events - The Gorge is my Gym

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

First thing today, I’d like to say thank you to all of you who donated during August pledge drive month. There was never a day where I didn’t post a forecast, because every day someone donated. Thank you to all of you both for using this forecast and for supporting it! Remember that although it’s free for you to use, it’s not free for me. I put a lot of time into giving you an accurate forecast, and I pay for the hosting on this website. If you find it valuable, please take the time to make a donation to support what I do. Your generosity helps keep this going for everyone. I also send an email version of this forecast. Make a $12 or larger donation, and you’re on the email list for a year. No more dealing with the twice-yearly pledge drive, and you’ll also have a chance to win prizes from the sponsors. Thank you again for your support!

This week’s sponsor is Dirt Hugger, offering curbside food waste collection service for your business, school, office, store, restaurant or hospital in Hood River and The Dalles. All that food waste becomes awesome compost for your garden, yard, farm or vineyard. You can pick up that compost or have it delivered. If we as a society can’t make composting happen through our cities and counties, at least we can make it happen through a cool local business. This is one of my favorite businesses in the Gorge. Support them, please

If you’re a wind Johnnie looking for wind this week, you’ll find it at Stevenson and Rooster in the form of easterlies. Models say we’ll see the easterlies pick up to 15-18 near Stevenson midday today, before dropping back to light wind this afternoon. Easterlies build overnight, hitting 23-26 tomorrow at Stevenson and 30+ at Rooster. On Thursday, we’ll see east wind at 30+ at Stevenson and Rooster. Near Hood River and in the valleys and on the ridgetops, expect easterlies at <10mph today, 5-10 tomorrow, and 10-15 on Thursday with higher gusts. This afternoon at 4pm, it's your chance to make a difference in your trail system by showing up for the work session of the County Trails Committee at 4pm at the county forestry department. Tomorrow night in Portland, the American Meteorological Society hosts a meeting on the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) at OMSI. I know that sounds really dry to you, but it sounds really exciting to me!

In less work-like activities, there’s the Tuesday night triathlon practice at Hood River’s Event Site at 6pm. Also at 6pm, at Hood River’s Marina, there’s pickup touch rugby. Even if you don’t know how to play, you’re welcome to come and try.

Coming up tomorrow, you can get in on whitewater kayaking with the Kayak Shed’s Shop Paddle on the Lower and Middle White Salmon, you can race sailboats out of the Hood River Marina and girls can ride Post Canyon with the Post and Pinot Ride out of Dirty Fingers at 5:30.

Coming up this weekend, speaking of biking, you can try the 2013 Kona Bikes for free on Saturday. Call Dirty Fingers for more details. Also this weekend, Cascade Locks takes the recreation podium from Hood River yet again, by hosting this year’s DoubleCross Cyclocross race. Farther from home, it’s Pendleton Roudup and the annual dam release on the Tieton River.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

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

First off this morning, I’d like to wish a happy birthday to Jami M., Arthur B., and Jay S. May all of you have a wonderful birthday!

Second, if you were sailing at Doug’s yesterday, Grant Myrdal was shooting photos from noon to 3:30pm. You can see the photos or purchase them here.

Second, we’re under a passing cold front this morning, but it looks like the precipitation is mostly missing the bike trails and falling in the Wilderness west of Mt. Hood. Why do we care? Well, it’s post-Labor Day, and that’s the time of year when the wind people stop asking about wind to some extent, and the cyclists start asking about rain. This morning was best chance for the week, so resign yourself to dusty trails.

After today, we’ll see warm and dry days through next weekend. However, models show a cold start to the day tomorrow, maybe even upper 30’s, which might just give us our first inversion clouds of the fall season. If you’re in Parkdale, you might even see some frost. If you’re up on Mt. Hood, it’s going to be downright frigid.

As that cold front I mentioned moves east today, the west wind will pick up. The low clouds have made it all the way to Arlington, so you can expect gusty westerlies at 15-18 pretty much everywhere this morning, picking up to 21-24 east of Hood River this afternoon. Tomorrow starts with light west wind, switching to light east wind in the afternoon. Expect increasing westerlies Wednesday, hitting the upper twenties, and expect 30+ east wind on Thursday.

In events next weekend, it’s the Pendleton Roudup, a ways away, but worth the drive if you can find a place to stay. Also next weekend, the Tieton River dam release for kayaking and rafting, Kona Bikes will be in town doing free demos courtesy of Dirty Fingers Bike Repair, Cascade Locks hosts the Doublecross Cyclocross race, and the Mt. Ashland hillclimb race showcases the best road biking legs in the Gorge (but not here… you’ll have to drive to see them).

Joking aside, Mountain bikers can have an influence tomorrow at the HRC trails committee work session at the Forestry Office at 4pm. Be there and be the change you believe in.

Temira