powder - The Gorge is my Gym

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Random Morning Thoughts

I’m so sore from windsurfing yesterday. I’m so glad I’m getting a massage tomorrow.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

The showers are holding off this morning on Mt. Hood, which is a good thing for the end of season bash at Mt. Hood Meadows, where your favorite Brewery, Double Mountain, is throwing a party today. The party is free. The skiing is not (unless you have a season pass). I suspect we’ll see showers by 2pm. Fine. As long as I have all my gear transferred from my office to my car by then, I’ll be pleased.

Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Today’s Gorge Wind
Rooster’s Rocks	W 5-10	W 5-10	W 5-10	W 5-10
Steven’s Locks	W 10-15	W 10-15	W 21-24	W 21-24
Hatchery (minus a few for Hood River)	15-18	15-18	15-18	15-18
Doug’s, etc.	15-18	21-24	23-26	20-23
Rufus, etc.	15-18	21-24	21-24	21-24
Roosevelt, etc.	15-18	21-24	21-24	21-24

Gorge Wind

Remember how I said we were heading into a long stretch of wind. Well, the wind continues today. In case you were wondering, yes, I went windsurfing (at Arlington) yesterday. Today’s early gradients were .07/.08 (you were still asleep, you smart person, when I got that reading), and they should build a bit as a weak weather system swings through during the day and another approaches this afternoon. Those weather systems will make the wind up-and-down and gusty, but you can still expect 15-18 pretty much everywhere this morning, picking up to 22-25 for periods everywhere this afternoon, with the most reliable wind in the Lyle-Avery section of river.

Tomorrow’s wind quality suffers from weather systems and atmospheric instability too: we’ll see gusty 15-18 pretty much everywhere (maybe not Steven’s Locks) in the morning (with rain likely too) with gusty 22-25 (assuming the t-storms and rain don’t shut it down) in the afternoon pretty much everywhere but Arlington/Roosevelt, etc where the wind will be a bit less. It’s just not a great setup on Sunday.

Monday sees the upper level low that’s causing this trouble exit the region. Call it a transitional day. We’ll see west wind, but the strength and location depends on the path and timing of this low’s exit.

Tuesday and Wednesday, if the forecast holds, look like Classic Gorge Days. Figures – I have an all-day class in The Dalles on Tuesday and then have a meeting Tuesday night. Bah.

Gorge Weather

It’s a partly cloudy start to the day with a pretty sunrise (see, you too should get up at 4am). Temps will be in the mid 50’s early and upper 60’s this afternoon with west wind and a chance of showers late. Tomorrow brings a much better chance of showers as a weather system swings through in the morning and atmospheric instability triggers thundershowers in the afternoon. Temps Sunday will be in the upper 40’s early and low 60’s in the afternoon with west wind. Monday looks cloudy with a few showers possible. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and mid 60’s in the afternoon.

Road and Mountain Biking

Good thing yesterday was National Bike to Work Day, not today, because I would have had to get up at midnight and start riding to get to work by 4am. Whew. Saved by 24 hours! Get your road biking in early today, because the wind and shower chances will pick up as the day goes on. And mountain bikers, start doing rain dances. Let’s get a little moisture on our trails – they are getting dry!

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River Levels

The White Salmon is at 4.25′. The Hood is at 5.0′ and the Klickitat’s at 2590cfs.

Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events

Today’s a super busy day for events. There’s a Gorge cup windsurfing race at the Event Site this morning. Washougal Motocross Track hosts the Race for the Future mountain bike race today. Also this morning, and it might already be too late when you read this, the Hood River Running Club has their weekly trail run leaving the bottom of Post Canyon at 8am.

Coming up tomorrow, Windance has a swap meet in the morning, and there’s pickup rugby in Mosier at 3pm and ping pong at the Hood River Armory at 3pm.

For kids this weekend, there’s a free youth fishing clinic for kids under 13 at Middle Fork Pond on Laurance Lake Road this morning. Then tomorrow afternoon, Big Winds has a free youth standup paddleboard clinic from 1 to 4.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

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Random Morning Thoughts

Hi. Just thought you should know that I replaced two infinite switches and the light on my electric range yesterday. I have mad skillz.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

There might actually be some wet snow on Saturday night. And the rain might actually hold off long enough on Saturday for Meadows to have their end-of-season party. It would be nice if Mother Nature cut our little ski resort a break for once this year.

Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Today’s Gorge Wind
Rooster’s Rocks	E 15-18	E 0-10	W 5-10	W 5-10
Steven’s Locks	E 15-18	E 0-10	W 15-18	W 20-23
Hatchery (minus a few for Hood River)	light	light	15-18+	23-26+
Doug’s, etc.	light	light	building to 21-24	24-28 late
Rufus, etc.	light	light	building to 21-24	24-28 late
Roosevelt, etc.	light	light	10-15	21-25 late

Gorge Wind

We’re starting off today with more wind than I thought we’d see: easterlies in the low teens with a .05 gradient. Don’t bother chasing that, as it’s going to switch to west wind by noon. Expect a steady build after that, first at Stevenson, and then out to Doug’s and Maryhill. I think we’ll see 15-18 by 2pm and 24-28+ at 8pm, strongest at Doug’s and Maryhill late in the day. And I think all that means we’ll see a late afternoon bump to 22-25+ at the Hatch and Hood River.

A strong marine push tomorrow gives us 26-30 (maybe more, initially, at Doug’s) all day from Mosier to Arlington (82 degrees). I’m not sure if Hood River (73 degrees) will get in on the action tomorrow, or if it will end up under partly cloudy sky. Wait n’ see, I guess. I’d pick Maryhill or the Lyle stretch if I wanted the mostest wind possiblist. The Columbia is at 294,000cfs this morning, a bit high for Rufus, but it was at 221,000cfs yesterday, perfect for that stretch of river.

Saturday has at least as much marine layer as Friday, but the picture will be complicated by an upper low (ULL) off WA and high pressure off CA. So it’ll probably be a bit gustier than Friday. Anyway, we’ll start with 21-24 and see the wind pick up to 26-30, likely east of Hood River. Sunday looks a little less windy with a bigger chance of thunderstorms as that ULL moves closer.

Gorge Weather

Sun and strong west wind mixed with high clouds and a noteworthy lack of rainbows. That’s the forecast. But I think we’ll see some rainbows on Sunday. I, however, am getting a massage on Sunday, so I might miss the mid-morning rainbows.

That wasn’t a very helpful forecast, was it?

Today will start with nice gardening weather: light wind and temps in the low 50’s. We’ll see the temps climb into the upper 80’s today (nice tanning or hammock weather) with some high clouds and increasing west wind. A marine push tonight (the wind Johnnies just freaked out) will make tomorrow much different than today: We’ll start with temps in the upper 40’s, but we’ll see highs just in the low 70’s. Expect strong west wind. Not sure if Hood River will be partly cloudy or not. Pretty strong marine push = maybe.

On Saturday, we’ll see temps in the upper 40’s early and upper 60’s in the afternoon with strong west wind. Sunday might bring some showers, especially in the afternoon, when t-storms are possible. I think we’ll see some showers Saturday night and/or Sunday in Post Canyon, if not on the east side of Hood River. Hooray!

Road and Mountain Biking

Tonight is the death-defying (for me) Post n’ Pint mountain bike ride. It leaves Dirty Fingers at 5:30. If you want to ride really, really hard for 40 minutes and then just ride hard, you want to be at this ride. If you don’t want to ride that hard, you can just show up and set your own pace, and start a group that rides at a human pace. Either way, you’ll get a free pint of beer (yuck) after the ride.

Road biking will be spectacular this morning, but I’m going to recommend you finish by noon, because the westerlies will pick up after that, and you’re not going to want to be stuck in The Dalles headed to Hood River this afternoon.

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River Levels

I did it. I called Wet Planet yesterday. The White Salmon is at 4.25′. That is a great level for rafting, so if you’re bored in the Gorge today, go for a float. The Hood is at 5.1′ and the Klickitat’s at 2160cfs.

Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events

There are a couple of open sports events this evening. There’s pickup touch rugby at Henkle Middle School at 3:30pm. There’s the fast and furious post n’ pint mountain bike ride leaving Dirty Fingers at 5:30. At 6:15 tonight, the Hood River Running Club has an interval workout at Hood River Valley High – I think it’s called the Fast Times workout. Actually, they have two events on Facebook: one is the interval workout and another is “the interval workout has been moved to next week”. Hmm. Also tonight, Columbia Riverkeeper has an adopt-a-river training at 5:30 at their office in Hood River.

Coming up this weekend, it’s the last day of the Mt. Hood Meadows season on Saturday. Also Saturday, there’s a free youth fishing clinic for kids under 13 at Middle Fork Pond. There’s Gorge Cup windsurfing at the Hood River Event Site, and there’s a meeting about the future of the Lower White Salmon at the Husum Fire Hall at 9am. That’s all on Saturday.

On Sunday, there’s a multi-sport swap meet at Windance, and Big Winds has a free youth standup paddle clinic from 1-4. That clinic is for kids from age 7 to age 14. Parents must be present. Sorry, this is not free babysitting.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira