hill this week. If you want to join, give Discover Bikes a call.
Finally, if you’ve been waiting patiently for Ape Canyon and Plains of Abraham, it’s really close. There’s still some snow at higher elevations, but all the fallen logs are cleared from the trail. The information on the Gifford Pinchot website isn’t very clear, so the first person to give me a first-hand report gets a fresh-baked tray of brownies.
Oh, and one last thing, the Maryhill Festival of Speed, a 5-sport event including downhill skateboarding and street luge, is on through Sunday at the Maryhill loops road. Go check it out!
That’s it for today. Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!
Temira
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